What’s in My Credit Report?

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:36:23 +0000

Your credit report contains a list of every member creditor who has lent you money or provided you with credit in any way. It shows your charge accounts, automobile loans, bank and student loans, home mortgage, and any other credit-related transaction. It shows when the credit line was opened, the highest amount you ever borrowed, how much you owe now, and whether you’ve missed any payments or were late.

Your credit report also contains certain items known as “Public Records”. Public Records include any credit-related lawsuits that you may have been involved in as well as liens, repossessions, foreclosures, judgments and bankruptcies.

Credit bureaus also report the names of other member creditors who have made inquiries into your account. If a potential lender sees too many recent inquiries, they might not grant you credit if they feel that you are getting overextended.

There are, however, two types of inquiries that are part of your record but are never seen by creditors. There are inquiries made by you, on your own behalf, and inquiries made by companies that send you all of those unsolicited credit card and loan offers that you get in the mail. So, while these offers may be annoying to some, the good news is that you are not being penalized by them.

How am I identified in my credit report?

Your credit report lists your name, current and previous addresses, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Spouses Name (if you are married) and your employer.

What other personal information do “they” know about me?

Nothing. By law, your credit report cannot contain information about your race, religious beliefs, political affiliations, sexual preferences, criminal records, or any other lifestyle issues.

How far back does my credit report go?

Positive or “good” credit information remains on your report for as long as you have an active credit relationship with the creditor and for up to seven years after that relationship ends satisfactorily.

Negative, or “bad credit” remains for seven years except for bankruptcies which remain for up to 10 years. The public record information that we mentioned earlier can remain for up to seven years after you remedy the problem that caused the information to appear in the first place.

An unpaid judgment, which is an amount of money that a court has decided that you owe as the result of you’re having lost some legal action against you, such as not paying a bill which resulted in the creditor taking you to court, can remain on your report for up to 7 years AFTER you pay the judgment, and will remain indefinitely if you do not pay it.

Creditor inquiries generally stay on your report for up to two years.

Managing Credit Reports

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:49:18 +0000

The world today works largely on credit. It can buy you a home or a car, finance your expenses for college, marriage and get you loans. However, if misused, credit can be a devil in disguise and demolish you financially. It is therefore essential to manage credit wisely.

In order to obtain credit, you have to have your credit report reviewed by your lender. The credit report has a huge impact on your financial future, so it is critical to be aware of the information it contains.

A credit report is a summary of how you pay your bills, repay loans; how much credit you have available; what your monthly debts are; and other such matters that can help a prospective lender decide if you are a good credit risk. Credit monitoring is done by three major credit bureaus called Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Additionally a credit report score called FICO is also maintained; credit scores are based on formulae that use the information in your report, but they’re not considered part of your credit report.

Employers, insurance agents and future creditors will all assess your credit report to get information about you. Since it is such an important document, the law provides you protection against incorrect information. Always ask for your free credit report copy which you can avail of once every year. The request for an online credit report can be done on the Internet as well.

If at any time you are denied credit, you must get a copy of the annual credit report to ensure the information is correct or not. You have the right to know which credit reporting agency has prepared the report. A free credit report has to be made available to you within 60 days of being denied credit.

If you find the information in the credit report erroneous, you are entitled to ask the credit reporting agency to investigate the claim within 30 business days. If you are not in consonance with the credit bureau’s investigation, you can file a brief explaining your point of view. This must be included in the credit report whenever it is sent out. The credit reporting agency is obligated to, under law, correct the information found erroneous.

Other than bankruptcy, any negative information older than seven years cannot be permitted to be entered in the credit report. Negative information may include late payments, bankruptcy, liens and accounts given to a collection agency. This does not necessarily preclude you from getting additional credit as different creditors review credit history in different ways.

It is important to constantly monitor credit reports so ensure that your creditworthiness is not at risk. Identity theft often poses a huge problem and can siphon you off of thousands of dollars if you are not careful. There are several ways for monitoring credit reports as well as credit scores.

Credit Freezes – They limit access to the credit report which remains locked till such time that the consumer removes it.
Fraud Alerts – They alert the lenders on thieves stealing the credit report. In the meanwhile the consumer can continue to obtain new credit.
Credit Monitoring Services – This service provides online credit reports notifying you any significant changes occurring daily or weekly. It ensures quick notification of identity theft or ongoing fraudulent activities.
Do-it-Yourself credit monitoring – You can obtain an annual credit report free of cost through annualreport.com.
Bank credit monitoring services – Here the bank takes on the task of monitoring credit reports and notifies you of changes daily or weekly. It ensures quick awareness of any fraudulent activity or inaccuracies in your credit report as well.

Credit, Credit & My Credit » CREDIT REPORT

What’s in My Credit Report?

Managing Credit Reports