How to Access Your Credit Reports (and What to Look For)
Everyone is worried about their credit score, but credit scores are calculated using the information on your credit reports. So, if you want to work on improving your score, your credit reports are a great place to start.
The Basics of Credit Reports
The three credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—gather information from creditors and create your reports, which they then sell when an inquiry is made. There are two types of inquiries: hard and soft. A hard inquiry is typically made by a lender when you apply for a line of credit. The institution is checking your history to help them make a decision on whether to lend, how much, and your interest rate. This will impact your score negatively for a few months and you should try to avoid making these frequently. A soft inquiry is a review of your credit file usually for a pre-qualification process, marketing (like those pre-approved credit card notices you may get), or for your own personal use. Despite what you may have heard, it does not hurt your credit score to run your own credit report. We repeat: IT DOES NOT HURT YOUR CREDIT SCORE TO RUN YOUR OWN CREDIT REPORT.
Accessing Your Credit Reports
Federal law requires that each of the three credit reporting companies provide you with one free copy of your credit report every 12 months, if requested. You can request those reports and download them directly at AnnualCreditReport.com. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, AnnualCreditReport.com has allowed people to access their reports for free every week, but we don’t know how long that will last.
What to Look for on Your Credit Reports
Once you have run your three credit reports, you will have some long, detailed documents. The reports will list your personal information and all credit accounts you have had within the last seven years which have submitted records to the credit bureaus. They are not always easy to read, but if you take your time (or ask your Financial Trainer for help) you will see important information.
Firstly, you want to make sure that everything is accurate. Do you recognize all of the accounts? Is there anything marked as derogatory that is wrong? Some examples of what may be wrong are:
Identity information such as addresses, phone numbers, or names
Account information: are you the authorized user rather than owner of the account, does it say you missed a payment when you did not, is the balance incorrect?
Is a debt listed more than once, maybe under a different name
Is there an account you do not recognize?
If you find any errors you can dispute them right there with the credit bureau and should do so ASAP. You will have to fill out information about the error and they will look into it. Hopefully they will make the correction quickly, but if they reach out to the provider of that information and the lender maintains it is accurate, it might become a longer process. You should also keep in mind that these are not live documents; it can take time to update your reports and it will not be instant.
Some of the information about each account that should appear on your credit report includes:
The date you opened your account
The original amount of the loan
The available credit on the account (your credit limit on a credit card)
The current balance (payments made within 30 days might not be reflected)
The balance and payment status for each month over the last 7 years
The account status (open vs. closed, delinquent from late payments)
If some of the sections are blank, it means the lender did not provide those details. Focus on whether the information they did provide is accurate. Once you are sure the information is all accurate, the information can help you decide what action you should take in order to work on improving your credit score. Come back on Saturday for tips on how to do that!
Ready to take your finances to the next level?
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