What is a Credit Report?
Credit reports are documents that provide information about your financial history. It is different than a Credit Score. This three-digit number indicates your likelihood of paying your debts. Credit scores are calculated based on information on credit reports.
Credit bureaus maintain your credit reports. There are many bureaus, but the three most important are Experian Equifax and TransUnion. Your lenders report credit information to the credit bureaus. Your lenders are not required to report credit information to the bureaus. This means that each bureau’s credit reports will be slightly different.
Credit reports generally include information about any loans or other debts that you have had in the past seven to ten year period. These reports will show you what accounts are open and closed, as well as whether or not your payments have been made on time. Your credit report will also contain information about your location and whereabouts, as well as public records like bankruptcies.
Who can access my Credit Report?
Anybody can view your credit report if you allow them to. This includes landlords, creditors, landlords, insurance agencies, and employers that may see your credit report to assess you for a job, offer, or service. Without your consent, government agencies, creditors, or others might be able see your credit file information without your permission.
A business might be able do a soft pull on your credit report to determine if you are eligible for preapproved offers. Targeted credit card offers that you receive in the mail are most likely the result of soft credit checks by the lender. Other than soft inquiries, entities might be able view your credit report without you consent in certain specific circumstances like child support determinations, court orders, grand jury subpoenas, and other cases .
You can see who has seen your credit report, when and where. This will allow you to make sure that no one is viewing your personal information without you consent.
Why is Credit Report so important?
Your credit score is calculated using information from your credit file. Your credit score can often determine whether you are approved for loans, credit cards or other funding. Your credit score can also impact the interest rate, which can affect how much your credit costs.
Your credit score can have an impact on other areas of your life. This could include your eligibility for certain jobs, your ability to rent an apartment, and whether you need to pay a deposit for utilities. You may not be eligible for the rates and loans you are entitled to if your credit report contains inaccurate information.
Sections of Credit Report
Your credit report can be broken down into several sections: account information, personal information, inquiries, personal statement, and public information. Although each bureau may display the information in a different way, the breakdown should be the same.
Personal Information
This section contains your name, addresses, social security number, and any other information that could be used to identify you. To verify that everything is correct, scan this section. You may have a file that contains incorrect addresses or variants of your name. This could indicate identity theft.
- Name and any other names that you have used
- Number of the Report
- Social security number
- Date of birth
- Telephone number
- Addresses current and past
- Data on employment
Information about your Account
Your credit report will include every credit account that was reported to the bureau in the last seven to ten year. Each account is identified with a name, account number, and other details about its history. To ensure accuracy, please review the information.
- Name of the lender and account number
- If applicable, date of account opening and closing
- Type of account: Installment or Revolving
- Ownership (individual or joint, authorized user)
- Original and current balance
- Credit limit and/or maximum balance
- Monthly payment amount
- History of payments
- Current status (paid as agreed or 30 days late, etc.
These accounts can be organized according to whether they are potentially negative or in good standing. To ensure that you’re reviewing the entire document, make sure to look at every account.
You might be able to recognize some of the companies listed here. You might not recognize the name of the company reporting credit. For example, your airline rewards credit card will most likely be listed under the issuer’s rather than the airline name. This could indicate fraud or identity theft. To be able to contact each company directly, your credit report should include their contact information. Ask the bureau for this information if it is not.
Inquiries
The “credit history request” or inquiries section lists all instances that someone has accessed your credit reports and the reasons. Anyone who checks your credit report can see hard inquiries. These are when someone inspects your report to assess you for credit. These are not visible to you. They occur when other people view your report.
Personal Statement
You may also be able to see a section that includes a personal statement if you have placed fraud alerts or disputed something.
Public Records or Public Information
You can list certain types of public records on your report. This includes bankruptcies as well as certain types of collections accounts.
Check Your Reports Frequently
Take a closer look at every section of your credit report when you are reviewing it. Check that everything is correct. You can ask the credit bureau to investigate any errors, especially negative ones.
Important facts on Credit Reports
Credit bureaus do not judge credit reports or the information contained in them. The bureau’s report is nothing more than a compilation of information. This information is used by lenders to determine whether you are eligible for credit.
The reports are constantly changing. Companies are always reporting information about accounts and payments. The information in your report is only a reflection of the data available at the time. This can change tomorrow.
The information shared by the three credit bureaus is not shared with one another. This can lead to information in credit files that are slightly different. Lenders and other creditors don’t have to report to all three credit bureaus, or even to any one of them.
A credit report must be free from errors. This right is outlined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
You can ask the bureau for an investigation if you discover a mistake in your credit report. The law requires that the bureau open an investigation within a reasonable time. The credit bureau must correct or remove any information that is not supported by documentation from the entity reporting it. If you wish, you can consult a credit recovery company to assist you in this process.
Each bureau is entitled to one free credit check every 12 months. You may be eligible for a credit report in certain cases if you are denied credit due to information in your file. You should be notified by the lender that you have been denied credit due to this information. Also, which bureau it was received from. This letter can be used to request a copy from the bureau concerned.
Is it possible to lower your credit score by checking your credit reports?
No. Soft inquiries are those that you make to your credit report. Your credit score is not affected by soft inquiries. This is in contrast to a hard inquiry which happens when a lender checks the credit of a borrower when they offer a loan. Your score can be affected by hard inquiries.