UNDERSTANDING YOUR CREDIT REPORT

A lot of people struggle with the basic knowledge of what exactly your credit report is. Many people believe that the three credit bureaus (Experian, Transunion, Equifax) follow your financial life, track credit applications, and other aspects of your personal life, etc. This is FALSE! These bureaus simply collect and transcribe your information. This information is normally broken down into 4 categories. Identification and employment data, payment history, inquiries, and public record information. 

Identification and employment data - 

This is simply your name, birthday, address, SSN, spouses, employer, and other notable basic information about yourself. They may also possess information about your income, home ownership status and more if a creditor were to ask for it. 

Payment history - 

This is exactly what it sounds like. It keeps track of how much credit has been offered to you and how much you took advantage of, as well as whether or not you paid it back. Along with this information comes late payments, overdue referrals to collections agencies, and more. 

Inquiries - 

The three credit bureaus are required to keep track of each and every creditor that has requested your credit history within the last 6 months. Although, these inquiries normally stay on your credit file for 2 years. 

Public record information - 

These are any formidable events that should be listed in your credit and financial history. Anything that should be on a public record. These could be anything that affects your “creditworthiness” some examples are bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgm, tax lien, and more. If you are a convicted felon, that may also appear on your report. 

Information pulled from: 

Notley, S. Credit solutions: Proven strategies to establish and re-establish your credit. The Manning Group

If you ever have questions, contact us - your expert consultants. 

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Solutions Team