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Credit reports have long been used to determine whether consumers can get credit cards and mortgages, and the rate they'll have to pay on them. But these reports -- and credit scores generated from them -- are increasingly being applied to other things, from setting the price on auto insurance to analyzing prospective tenants and screening job applicants. Consumer activists argue that the system is unfair to many Americans, especially those with little credit experience or with blemished credit records. And some people have begun fighting back in the courts. Credit reports are the records kept by credit agencies -- including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion -- that track the amount of credit consumers have and whether they pay their bills on time. Scores can be derived from the credit reports, either by the agencies themselves or private companies that are customers, to reflect an individual's creditworthiness. The best known is a FICO score, used since the 1990s by banks and other lenders when they underwrite home mortgages. One of the most contentious uses of credit reports is in employment. [more

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