If you plan on purchasing a home, leasing a car or taking out a loan from a local bank,
there's a good chance they are going to do a credit check. One bad ding on your credit
report can mean higher interest rates or no loan at all. This is why it's very important
that you check your credit file at least once a year to make sure that everything is 100
percent accurate.
What a Credit Report Includes
When a bank or lender checks your credit report, this is the information that will be
included in the report:
Personal Information: This will include your name, previous addresses, your date of birth
and previous employers.
Credit Inquiries: Any time that you have filled out a loan or credit card application in
the past, this is going to show up. These are just inquiries and it won't show if you were
accepted or denied.
Overdue: Overdue payments are a big one that lenders look at it. It also will bring down
your credit score a bit. If you have any sort of overdue bill, it will show up here. Even
if you have paid this bill off in the past but caught up with payments, overdue payments
could still show up.
Bankruptcy: Any bankruptcy that has been declared in the past seven years will show up
here.
Judgements: Any liens or judgements can show up. This can include past child support
payments, wage garnishment and liens against your home.
Default: Failing to pay your loans can mean that the lender will default on your loan. If
the bank defaults on your loan, this can show up even if you decide to pay the bill off in
full.
Keep in mind that negative marks will stay on your credit report for up to seven years.
After that seven-year mark, serious infringements will be removed.
Check your Credit Report
Now that you know what's on a credit report, it's very important that you get
a copy each year. Even if you don't plan on applying for a loan, you will want to make sure
that everything is 100 percent accurate. One error and this could mean that your future
loans could be denied.
To get your credit report, it can be done in a few different ways. For starters, you can
check this out if you want to get your credit rating information fast and securely. When
you download your credit report information, be sure to print out your own copy just in
case you can't retrieve your downloaded report.
When you retrieve your credit report, the company will ask for a few personal details. This
is going to include your name, date of birth, license number, addresses where you have
lived, a phone number and your place of work. Once this information has been imputed, the
credit report agencies may ask some confidential questions on loans in the past. For
example, they may ask a multiple choice question that relates to your current car loan
carrier. You must answer these correctly to gain access to your report.
Reading your credit report is laid out in a very easy to read format. Take a few minutes of
your time, and make sure that you read over it closely. Look at each account, and try to
look for any errors. If there are any errors, you will want to contact the credit reporting
agency to set things straight. Again, you can
visit here for a quick credit report download.