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Credit Report Secrets: Do You Know What They Reveal?
If you've ever applied for a credit card or loan, you've
probably had your credit report reviewed by the lender. Your
credit report has a huge impact on your financial future, so it's
well worth your time to be sure that you understand what your
credit report says about you. Even if you're not interested in
obtaining credit, your credit report can impact other areas of
your life. Potential employers view your credit report to assess
your trustworthiness as an employee. Landlords frequently check
the credit reports of their tenants before allowing them to sign
or renew their lease.
So whether you knew it or not, your credit report can have a
major impact on your quality of life. With this said I'm sure you
can now see that there is a benefit to obtaining and then
verifying that the information on your credit report is accurate
and true.
You can request copies of your report from the three major
credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A recent
amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each
of these national consumer-reporting companies to provide you
with a yearly free copy of your credit report upon your
request.
Basically, your 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 types of information that can help a
prospective lender decide if you are a good credit risk.
Your credit report is made up of several sections. The first
section contains personal identifying information such as your
name, current and previous addresses, social security number,
telephone number, birth date, and your current and previous
employers.
Your bill paying history with banks, retail stores, finance
companies, mortgage companies, and others who have granted you
credit is one of the most important parts of your credit report.
Public records that might indicate your credit worthiness, such
as tax liens, court judgments, and bankruptcies are also included
in the section detailing your credit history.
Your credit report includes a comprehensive listing of all
credit granters and other individuals who have received a copy of
your credit report. In addition, lists of companies that have
received your name and address in order to offer you credit are
also included in your credit report.
Most credit bureaus allow both the consumer and the creditor
to make statements if there is a dispute about something on the
report. If applicable, your credit report will include these
dispute statements.
Your credit report does not include bank account balances,
race, religion, health, criminal records, driving records, or
annual income. You've probably heard about a FICO credit score as
well. Credit scores are based on formulas that use the
information in your report, but they're not considered part of
your credit report.
Problems with your credit report will result in you either
being denied credit or receiving a higher interest rate. Red
flags on your credit report include excessive applications for
additional credit, a short credit history, a high debt ratio, and
late payments to previous creditors. In most cases, negative
information will stay on your report for seven years. However,
bankruptcy information stays on your credit report for ten
years.
To help improve your credit report, always remember to close
unused accounts, pay your bills on time, never use all of your
available credit, and don't apply for unnecessary credit.
If you would like to get more free credit report
information you can visit our website which contains many
credit
report resources. http://www.my-credit-report.info
This article is copyright 2005, but can be freely reprinted,
as long as no changes are made, including hyperlinks.
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News
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