Learn To Read And Interpret Your Credit Reports
After receiving a copy of your credit report, it's time to check each and every information
contained in it to see whether you have a reason to claim a dispute or not. Reading a credit report does not need to be an intimidating task. In this article, let's talk about what each detail in your credit report means to you:Identifying Information
This section is where you'll find basic information about you. Details such as your name, home address, SSN, date of birth, driver's license number, phone numbers, spouse's name, employer's address, etc. Nevertheless, you should still take the time to inspect each of these details to make sure that everything is correct. It is entirely common for a credit report to contain misspelled names, incomplete address, or wrong phone numbers. Also, a single wrong digit in your Social Security or Driver's License number can make you an entirely different person. Thus, it is essential to check if all these relevant details are accurately listed.
Your Credit History
This is the highlight of your credit report and the number one reason why you requested a copy. Under this section, all your activities that has to do with your finances are recorded. These are the items that you can expect to find in the credit history section of your report: company name, account number, the type of account (individual, undesignated, joint, authorized user, co-signer, etc.), the opening date, months reviewed, last activity (payment or charge), credit limit, terms, balances, past due charges, current status of your account, timeliness of payment, etc. If you have accounts that have been passed on to a collection agency, you can find it in the Collection Accounts section.
Scrutinizing this particular section of your report might require you to be very careful but always consider that in these cases, the tiniest error can cause huge problems in your finances. So take your time and carefully examine each of your accounts.
Public Records Section
This is the section of your credit report that should be empty. Bankruptcy records, judgments, tax liens, overdue child support, collections counts, etc. A record under this section will instantly have a negative impact to your credit score.
The Inquiry Section
This last section contains inquiries made by the creditors you've submitted an application to. Before your approval will be granted, a credit report check will always be implemented by the lenders to see if you're a high-risk borrower or not. Thus, when applying for a loan or a credit card, don't submit several applications to different lenders or banks at once in the hope that one of them gives you an approval. Applications declined by your creditors will obviously have a negative impact to your score. On the other hand, creditors who initiated to take a look at your credit report because of your good reputation will not damage your credit score at all.
Copyright (c) 2009 Suzy Vanstrusen
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