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| Type | Public (LSE: EXPN) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 as Information Services Company |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
| Key people | John Peace, Chairman Don Robert, CEO Paul Brooks, CFO |
| Industry | Business Services |
| Revenue | $3,481 million USD (2007) |
| Operating income | $473 million USD (2007) |
| Net income | $463 million USD (2007) |
| Employees | 15,500 |
| Website | www.experiangroup.com |
Experian plc (LSE: EXPN), formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group, with operations in 36 countries.
The company employs 15,500 people. Experian's corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland with operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, U.S..
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Contents |
History
The Company was founded by John Peace in 1980 in Nottingham as CCN systems, an information services business owned by GUS plc.[1]
It acquired its US credit reporting business, formerly known as TRW Information Services, from Bain Capital and the Thomas H. Lee Company in 1996.[2]
Experian acquired CheetahMail, a business founded in 1998 providing e-mail marketing software and services in 2004.[3]
Experian was demerged from the British company GUS plc in October 2006 and listed on the London Stock Exchange.[4]
In December 2005 Experian acquired FootFall, an information provider to the retail and retail property industries:[5] FootFall is now a part of Experian's marketing solutions division.
Experian announced its purchase of Northern Credit Bureaus, located in Quebec, Canada in September 2006.[6]
In April 2007, Experian acquired Hitwise, an internet monitor that collects data directly from information service provider networks.[7]
Experian acquired the French leading e-mail marketing company Emailing Solution in May 2007.[8]
Operations
Experian's principal lines of business are credit services, marketing solutions, decision analytics and interactive services. The company collects information on people, businesses, motor vehicles and insurance. It also collects 'lifestyle' data from through on- and off-line surveys.
Its databases contain credit information on 215 million people in the United States and 450 million vehicles, including title and registration data. It provides address information for more than 20 billion promotional mail items to more than 100 million households every year. Experian also provides credit reports on businesses. This business unit partnered with eCredit[9] (now Cortera) in June 2007.
Like the other major credit reporting bureaus, Experian is chiefly regulated in the United States by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, signed into law in 2003, amended the FCRA to require the credit reporting companies to provide consumers with one free copy of their credit report per 12 month period. Like its main competitors, TransUnion and Equifax, Experian markets credit reports directly to consumers. Experian heavily markets its for-profit credit reporting service, FreeCreditReport.com, and all three agencies have been criticized and even sued for selling credit reports that can be obtained at no cost.[10][11]
Experian US handles its credit disputes in its National Consumer Assistance Center (NCAC) in Allen, Texas. You may contact the NCAC once you have a copy of your personal credit report by calling the number that is located on the personal credit report itself. Experian announced that it would be opening a second NCAC in Santiago, Chile during the summer of 2007. Many divisions of the Allen NCAC will be relocated to the Chile location.
Experian provides regional data at nationalscoreindex.com which shows average credit scores by region and zipcode as well as various other measures of household debt. The site does not indicate if it uses a FICO based credit score, the new VantageScore, or some other scoring model.
The company's largest operation is Experian North America, a consumer credit reporting agency that is considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Equifax and TransUnion (there is also a 4th agency known as Innovis). As well as the US, Experian has operations in most European countries as well as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, China, India, Japan and Australia.
Experian QAS
Experian QAS provides contact data management (CDM) software and services that help organisations drive value from their data.
Controversies
The Florida state attorney general is currently conducting a civil (not criminal) investigation of Experian for possible violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.[12] Possible violations include misleading advertising, misleading domain name, failure to honor cancellations, and failure to disclose a negative option enrollment.[13]
In 2008, Experian violated the Federal Trade Commission rules relating to the provision of free credit reports by mandating members provide credit card information before a request is fulfilled. The Federal Trade Commission's fraud unit received several complaints regarding this tactic and has now agreed a settlement with the company.[14]
In January 2008 Experian announced that over 200 jobs would go at its Nottingham office as it would move development work to India in a cost cutting move, causing concern amongst UK consumers over the security of personal data being moved overseas [15]
In December 2006, Experian, along with the two other major credit bureaus, had earned a grade of "F" in an appraisal of corporate customer services. Experian fared worse than the others, however, as it did not even provide customers with their customer service telephone number.[16]
In 1999 Experian was named in campaigning group Privacy International's Big Brother Awards as Britain's most invasive company [17]
References
- ^ Growing information arm shows value of Experian
- ^ Large British Retailer to buy US credit data company
- ^ Experian buys CheetahMail
- ^ London Stock Exchange company profile. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
- ^ FootFall acquisition press release Retrieved on 2008-05-24
- ^ Experian expands operations in Canada
- ^ Hitwise acquisition press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ^ Experian buys France's Emailing Solution
- ^ eCredit
- ^ Sullivan, Bob (2005-05-10). "Many free credit reports still aren't free", MSNBC.com, MSNBC. Retrieved on 29 October 2006.
- ^ "Experian, Consumerinfo.com Named In Class Action Suit". ConsumerAffairs.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
- ^ My Florida Legal
- ^ Red Tape website
- ^ Federal Trade Commission
- ^ Experian to cut 200 jobs Computer Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
- ^ Experian, Equifax & Trans Union Get “F” in Customer Service Survey. Guardmycreditfile.org. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ Collinson, Patrick, This is Your Life Guardian Special Report. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
See also
- Callcredit
- Equifax
- TransUnion
- Innovis
- credit reference agency
- Credit rating agency
- Intelliscore
- Identity theft
External links
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