How Do I Read My Credit Report – An Easy Guide
Kieran was looking to get a new car and stopped by a Honda dealer. She really wanted a particular Accord that they had. But was very upset when she learned they would not approve her for a loan. She was told it was due to a couple of things on her credit report showing unpaid and defaulted. Just recently, she happened to get a copy of her credit report for another matter; however she really didn’t understand it. But she knew those accounts were already paid. Later that day she called the credit bureaus and faxed in the receipts. However the Honda dealer said everyone has to wait 90 days to re-apply. The Accord she really wanted sold. This situation could have been completely avoided and Kieran would have gotten that Accord if she only understood what the credit report said. Then she would have known to get it corrected and update it, BEFORE she ever applied for that car loan.
And that is the reason for this article. You will be given a basic overview of consumer credit reports. This article will be an easy guide on learning how to read and understand a credit report.
There are only 3 major credit bureaus in America. Experian (use to be TRW), Equifax, and Trans Union. Any other bureau that may be in your local area is in some way affiliated with one of these three major bureaus. Any person, or company, that pulls your credit is getting it either directly or indirectly from one of these three bureaus. These 3 are the only credit bureaus that matter in the U.S.
So… How do you read your credit report?
It is not surprising to hear that, Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union all do their reports differently. But overall it really doesn’t matter because all credit reports are basically divided into four sections: Your Identifying Information, Your Credit History, Your Public Records, and the Inquiries which have been done on you.
1) Identity Information: This Identity Information section tells anyone reading the credit report exactly who you are. Name, date of birth, and social security number. Names may be listed more than once to reflect each way it has been previously spelled. If you applied for credit before and someone misspelled your name on the inquiry, it will be on your credit report indefinitely. Then if you are a female you will see the maiden last name and the married last name, also if you were divorced then went back to the maiden last name, if you marred again after that, etc. There is a possibility that you will see a lot of variations of your name. The important thing is that you review it closely to look for anything you do not recognize.
The additional info that will be in this section is the current address, previous addresses, and telephone numbers. Also the driver’s license number, current employer, all past employers, the spouse name, etc. Any info that helps to indentify who you are
2) Credit History: This is also sometimes called the accounts list, or your trade lines. This section will list your current and active accounts as well as any credit you have had in the past that was reported to the credit bureau.
In general, this section is going to list everything in the past 7 years. Most agree that the credit bureaus computers automatically delete anything that has “the date of last activity” that exceeds 7 years. For example if you open a account at Sears in June 1995 and made payments every month, then got delinquent and made your last payment on March 2004. Then March 2004 is the “date of last activity” and when the 7 years will start counting down. Then, say you want to try and fix your credit and sent them a payment in Oct 2007. The 7 years will start all over again from Oct 2007.
Everything listed in this Credit History section includes the name of the creditor and the account number. This section will also include:
* Date you opened the account * If the account is in your name alone or is there a co-signer * The total of the loan, which is listed as the high credit limit, or highest balance on a credit card * Current balance * Fixed monthly payment for loans, or the minimum due monthly for credit cards * Current status as of date of the credit report (open, inactive, closed, paid, etc.) * How good, or bad, you have paid on the account
How good the payments have been made on these existing accounts is really the main thing that people checking your credits is looking for. This is indicated by a two part code.
The first part is a letter that will either be an I or an R. The I means installment loan, which is a set amount and set monthly payments such as a mortgage, car loan, student loan, etc. The R stands for revolving debt such as a credit card, department store card, line of credit, etc.
The second part is a number from 1 to 9. The 1 indicates that there have been no delinquencies and the account is current and paid on time. The 9 indicates numerous delinquencies, missed payments, partial payments, etc. Obviously 1 is the best, then 9 is the worst, and then there’s all the stages in between. Bottom line, anything other than a 1 is not looked at too favorably.
When these codes are explained they are not that difficult to understand. People making credit decisions want to see I1 and R1. But, they still often caused questions. Some credit reports will insert plain language descriptions like typically 30 days late… never pays late… defaulted… etc.
3) Public Records: This is a section that you want to be blank. It only list negatives things related to your credits that were the result of a court action. Bankruptcies, judgments, tax liens, wage garnishments, etc. An entry in this section will hurt your credit faster than anything else.
4) Inquires: Like the name sounds, this section lists all of the companies that have requested your credit report.
Inquiries are divided into two types. Hard inquiries are the ones you initiate by applying for something like a loan, credit card, etc. Then Soft inquiries are from companies that want to send out promotional information to a pre-qualified group, it can also be your current creditors who are monitoring your account.
You may have heard that a large number of inquiries can have a negative impact. That is true but it usually takes a very significant amount to effect you. A certain amount of inquires is expected and considered a normal part of life. If you are looking to buy something like a home, or car, you are expected to shop around, and two or more of these inquiries in the same 14 day period counts as just one inquiry.
As stated earlier, there are many credit companies who all get information either directly, or indirectly, from one of the main 3 credit bureaus. Then they format their credit reports in many different ways, and list things in different order. However they all will contain these 4 basic sections.
It is extremely important to know how to read your credit report. And knowing exactly what is on it is very important.
Some in the consumer credit industry estimate that as many as 80 percent of all credit reports have some kind of mistake, misinformation, or contains something that has not been updated.
If you do see a mistake or something that dose not read correctly. You will need to talk to each of the 3 bureaus. You can fax acceptable documents directly to them, like receipts or invoices. If you do not have any proof then the creditors will have to be contacted and they have 30 days to respond.
It is our hope that this information has been a benefit to you. The goal was to provide the basic information that would show anyone how to read and interpret a credit report. That is the only way to determine if it is correct, or if you need to have it fixed. If you are planning on buying a home, a car, or applying for any kind of credit in the near future, then you need to know what is on your credit before they look at it. Remember that when you request your own credit report it is never consider as an inquiry.
For over 10 years Consumers Info USA has been connecting people with the online services they need to help them live better. Go Now for more information on how to check your credit report and a link to order your online credit report
