CREDITREPORT

Hello, I'm John.  Everyone is entitled to a free copy of their Credit Report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. These agencies are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. You won't know exactly what your Credit Report score is unless you get your credit reports from all three agencies.

That's why we've created this special page within the site to advise on how to maintain a good credit score.

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The credit report information is used in a variety of ways.  When the consumer checks the credit report information they are looking for accuracy and any possibility of fraud. 

Knowledge Is Power Credit Report Information

The extending of credit is that financial transaction in which a financial institution loans money to a customer.  Generally, there is a set amount agreed upon, the signing of a legal contract, set number of payments, agreed upon interest rate, other terms, etc. 

In addition, to help lending institutions, this credit information is forwarded on to three credit reporting agencies.  The gathering of this credit information helps financial institutions to evaluate potential customers and determine their credit risk. 

The three credit reporting agencies are Experian, Transunion and Equifax.  Therefore, for the consumer it is important to know what credit report information is contained on the credit report and how that credit card information is used.

What Credit Report Information Is Reflected?

First of all, due to recent legislation, an individual is entitled to receive a free credit report.  A consumer may request their credit report in a number of ways.  Those ways include calling or going on line to one of the free credit report websites or to one of the three credit reporting bureaus.

Also, it is important to be aware that when the individual orders their report they maybe offered other services.  These additional services may include a monthly fee that monitors and tracks inquiries made on an individuals credit account.  In addition, the consumer may be asked if they would like to be made aware of their FICO score.  The FICO score is separate from the credit report and is a number that is computed using a variety of weighted indicators based on a persons credit.  Often, the FICO score will be an added charge. 

When a person receives their credit report there will be, depending upon the individuals credit activity, a number of items listed.  Those items include all of the past and present credit activity that the individual has been involved with.  This includes credit card activity, revolving charge card activity, loans, etc.

In addition, each of the accounts will show the recent balance owed, timeliness of payments, credit card limit in dollars, whether payments have been delinquent, which accounts are open, which accounts are closed, etc.  Also, the personal information of the individual will be listed.  That information includes past and present addresses, aliases, date of birth, etc.

Also, and maybe most important, the report will reflect any activity that may be false, but reflected on your credit report.  If in fact there is false information on your report, including unauthorized account openings, the individual has a right to dispute that information.  This is probably the most important reason to, at least annually, review a credit report.

 

When a lending agency accesses a persons credit report information they are looking for a persons ability to honor credit contracts.  Specifically they are looking at the customers ability to repay, according to the terms of the contract, and make timely payments. 

What Does Your Credit Report Score Really Mean?

If you don't know what your credit report score is, you should check as soon as possible. The reason is that having a good credit report score could mean the difference between saving thousands of dollars, getting that good job you want, or getting that loan or credit card you've applied for. Not knowing your credit report score could mean that someone has stolen your identity and trashed your credit without your knowledge. How do you check your credit report score? You do it by getting a copy of your credit report.

Free Credit Reports

Every person is entitled to a free copy of their credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. The three agencies are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. You won't know exactly what your credit report score is unless you get your credit reports from all three agencies. However, if you're trying to make a purchase, it might pay to contact the lender you're trying to get credit with to see which agency they report to.

Getting A Line of Credit

When you try to get a line of credit, whether to finance a house or a car, check with the lender to see which credit agency they report to. For example, one company may report to Experian while another may report to Trans Union. If the company reports to Experian, they're going to look at your credit report score from that agency only. So if you have anything to fix on that report, you'll want to focus only on that report. Of course, it pays to fix your credit report score on all three reports, but if you're doing it to get a line of credit, only fixing the report that particular lender looks at should take priority.

Saving Money

By fixing your credit report score, you could potentially save thousands of dollars over time. That's because you'll always get the lowest possible interest rates, you'll get the highest lines of credit and people will just trust you more with their money. By having a high credit report score, you are proving to others that you're trustworthy, that you always pay off your debts in a timely manner and they will be more than likely to lend you all the money you want. Your credit report score should be very important to you, in other words, so you should do all you can to raise it as soon as you can.

It is always a good idea to think about getting your credit report at least once in a year and though you may need to pay a small fee in order to get your credit report, it is nevertheless money well spent. Mostly, the costs will differ from one credit reporting agency to another and often, it may not amount to more than fifteen dollars for each bureau, though it is also possible to get your credit report at a lower cost, and in some instances it is even possible to get your credit report for free.

