What is a credit report – Tell me what’s on it
What is a credit report? Your credit report is a snapshot of your payment history. It details when you applied for credit, how many positive and negative accounts you have, who viewed your credit report, and all of your personal information. Reviewing your credit report every four to six months gives you a chance to check for identity theft, inaccurate accounts, and incorrect information. It allows you to manage your financial situation before applying for a credit card, auto loan, bank loan, mortgage loan, employment, or insurance. For example, if you check your credit and notice that there were a few negative items on your report, you will have a chance to fix those items before applying for credit. By doing this, you avoid embarrassment and several inquiries, which lower your credit score.
What information is in my credit report?
Every credit report looks slightly different, but it contains the same information about you and your accounts. Credit cards, car loans, and mortgage loans in your report are called trade lines. The consumer credit report starts with a summary of facts and your report number. The following is a list of critical information that you should pay attention to on your credit reports:
Cover Page:
When you first get your credit report, the cover page will have your name, report date, report number, and address of the credit bureaus.
Creditor/Collection Agency Name:
Here, the creditor or the collection agency will list their name and address, but no phone number is included. A partial number of your account will be listed also to protect you from identity theft.
Type and Responsibility:
This is the type of loan you have and who is responsible for the loan.
Date Open and Date of Status:
This is the date your account was opened and when the creditor first reported payment information about you to the credit bureau.
Reported Since and Last Reported:
This is the date the creditor first reported your payment history, as well as the last date they reported your status.
Terms and Monthly Payment:
This is how long you are contracted to pay the debt and how much you pay per month.
Credit Limit/Original Amount:
This area tells you how much your credit limit was when you first got the account.
Recent Balance and High Balance:
In this area, the credit report displays your most recent balance from your account and the highest balance you ever had with the trade line.
Status and Account History:
This section shows if you are current on your bills or if the account was closed or paid. Furthermore, it also displays your payment history.
Comments:
In this part of the report, the creditor will comment on whether the consumer closed the account or the lending institution closed the account.
History of Your Accounts:
This area will display your entire paying history since you opened the account, and each one of your accounts will be listed in this section.
Record of Request for Your Credit History:
In this section, you can see who requested to evaluate your credit report. Most companies looking at your information are your current creditor and collection agencies. Under the shared inquiry area, which is in this section as well, will display companies that are trying to offer you pre-approved credit applications.
Personal Information:
Here, you will find your name, address, date of birth, telephone number, spouse name/co-applicant, and your employer’s name. No social security number will be listed.
Public Records:
This section displays public record information like bankruptcies, judgments, tax liens, civil lawsuits, and overdue child support payments.
The remaining portion of your credit report contains addresses of companies that requested your credit report.
What is a credit report and understanding it is not hard, you just need to take your time and review it.
Mark Clayborne is a Certified Credit Consultant with ten years of experience assisting consumers with credit issues. If you liked this article, then please sign up to read the first chapter of The Credit Repair Book and get a Free Restore your Credit E-class at http://www.hiddencreditrepairsecrets.com This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any Ezine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
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