Tri Merge Credit Report

A Tri-Merge Credit Report is a combination of individual reports from the three national credit bureaus. These major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, generate their own respective credit reports for creditors and lenders. The creditors and lenders use the consolidated credit report to identify the amount of funding the borrower is qualified for.

Lenders within the mortgage sector benefit most from utilizing a consolidated credit report. Tri Merg Credit Reports are primarily used in home purchasing for government backed home loans. Once a loan is applied for, the lender will pull a tri-merge report to determine the capacity of a consumer to make loan payments on schedule. If the Tri Merge Credit Report reflects a history of missed or late payments, the probability of getting qualified decreases. On the other hand, the chance of getting qualified increases for those borrowers who are most likely to accomplish their monthly dues on time.

Contents
Tri Merge Credit Report

How to Read a Tri Merge Credit Report

A tri-merge report is composed of four main sections: applicant information, the infile report, tradelines, and public records. Review the sections below for a breakdown of each section’s contents.

Applicant Information

A Tri Merge Credit Report from Equifax shows the contact details of the credit bureau’s office for additional assistance for the creditor or lender requesting information. The creditor or lender’s name and address are also included in the report. The report number and the repository sources show the unique identifier and the contributors, EFX for Equifax, TUC for Transunion, XPN for Experian, for the Tri Merged Report. The report also includes the borrower’s information, such as the name, social security number, and address.

In-File Report

The next part of the Tri Merge Credit Report is the infile report. The infile report includes the credit scores with the reason codes. The credit score generated is aggregate from the report contents and is a numerical value assigned to the applicant to give measurable quantitative risk management insights.

Tradelines

Next is the Tradelines, which includes the name of the borrower’s credit grantor plus the repositories of data. Other data like account date opening, type of account or loan, and the last activity on the account are also seen in the report. The report also shows the highest credit allowed by the creditor, the highest balance by the borrower, the number of times the account has been beyond the due date of 30, 60, or 90 days when paid, the active loan amount, the payment terms, and the trended data of up to 24 months if available.

Public Records

The last part of the Tri Merged Credit Report is the Public Records. The Public Records show if there has been a case of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and tax liens. Aside from the cases, it is followed by the borrower’s credit inquiries from other creditors or lenders, if there are any. Below the credit inquiries are the additional information like consumer statements and consumer referrals, which lists the data sources from the credit reporting agencies. An in-depth credit reporting agency information is also included, as well as the creditor contact information, credit summary, and the OFAC report.

Tri Merge Credit Score

A tri-merge report includes three FICO® Scores, one from each credit bureau; providing Experian, Equifax, and Transunion’s individual credit scores into one report. Often, the middle score is used when effectuating the terms of the loan.

The FICO or Fair Isaac Corporation credit score is utilized by creditors and lenders to make credit risk decisions quickly and accurately. The accuracy of the score makes the FICO score the most widely used broad-based risk score, according to the company. The company’s credit score is still used by the top 90% of U.S. lenders and over 30 countries worldwide.

Each of the three major bureaus has its own respective credit score formulations. The credit score for Experian Risk Score ranges from 330 to 830, while Equifax Beacon and Transunion Empirica scores range from 300 to 850.

To compete with the FICO score, the three major credit bureaus created VantageScore. VantageScore is a score in which Experian, Equifax, and Transunion created to consolidate their credit scores. The credit scores for VantageScore range from 300 to 850. The credit score is computed through an average of five criteria namely:

  • Total Credit Usage, Balance, and Available Credit
  • Credit Mix and Experience
  • Payment History
  • New Accounts Opened
  • Age of Credit History
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Tri Merge Credit Pull

A Tri Merge Credit Pull is a process of requesting the borrower’s credit reports and scores from the three major credit bureaus. A tri-merge credit pull provides lenders a full snapshot of a borrower’s credit history through the examination of credit data from all three credit bureaus.

Since a borrower’s credit score and report data can vary from bureau to bureau, a tri-merge is often used in effectuating a loan to ensure lenders have a complete picture of the credit history of a given applicant.

Is a Tri Merge Credit Report a hard inquiry?

A Tri Merge Credit Report is considered a hard inquiry. A hard inquiry or a hard pull is when the creditor or bank evaluates the borrower’s creditor to reach a lending decision. These lending decisions only happen when the borrower applies for a business loan or a mortgage loan. On a mortgage loan, for example, the creditor requests a Tri merged credit report by getting all the three credit scores from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. These credit scores will determine what type of mortgage loan to be offered.

Tri Merge CPN

A Tri Merge CPN or Credit Privacy Number is a nine-digit number that is similar to a Social Security Number, or SNN. The social security number is not required for credit applications as stated in the U.S. Privacy Act of 1974. The law says in Section 7 that it is "unlawful for any Federal, State, or a local government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual's refusal to disclose his social security account number". The social security number can be requested by an agency if a disclosure statement is provided.

Tri Merge CPN has become a solution for people who want a fresh credit history. This solution is offered by companies saying that CPN can be a substitute for SSN when applying for credit loans. These applications can still be denied since CPNs are not legal nor allowed by the government, as mentioned by the Office of the Inspector General. The OIG states that websites are offering CPN for a fee that ranges from $40 to $3,500 to get a new credit file for individuals with low credit scores.

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How to get a Tri Merge Credit Report?

The credit reports from Equifax, Transunion, and Experian can be easily accessed by pulling through an authorized reseller like iSoftpull. Resellers buy the data from Experian, Transunion, and Equifax, and use their software to run credit checks.

Tri Merge Credit Report Vendors

Tri Merge Credit Report Vendors provide the full credit report and FICO score for mortgage clients, business or personal loan clients, health & dental clients, automotive clients, home improvement clients, and online lenders and brokers’ clients. These clients only need to provide their name, address, and consent to generate the soft credit checks. These soft pulls give potential clients from these industries protection from identity thefts.  The score is not a reflection of the overall borrower's financial capability. For financial wellness to be more accurate, additional information from other credit reports and services must be availed.