Experian announces the Experian Credit EducatorSM service, making it the only credit reporting agency to offer personalized, live telephone-based credit education
Committed to providing valuable education to increase consumer knowledge about their credit, Experian provides live interaction with Credit Educator agents
Costa Mesa, Calif., Oct. 4, 2011 — Experian®, the leading global information services company, today announced Experian Credit EducatorSM, a dedicated consumer-education service that is now available to consumers. Experian’s lending clients — such as banks, mortgage companies and credit unions — also can offer it to their customers as a valuable benefit.
“The economic recession has significantly changed consumer awareness and attitudes toward credit and we found that consumers were asking Experian for assistance in taking a more active role in understanding their credit. The Credit Educator program is our response to this consumer request and provides a dedicated one-on-one focus on credit education to increase dialogue and provide personalized tips for maintaining a healthy credit profile,” said Andrew Sheehan, senior vice president, Consumer Information Services, Experian. “Our clients see this trend for credit knowledge growing as well and are looking to education as a way to improve customer loyalty, while providing an added-value to their customers.”
The Experian Credit Educator service provides a private, telephone-based session conducted by a trained, U.S.-based agent. The consumer receives a copy of his or her Experian credit report and VantageScore®, the industry’s first credit score developed jointly by the three national credit reporting companies. During the session, the Experian Credit Educator agent will provide a detailed review of each section of the consumer’s credit report, how credit works, how items affect the credit score, an explanation of the VantageScore and score factors, national and regional score averages and guidance for maintaining a healthy credit profile.
Experian is equipped to provide credit education in multiple capacities:
• Experian Credit Educator for Consumers — This service is available for $29.95 to consumers who are interested in achieving their optimal financial health by receiving in-depth credit education for a variety of situations and assists consumers in answering credit related questions, such as:
• I paid my bill in full, so why is it still showing up on my credit report?
• How can applying for credit impact my score?
• What are the factors impacting my credit score?
• How do I know if my credit score is good or not?
• What are some actions I can take to optimize my credit score?
• Experian Credit Educator for Enterprises — This unique service is offered to banks, mortgage companies, credit unions or any other company that uses credit data to make lending decisions to provide an added-value and satisfaction to their customers. Those business clients will be provided with a dedicated toll-free number and can direct their customers to Experian for a personal education session that covers each of the topics listed above, as well as to inquire about their credit score and how creditworthiness can affect lending decisions. With recent regulatory changes, many lenders are faced with a growing number of customer inquiries about credit. The Experian Credit Educator for Enterprises service provides them with a resource to address those questions and enhance their customers’ experience.
To gauge consumers’ receptiveness to receiving credit education, Experian launched a pilot program earlier in the year that comprised consumers from several of Experian’s utility clients. Exit surveys were conducted, and the results showed that more than 96 percent of respondents indicated they were likely or very likely to act on the knowledge they received and/or would change how they use credit. Additionally, 98 percent of the consumers found the service “helpful” in understanding credit and how it impacts them. Below are examples of consumers’ comments:
• “I now feel like I know what I need to do to get where I want to be with my credit score.”
• “The person I worked with was extremely helpful, understanding and well versed in her field. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about credit.”
Experian currently provides consumer credit and identity theft services to more than 10 million subscribers; assists millions of consumers annually with disputes, fraud alerts and credit-related questions. Experian has years of expertise and firsthand insight into the types of questions consumers have about credit. The service is an extension of this infrastructure and creates an even more robust component of credit education.
Contact:
Kristine Snyder
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5192
kristine.snyder@experian.com
About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 80 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.
Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2011 was $4.2 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 41 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.
Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
VantageScore® is owned by VantageScore Solutions, LLC.