Credit Reports Galore

Allison May asked:


The answer to the above question is yes. You definitely should obtain a copy of your credit report. If you’re asking why, let’s talk about some important points about your credit report.

What is in your credit report?

Your credit report contains significant information about your accounts and finances. In your credit report, you can find your employment history, your salary history, your past and present credit with all your creditors and other legal information.

Also included in your credit report is your complete name, Social Security Number, date of birth, driver’s license number, your past and current home address, telephone number and other personal details. All transactions that you have with lending companies, credit card companies, insurance companies and other financial institutions are all reflected on your credit report.

How much you owe a certain creditor is listed in detail. Also, whether you’re paying your bills on time or not can be traced by looking at your credit report. All these information are included on your credit report.

Who Checks On Your Credit Report?

You may now have an idea why it is important for you to obtain a copy of your own personal credit report. Landlord, potential employers, insurance companies, government agencies, lending companies, credit card companies – all these organizations check on your credit report to know your background and reputation.

A single false information or an incorrect transaction on your credit report can damage your credit worthiness. You can get denied by potential employers just because your credit report seems bad. Creditors can refuse your applications on account that you have bad account on your credit report. Thus, it is your responsibility to check and ensure that there isn’t any false information or derogatory records that can affect your reputation.

Check Your Credit Report

You have the right to know if all the information contained on your credit report is true and accurate. As a consumer, you have the right to dispute information which you think are false, erroneous or fraudulent.

The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act protects consumers from such inaccuracy or possible fraudulent accounts contained in their credit report. In fact, if a credit reporting agency or a credit bureau refuses to give you the appropriate service you need, you may also report it to The Federal Trade Commission.

Every year, all consumers are allowed to obtain a copy of their report from the three major credit bureaus for free. Thus, after making a careful examination on your credit report, you can inform the credit bureaus if you find any disputable records on your credit report. Below are the contact numbers of the three major credit bureaus.

Equifax Options P.O. Box 740123 Atlanta, GA 30374-0123 www.equifax.com

Experian Consumer Opt Out P.O. Box 919 Allen, TX 75013 www.experian.com

Trans Union Name Removal Option P.O. Box 97328 Jackson, MS 39288-7328 www.transunion.com

For a more in-depth discussion on credit report and your rights as a consumer, you may visit the FTC’s website at www.ftc.gov.



WILBUR

darko_d1 asked:


I negotiated a pay to delete with a collection company. They told me the date that they will report. Will it drop from my credit report that day or will it take time from the date that they tell the bureaus to delete it?

MITCH

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


When a company is deciding whether or not to give you a loan, a mortgage or a credit card it checks your credit report. Your credit report contains information about every credit transaction you have made. If you failed to make a payment or defaulted on a loan then it will be on your credit report.

Until the US government brought in legislation to make this information freely available to you only finance companies, banks and mortgage lenders could see it. Now you are entitled to see it too.

The FACT Act made it possible to see your credit record for free every year for the first time. You need no longer be in the dark about what the finance companies know about you.

This is information about you and it is your right to see it. You should make use of that right because it affects your ability to get loans, credit cards and mortgages. If you are refused credit is probably because of something in your credit report.

There may be mistakes in your credit report that are stopping you from getting a loan. Someone may have fraudulently used your identity to take out a credit card or loan which they have not paid. You will then be left with a bad credit report that is not your fault.

There are three companies that compile credit reports. You can only get to see one of those reports for free. But if there are mistakes in that one then it will be worth your while to pay for the other two.

Not all the credit reporting companies have exactly the same information. They compile their data in slightly different ways.

Once you have seen the report and checked it against your own records you can correct inaccuracies any inaccuracies it may contain. There is a facility on the websites of the credit reporting companies for you to inform them of mistakes in your report. You will have to produce written evidence such as bank statements or credit card statements. But the process is quite simple.

By correcting inaccuracies in your credit report you are protecting your credit score. Even one mistake can make the difference between getting a loan and being refused credit.

All Americans can now get a free credit report every year. It is a responsible financial practice to take advantage of this opportunity. By doing so you are taking control of your own finances.

You can guard against identity theft, you can correct errors, and you can see if your credit score is falling because you have a pattern of late payments. It is in your interests to maintain a good credit score. If you check your credit record every year you can address problems as they arise.



MORTON

Tom Tessin asked:


A bad credit report causes your credit score to reflect a negative debt policy. This lower score causes you the inability to buy things that you need or want. You may not deserve this report for a variety of reasons that can be fixed. When you buy an item from a rent-to-own place as an example and you ask for a certain pay day but their computer systems requires you to pay a day or two before this may get reported on your credit report as slow pay. The slow pay often causes your credit score to drop. The manager who operates the local store tells you not to worry he knows that you will be in on a certain day and of course he does not call. The corporate office only knows what is put into the computer which shows your two days late sending off a bad credit report. In order to fix this first, have the local manager contact the main office getting them to put a letter in your report stating that this is the error of the local store for not setting up the right pay date. Secondly, find out how much more you would need to pay in order to have your pay date set up to a new date that fits within your budget to pay. Then do follow up to make sure that you are no longer in the reporting credit agencies as a slow pay.

You might have a bad credit report because of a lay-off in ability to pay for an item in the time period required. Then you should make an agreement with the creditor to pay off the bill asking for an extension of pay or even asking if you pay less would they defer late fees and interest charges. After you made a pay arrangement make sure that a copy of this is put into your credit report. This will help to fix your credit report in order to give you a better score. You should check your credit report periodically to make sure that you are not being charged with a debt that you do not even owe. Often a bad credit score is reflecting a bill that is not yours which gives you a bad credit report.

