Layout of Credit Reports |
Credit report is a record of your use of credit, specifically concerned with how you have met your repayment obligations. It also describes the number of credit cards accounts you have, number of loans you may have taken. It addition, it explains whether you are paying your monthly payments on time or have a lot of unpaid bills.
Most people actually have three credit files from which reports are drawn. These are maintained by the three major credit bureaus. So in this respect, the term credit report is really a misnomer since if you are like most people you have three such records. It is possible, for a fee, to obtain a combined report, but that is a subject for another time.
The layout of your report differs from one credit bureau to another credit bureau but the overall information is the same. Hence, you must possess enough knowledge and understanding of the report that what these documents are trying to convey as it pertains to your creditworthiness.
So here is a description of some common elements:
Personal Information: All reports contain personal information for the identification of the individuals. This category includes name(s), addresses (current and past), and the dates of address changes.
Employment: Record of the current and past employers, including the dates of employment and income are provided here.
Credit Grantors: A list of various current and past credit transactions from firms who have chosen to make reports is a major part of credit reports. Generally each credit transaction provides a detail of your high credit level, current indebtedness and whether you have paid on time or have been delinquent. A payment record is displayed for each month.
Legal Actions: Includes the detail of your previous record, like, whether you have been or are engaged in legal actions or not. Such things deemed to reflect upon your creditworthiness. If, however, you have defaulted on individual transactions, these may also be displayed under the individual debtors.
Credit reports provided under the requirement of law typically do not contain the much talked about credit score. To obtain your score usually requires payment of a fee. The combined credit score always comes with a fee imposed. Though your score has much value, the most important thing is to be sure the basic data on your credit report are correct. They form the primary basis from which your overall score is derived.
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