A credit report agency does send out credit reports when they are requested, but they are also who the loan, finance and credit card companies contact to check your credit report. They send the report to the company via email or mail, and that company uses the credit report supplied to decide if they should extend an offer of credit to you.

A credit report agency is also who you need to contact if there is something in your credit report that you wish to dispute. It is only through them that you can have a note put on your credit report that there is a dispute on a certain account or if there is a possibility of identity theft concerning your accounts and social security number.

There are three major credit reporting agencies that companies use to check your credit report.  Those credit report agencies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These are also the three credit reporting agencies that you need to contact to receive a copy of your credit report. To contact a credit report agency for a copy of your credit report, mail them a written request to send you a copy.  When they receive your request, they will send a copy of your credit report to the address which you supplied them. You can also contact each credit report agency by going online and going to their website.