You will need to immediately start to fix the problem. You can take several steps to clear up the issue but start by putting a letter in the reporting credit bureaus that this is not your bill. Afterwards you will need to get as much information as possible about the bill before you can proceed to get the situation taken from your credit report. It is always advisable to have a good credit report and remember, having a good credit report helps with your future interest rates. Keep up with your credit and make sure your credit report is not a bad one and if a problem arises take steps to fix it so that you will not have a bad credit report.



QUINTON

allison a asked:


I have a lot of old credit, a lot of charge offs, etc. I really want to clean up my credit report, how do I do that with out disputing everything, and with three agnecies. Is there a company that can do this?
Thanks

ROSS

Daniel Millions asked:


Having a good credit rating has become incredibly important in the modern world. With a high credit score, you can apply for loans with better interest rates, premium credit cards, and low-interest mortgages. To check your credit history, you simply need to request a credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus.

The concept of credit and credit reports is quite complex, and several factors go into your credit report. This includes outstanding loans, paid loans, credit card accounts, and even your medical history. Companies that prepare credit reports and track consumer credit history are called Consumer Reporting Agencies, or credit bureaus. These bureaus sell credit reports to businesses and lenders, and they also provide them to consumers themselves. You can check your credit report free once a year from the major credit bureaus; Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. If you utilize each bureau, that means you can request up to three free reports a year. Once you go beyond three, or want to use a credit bureau twice, there is a fee (usually only about nine dollars).

The benefits of reading your credit report are numerous and should be taken advantage of by everyone. On the report, you can see nearly everything about your financial activities. The report lists your bank accounts, accounts with various companies, credit cards, lender accounts, and the names of people who obtained your report in the past year.

Why should you check your credit report? For one, it is good to know where you stand before you try to get a mortgage, new car, or other large purchase. A more important reason to check is to find errors. Keep in mind, this report determines whether or not you can get a house, so it is critical that you know all about it. Humans prepare credit reports, and what inherent quality do people have, human error. Therefore, it is quite likely that a part of the report could be fallacious. It is up to you to correct any mistakes, so make sure to order your report at least three times a year. To correct any mistake, simply call the Consumer Reporting Agency and notify them of the error.

Identity theft has become a major problem lately. Although most people do not think it will happen to them, it most certainly can. By occasionally checking your credit report, you can easily find anything suspicious, and then immediately take appropriate action to rectify the situation. Otherwise, you may not find out for months that you have been a victim, and by that time, you already have a pile of debts to deal with. If you discover you have been a victim of identity theft, you can freeze your reports with all of the major credit bureaus, which protects you from any further damage.

Credit score is the single most important piece of information on the credit report. That one number affects nearly your whole financial life. The way credit bureaus arrive at that number is relatively straightforward. They factor in your payment history, outstanding debt, types of credit you have, the length of time you have had credit, and more. Although each credit bureau has their own specific system, the number usually ranges between 300 and 900.

To improve your credit score, there are many measures you can take. The most important is to pay your bills on time. If you do this one thing, over time, eventually you will achieve a high score. You can also reduce your balances on credit cards and spread your debt around to several different cards. As long as you stick to a solid financial plan, your credit score is guaranteed to consistently rise.



MARY

Isabel asked:


Free Credit Report and Credit Score indicate the creditworthiness or financial position of a person. Initially there was strict prohibition to disclose the credit report and score. But due to development in business skills and policies many retailers and lenders extend credit facilities to their customers. In order to secure the credit transaction they demand for credit report and score to know whether the borrower is financially sound or not.

It is quite obvious that bad credit can affect one’s credit flexibility but good credit report can help to get better credit extension. The credit report and score has long-lasting impact in all the ways of your life. So it is better to check your credit report and score and try to improve it. You may also repair your credit report and score periodically as repairing can eliminate many bad remarks that exist in it.

There are credit bureaus that maintain the credit report of every person. These credit bureaus collect the information from various sources like department stores, collection agency, lenders, financial institutions, etc. But now due to development in online services one can easily get free credit report and have a glance look at his/her credit records.

Understand your Credit Report

One should thoroughly understand his/her credit report so as credit score. If it is not possible to understand it personally take the vital help from and credit report service agency. Once you understand your credit report maintain a well-structured record, as it can be used as future references.

What is Credit Score?

Credit Score is the statistical data that clearly show your financial position. It not only indicates your financial position but it also indicates your bankruptcy and many other negative remarks. It is generally 3-digit number, which is based on your credit report. In fact there is not so much difference between credit report and score.

Usually the credit score ranges from 300-750 but the average credit score lies within 600-750 which is regarded as good credit score. Person below this average range must try to increase their credit score.

Considering its vital importance one must always try to improve his/her credit report and score. Now day’s credit bureaus provide credit report and score through online service. With the help of online services one can easily get the free copy of credit report and check credit report rating, which can act as an obstacle if not favorable. So it is advisable to order credit report instantly.

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DREW

Xp D asked:


My home mortgage will reset in a few months. If I bring down all my credit card balances to 0 now, how soon will my credit reports reflect this; thus improve my credit scores?

EDWARDO

Fgng asked:


If I get approve today for a mortgage loan, how long does it take to show up in a credit report?

Or If get approve for an Auto loan, how long does it take to post in the credit report.

The credit report that the lenders can see.

PABLO

ArLorax asked:


I am looking to buy properties in Ohio to start renting, but don’t know how to get credit reports on people or to find out if they have stiffed other landlords. Also, what is a good credit report threshold to use for renting? Should I go by a minimum score (say 600) or go by percentage of rent to income (say rent can’t be more than 25% of their monthly income or something to that effect)?

GROVER