All about your credit history report

Important Credit Report Facts

1. The credit reporting agencies will not judge you. All they are doing is compiling facts regarding your credit. The lenders and banks that you apply to will judge whether your credit is good enough for them to approve.
2. Your credit report is not set in stone. It will change often. The information in your credit report is the most up to date information that was available to be put in the report.
3. The three credit reporting agencies are for-profit companies and they do not share information between each other. If there is something on one report, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will find it on the other report.
4. The information on your credit report will be used to calculate your credit scores. If you find a mistake on your credit report, you should file the dispute with the agency immediately to fix your credit score.
5. You can get one free credit report from each agency every calendar year.
6. It is not required for lenders to report every detail to the credit reporting agencies. There are certain companies like utility companies and cell phone providers who do not report to the credit agencies.
7. Under federal law, you can dispute any mistakes you find on your credit report. This is called the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Who Has Access To Your Credit Report?

You are not the only person who can get access to your credit report. There are a number of organizations that can get access to your credit report. Some of these agencies are:

• Insurance companies
• Government agencies
• Potential Employers
• Creditors

Who Sees Your Credit Reports?

The list of organizations who can view a version of your credit reports is a limited one. It includes:

• Creditors
• Potential employers
• Insurance companies
• Certain government agencies

Under Federal law they are allowed to check your credit before agreeing to do business with you. The good news is that the Fair Credit Reporting Act can limit who has access to your credit report and under what circumstances they can access it.

How to Read Your Credit Reports

Your credit reports are broken into several different parts, and you’ll want to review each one carefully for errors and omissions regarding all of your key identifying information. This information includes your name, current and former addresses, your employer (if it’s available), credit card and loan payments, inquiries, collection records and public records such as bankruptcy filings and tax liens.

Each account listed will show your payment history along with other account details like your credit limit, when the account was established, the type of account (installment, revolving,) etc. If you find errors, you’ll want to act quickly to correct them using this guide on how to dispute errors on your credit reports.

Here are the fundamental areas to focus on in your review and anytime you choose to monitor your credit accounts:

Personal Information

This section might not seem all that important, but it definitely is, so follow up on any errors you find. Make sure the spelling of your name is accurate, as well as your address, date of birth, Social Security number and even any suffixes you use, such as Jr., or Ph.D., are correct.

Also, be sure your employers are listed correctly, but don’t be surprised if you see out-of-date employment information. Lenders don’t usually rely on that data, but do investigate if you see addresses that are completely wrong (e.g., you never lived there) or variations of your name you don’t recognize. They could mean your credit information is getting mixed up with that of someone else, or they could be a sign of identity theft.

Account Names

All of your current and prior credit accounts and their associated details are listed in this section. Check the account numbers (they could be truncated) to ensure they are (or were) yours. Each individual account listing will include:

• Lender name and account number
• Date the account was opened and closed (if applicable)
• Original and current balance
• Monthly payment amount
• Payment history
• Current status (paid as agreed, 30 days late, etc.)

Credit Limits

You might see some creditors reporting what your highest balance was on the account. They may also report your credit limit.

Keep in mind that credit reports are compiled when requested. That means that your credit report includes the latest information reported by your lenders. If your lender hasn’t reported that you paid your balance off yet, for example, the last balance reported will show up here. It may take up to 30 days for your current balance to be reported.

Public Records

This is where major derogatory information goes in your report and, while it’s not fun to look at, it’s still important to ensure all the information here is accurate. Information in this section can include civil judgments, bankruptcies, federal, state and county property and tax liens, and collection accounts.

Dates in this section are particularly important because they can indicate when these derogatory marks will come off your credit reports. Make sure both the dates and balances are reported correctly.

But Where’s My Credit Score?

You won’t receive a free credit score when you get your free annual credit report. However, there are other sources that will give you a truly free credit score, such as Credit.com. The credit score takes information from the report and evaluates it to predict whether you are a good credit risk or not.

A high score means you’re a good candidate to pay back a loan on time. A low credit score might mean you have a history of not doing such a great job of paying back your debts, or you have a limited track record with credit, and are therefore more risky.

You can get your two free credit scores, updated every 30 days, along with a personalized action plan for your credit, at Credit.com.

If you have a higher FICO score, then you may be able to take advantage of lower interest rates which could ultimately save you thousands of dollars.

The Importance of Monitoring Your Credit Report

Monitoring your credit report regularly awards you the opportunity to be able to identify any problems or suspicious activity earlier. Doing so may be able to help curve the financial disaster that can be experienced as a result of fraud and identity theft.

When you monitor your credit, you should always monitor all three bureau credit reports to get a better picture of your overall financial health and well-being. It also offers you the chance to find opportunities to further boost your score or show you areas in which you need to improve or repair your credit score.

Always keep in mind the importance of your credit report and take the steps to protect yourself and your financial future.