Dear Creditnet: I just read Creditnet's article about the credit bureau, PRBC, and it sounds like a great thing...long overdue. My question is, when applying for a loan or credit cards, do most (or any) lenders check with PRBC along with the 3 major credit bureaus?
Also, does the PRBC report information to any of the big 3, and if not, can we request that they do so?
Answer: Since the PRBC, which now stands for "Payment Reporting Builds Credit", is another credit reporting agency, they don't actually report any information to the other big 3 credit bureaus- Equifax, Experian, and TU. What the PRBC is doing is independently verifying "nontraditional" payment data, such as rent and cell phone bills, and then providing this information in their own separate credit report that lenders can use to supplement the underwriting process when applicants have otherwise "thin" credit reports.
