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Understanding Your Credit REPORTS
The "Fair Credit Reporting Act" controls how your credit
history is kept, used and shared among lenders and
creditors in the USA. It is designed to ensure accuracy
as well as the privacy of the information used in the
three major credit reports. The three following major
Credit Reporting Agencies have credit files on millions
of consumers nationwide:
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Anyone who takes adverse action against you in response
to a report supplied by a Credit Reporting Agency – such
as denying your application for credit, insurance, or
employment – must give you the name, address, and
telephone number of the Credit Reporting Agency that
provided the report.
What is in a Credit Report?
Credit report is a document containing data about your credit history. The information provided by your lenders or other organizations ends up on your credit report. This report tells about the amount that you have borrowed, and the amount that is returned, along with other details about your borrowing history.
To answer your query of what is in a credit report, let us start with the basics.
How does data enter your credit report?
Your credit information is entered by a credit reporting agency. This data is submitted by your creditors, debt collection agencies, public records and court systems.
Once something goes on your report, it does not get easily removed. If there is something positive there, then it’s good. But negative remarks by your creditors are going to stay there for several years as well. If they are accurate comments, they can stay up to 7 years. Bankruptcies stay on reports for about 10 years.
Personal information
If you are wondering what is in a credit report, then well, it starts with personal information, though it is not used to analyze your credit history. These bits of information are gathered from what you tell your creditors:
• Complete name, along with variations if any (like your maiden name, middle name etc)
• Birth date
• Social security number
• Present and previous house addresses
• Present and previous employment details
• Driving license number along with issuing state
Collection Accounts and Public Records
Information is retrieved from debt collection agencies and court records. These information pieces are gathered from agencies.
• Judgments and liens
• Foreclosures
• Bankruptcies
• Accounts in collection
• Wage attachments
Current obligations and credit history
The credit history is reported by creditors.
• Different types of accounts (mortgage installment loan, revolving account etc)
• The dates on which these accounts were started
• Payment history for these accounts, including late payment if any
• Balance in each account and credit limits
• Apart from these details, unpaid child support can also be listed along with overdrawn checks
Credit inquiry
• Inquiry made while you were looking for new credit (if you make many inquiries in less time, then it is considered as a negative point)
• Inquiry made for the idea of promotional mailing by yourself and your present creditors for the purpose of information (these inquiries do not have any negative impact)
Credit score
After examining your complete credit profile, a number is generated, and it is called your credit score. It can range from 340 to 850. Higher scores are better, and they mean that lending you money would be risk for the investor.
Credit report agencies
There are 3 major reporting agencies in US. These are:
• TransUnion
• Experian
• Equifax
All these are independent of each other, so their records might be different. If you want to get your report corrected, you have to send updated information to each one of them, since they do not share information.
- You have a right to know what is in your credit report,
including medical information and, usually, the sources
of the information. Make sure your report is accurate.
- Get your report for if a company takes adverse
action against you based on the report and you request
your report within 60 days of receiving the notice of
the action.
- Request one report a year if you can prove that you
are unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60
days, if you are on welfare, or if your report is
inaccurate because of fraud. Otherwise a Credit
Reporting Agency may charge up to $8.50 for a copy of
your report.
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If you find inaccurate or incomplete information in your
report:
- Contact both the Credit Reporting Agency and the company
that provided the information to the Credit Reporting
Agency.
- Tell the Credit Reporting Agency in writing what
information you believe is inaccurate. The information
provider must investigate and report the results to the
Credit Reporting Agency. If the information is
incorrect, it must notify all nationwide Credit
Reporting Agencies to also correct your file. If the
reinvestigation does not solve your dispute with the
company, ask that your statement regarding the dispute
be included in your file. A notice of your dispute claim must
be included anytime the Credit Reporting Agency reports
the respective item.
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Credit Report Access
Other than yourself, only people with a legitimate
business need can get a copy of your report. An employer
or a prospective employer can only get your annual credit
report if you give written consent. Student Credit Card
Creditors, employers, or insurers cannot get a
annual credit report
that includes medical information without your prior
approval. See your annual credit report.
Duration of Negative Credit Information
A Credit Reporting Agency can report negative
information for seven to ten years, and bankruptcy
information for ten years. Information about a lawsuit
or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for
seven years or until the statute of limitations runs
out, whichever period of time is longer.
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