Experian Announces the Experian Credit Educator(SM) Service, Making it the Only Credit Reporting Agency to Offer Personalized, Live Telephone-Based Credit Education

COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian®, the leading global information services company, today announced Experian Credit Educator(SM), 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:

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.

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.

Contact:
Kristine Snyder  
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5192
[email protected]

SOURCE Experian