 
 

It is not so uncommon these days for an average person to have a few less than satisfactory remarks being placed on their credit reports. Rather than let such fair credit reports get you down, you should realize that there is a brighter side to it, provided you know what it is.

Learn More About What Placing a Credit Report Fraud Alert Involves

Obtaining a free copy of ones credit report once in a year is the right of every American who is in fact, protected by US law. Though this should be good news for the average American, unfortunately the laws that were meant to protect the American citizen have in fact given rise to a lot of confusion, and even, in some instances, to credit report fraud scams.

One of the most common instances of credit report fraud scams is the websites that proclaim that they will provide you with free credit reports provided you part with your credit card details. Of course, if you did not already know a thing about how to obtain your credit report, this may actually sound like a reasonable request.

 File a Fraud Alert on Your Credit File

However, in case you have been made a victim of identity theft, you need not lose all hope because you can still take some steps to reduce the harm caused to your finances and also to your reputation. One such step that you will need to take is to attach to your credit file a fraud alert that will inform credit issuers about your having been made a victim of identity theft. The placing of the fraud alert will then force the issuer into verifying with you before allowing fresh credit.

Thus, the credit report fraud alert acts as an impediment that can be likened to a roadblock, since it will force creditors to check with you before issuing credit. So, they will thwart the identity thiefs ability to do any mischief in your name. A corollary of filing a credit report fraud alert is that it will result in your being sent a free credit report from each of the three main credit reporting agencies.

Also, by placing a credit report fraud alert, it will make the fraud alert to kick in. Thus, it will put a stop to those pesky credit pre-approval letters that would otherwise have bothered you at least, till a decent time interval has passed. Thus, your name will no longer figure on lists of credit marketing companies for at least two years. Though it is mainly a good thing, in case you needed what those credit offers were offering, you would not be able to partake of the offers.

To be sure, the credit report fraud alert only protects new accounts. If the thief was clever enough to have used your current credit, then the credit report fraud alert would actually prove to be ineffective. In addition, the credit report fraud alert can also end up delaying any applications you may have made to get credit or loans. This is because the whole procedure would involve many more hurdles than is the case of not having placed a credit report fraud alert.

 

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The truth is that many people that have fair credit reports can still qualify and get credit cards without having to pay exorbitant interest rates, even in spite of the fact that there are certain discrepancies in their credit reports. All it takes is being able to show the right attributes when applying for a credit card.

A Few Tips Related to Understanding How to Read a Credit Report 

When it comes to learning how to read a credit report, one can very often easily become confused. However, there is no need for it, since you only need to understand the implications of what all of the information contained in your credit reports really mean.

The reports can also easily be divided into any of four different sections that can be studied individually for greater clarity. The first category is, of course the section which contains information that identifies you and includes your address, name as well as social security number and even driving license number and name of spouse, your date of birth and telephone number.

The second section is the one that contains your credit history and includes your credit accounts. It contains information such as the duration for which you have held the account, the kind of account it is, and whether it is jointly held or not, and also the loan amount taken and credit limits.

If anyone wishes to learn how to read a credit report, this section must be read over carefully in order to find out whether an individual has been making timely payments or not. It is also to determine whether that individual has ever owed money that was not repaid. 

Another important aspect in learning how to read a credit report concerns the third section. In this section, the credit report contains information about your public records including any bankruptcies, judgments that have been made that were not in your favor and also any tax liens.

Yet another important aspect to learning how to read a credit report deals with the fourth section in which is contained information regarding enquiries that have been made about you. Thus, whenever an enquiry is made regarding your credit standing, such information is included in this section of your credit report though to be sure, soft enquiries are not included.

According to the Fair and Accurate Transactions Law that came into force in early December of the year 2003, each and every American citizen has the right to obtain a copy of his or her credit report. They can obtain it once a year, and without cost, from the three major credit report bureaus , which are Trans Union, Experian and Equifax. 

The bottom line is that it is really not at all hard to learn how to read a credit report because the reports are most often made in this basic format. It is also standard practice for credit bureaus to give explanations of terms used (usually at the back of the report) and these explanations help let you know what various letters and numbers against your account really mean.