Credit And Credit Cards

If you’ve been wondering what’s in your credit report, you’re probably way over due for a look at your credit history and score. But with so much information packed into each credit report, it can often be frustrating trying to decipher all of the codes, abbreviations and numbers within them. If you’re not sure how to read your credit report, you’re not alone. It can be tough trying to figure it all out, so keep reading to gain a better understanding.

For your convenience, many credit reports list personal information, credit history, public records and inquiries in different columns. This will make it easier for you to read and understand them. If you’re not sure what FICO means, it stands for Fair Isaac Corporation and it’s the most popular scoring system used by lenders.

You can expect to see your full name, address and social security number listed on your credit report. As you skim this information, check to see if everything is correct. As you go down this page, you will also see previous addresses listed along with your date of birth, phone number and employer name.

Check the public records section of your credit report if you have had credit problems in the past, such as collection accounts and bankruptcy. Don’t forget to go through this section, because if any of the listed information is false, your credit rating could be greatly affected.
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The credit history portion of your credit report will contain a list of all the credit accounts you’ve ever opened and closed. They will detail if you have paid on time or been late and might offer remarks, such as “pays on time” or “pays 30 days late.” The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion have tried to make reading credit reports easier on consumers by making their information less complicated.

Anytime you have applied for a line of credit in the past, it has been detailed in the inquiry section of your credit report. Review this section to see just who has been asking for a copy of your credit report. If you see anything suspicious, report it, but keep in mind that anytime you apply for an apartment, personal loan or credit card, your credit has been run.

It might take you a few tries to fully comprehend your credit report, but you’ll get there. The important thing is that you are keeping track of your credit history and rating and that is a wise investment for your future.

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If you’ve ever tried to figure out exactly what your credit rating is, you’ll know that your credit report is vital to knowing and understanding exactly what your current credit situation is. Of course, the need to know your credit rating shouldn’t be underestimated or overlooked… after all, good credit can open doors for you whereas bad credit can cost you loans, chequeing accounts, financial products, and even certain jobs and opportunities.

If you’ve never checked your credit, then you should obtain a copy of your credit report so that you can determine exactly where you are credit-wise and confirm that everything that affects your credit report is accurate.

What a Credit Report Is

Your credit report is a listing that is compiled by various credit agencies showing the various accounts that you have open and whether they are up to date or behind. Based upon the information provided in your credit report, you are given a numeric score… the higher the score is then the better your credit is, and the lower the score is then the worse your credit is.

As time goes by older debts and accounts will expire from your report unless new reports are being made to the credit agency by the provider of the credit line, loan, or account, in which case only the older reports that they have made will expire.

On average it takes five to seven years for any particular report to disappear from your overall credit report, though there are cases where certain reports are removed before that time.

How Your Credit Report Is Used

Your credit report can have several different uses, ranging from getting you approval for a loan to being a part of the job application process. It is generally used to gauge your financial situation and make sure that you can afford to pay your bills… most lenders are hesitant about giving a loan to an individual who has been several months late on all of their bills for several months previous to submitting a loan application. Likewise, employers who work in the finance industry or some other fields might not want to hire someone who is clearly having severe financial problems in order to reduce the temptation of theft.

Checking Your Credit Report

In order to check your credit report, you need to request a copy of it from one of the credit bureaus or credit reporting agencies. There is usually some fee associated with this, though there are some companies that provide a copy of your credit report to you free of charge in exchange for you signing up for a credit monitoring service. Depending upon where you live, you might also be able to obtain a copy of your credit report free from certain government agencies once per year. Once you’ve received a copy of your report, you should take some time to go over it in order to get a feel for the unique layout of the credit report and to identify the various accounts that have been reported to the credit bureau.

Repairing Incorrect Information

You may find that some of the information contained within your credit report is inaccurate or wrong. You might even find accounts listed that don’t belong to you. In either case, you should contact the credit bureau in writing to dispute the inaccuracies. They will investigate the validity of the claim and if they receive no response from the filing creditor or if they find that the information is actually incorrect, the credit bureau will remove the inaccuracy from your credit report which can help increase your credit score.

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

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Your credit report can be one of the most important pieces of information when it comes to your financial health. It is important that you have an understanding of all that it contains and how it relates to future credit you may apply for.

Your credit report says a lot about you

Your credit report tells a lender what kind of borrower you are. It tracks late payments, collection requests, and bankruptcies. It also tracks on time payments, loans that are paid off, and accounts that are opened and closed. It is your history and it can affect your future.

Too much credit can hurt you

It seems silly, but having too many credit card accounts on your credit report can actually hurt you even if you have no late payments and carry a low balance. Lenders worry that because you have the ability to run up high credit card bills, you might accrue a large debt and be unable to pay them back because you have other bills to pay. If you have credit cards in your wallet that you seldom use, close the accounts. Instead of carrying three gas credit cards, trim down to one, or put your gas purchases on a general use credit card.

What you don’t know can hurt you

Credit reports contain a lot of information about you and with the volume of information they are compiling, it is possible that it contains some mistakes. Perhaps you have closed an account that your credit report states is open or you have paid off a balance that is still listed. Whatever the discrepancy, if you notice an inaccuracy on your credit report, it is up to you to contact the credit bureau and get it corrected.

What you don’t do can hurt you

Missing credit card payments costs you more than just late fees. Having late payments reported on your credit report can keep you from getting a home loan or even buying a car and once accurate negative information is on your credit report it takes 7 years to get it erased. It is important to make your payments and make them on time and to carefully consider every purchase you place on a credit card.

View our recommended sources for a free trans union, experian and equifax credit report.
Also, view our recommended online companies to help you with debt problems, or view our recommended problem credit mortgage lenders online.

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