For a long time, consumers who wanted to improve their ability to secure a loan will work towards improving their scores with the three credit bureaus.   Since the bureaus offered access to the credit reports, people can take a look and see where they might have been getting a bad mark.

That may soon change as Experian, one of the three, has decided to cut off consumer access to their database.  Starting last Feb. 14, 2009, the company no longer has a standing agreement with FICO Score creator Fair Isaac Corp., which sold reports to end users based on Experian’s database.

With the severance of the agreement, Experian scores will now only be available to lenders and financial institutions who can use it to determine whether a consumer should be approved for a loan.  Of course, there’s still TransUnion and Equifax, both of whom maintain relatively the same information as Experian and will still be available.  Problem is, wouldn’t one credit bureau restricting access to its information provide a lead for the other two to follow suit?

If it does, that means an even tougher time getting loans for consumers who already have a difficult road ahead of them as it is.  How can you fix your credit rating, after all, when you have no idea what parts of it need fixing?

TransUnion, for its part at least, has made a statement that they will continue to provide access to their loan and payment records for consumers.  Hopefully, their position stays that way for a long time.