Credit Reports - How to Understand Them
Managing your finances and being in control of your credit all begins with knowledge of your credit rating. To gain such knowledge you need to understand your credit report. A credit report at first glance can be confusing. At is full of account numbers, balances and scores that will mean nothing to you until you learn how to decipher the report.
Agencies Creating Credit Reports
There are three major credit-reporting agencies that will play a big part in your credit. These three are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You should print a copy of your credit report from these three companies at least every 12 months. You can find out more about these companies online and they will show you how to obtain a free report.
What Is in These Reports?
The three major credit reports will have different information in them. This is because it is a system that has different creditors that subscribe to them and that is how they get their information.
What Makes Up the Credit Report?
The credit report contains your personal information, your credit background, credit requests and public records information. Your personal information includes your current and past addresses and telephone numbers, your driver’s license number and of course your social security number.
Credit Background
Your background of credit will contain all information for accounts that presently have or have had in the past. This will include the name of the company extending credit and your account number with that company. There are always possibilities of errors so you want to review this section carefully. If you find an error you can contact the agency and have them make necessary corrections.
Public Records
This is the part that obtains any information about your criminal record. This will also include any arrests or bad judgments that have been made against you. This is a section that is better off blank for obvious reasons.
