 TITLE: What Are Credit Bureaus and How Do They Work? CONTENT: Who Uses Credit Reports?\n------------------------\nThe same creditors that send information to the credit bureaus often purchase credit reports and credit scores from the bureaus.\nThey use credit reports and scores to help determine whether to approve or deny an application and the interest rates on loans and credit cards they approve. Credit reports and scores can help creditors determine the likelihood that someone can repay a loan, and by extension the risk associated with lending the person money. Riskier borrowers (in other words, those with lower credit scores) get charged a higher interest rate because there's a greater chance they won't repay the entire loan or make regular credit card payments.\nAdditionally, creditors regularly purchase credit reports and scores for their current customers. They may decide to close your account, or raise or lower your credit limit, based on changes in your credit report.\nThe credit bureaus also sell credit reports to landlords, marketing companies and employers, but these reports don't include as much information as the reports that creditors receive. For example, the credit report an employer receives won't have your account numbers on it. END