Information Listed On A Credit Report
A credit report has a lot of information that is used by companies to make decisions that can affect a person’s life for a long time. When reading a free annual credit report, it is important to understand the information presented.
The beginning of a credit report lists information such as: name, address, and place of employment. It is important to make sure that the information listed here is correct and does not belong to someone else. If the information listed belongs to another person, it should be disputed with the credit bureaus.
The next section of a free annual credit report is the credit summary. It is pretty much a condensed review of a person’s financial history. It includes the number of accounts open, accounts in collections, real estate accounts, revolving accounts, etc. At a glance, it allows a person to have an overall understanding of a person’s financial history.
The account history section of a free annual credit report is the meat and bones of the report. This section includes details about each credit account reported. The creditor name, account type, date opened, monthly payment, balance, and the payment history are a few of the things included in this section. Potential creditors want to know if a person has paid their debts responsibly and whether or not a person is overextended when it comes to credit. Potential landlords and employees also are starting to pay close attention to this section of the credit report.
The following section lists public records information. If a person has filed for bankruptcy or has a judgement against them, it is listed in this section. Bankruptcy allows someone to remove some or all of their debts, depending on the type of bankruptcy granted. Information related to a public record can remain on a credit report between seven and ten years.
The next and normally the final section of a free annual credit report contains a list of credit report inquiries. It lists all companies that looked at the credit report in the last two years. The name of the company and the date of the inquiry are reported.
