Your credit reports are a compilation of your credit history, including accounts that are open and closed, personal information and employer information. Just like you can have varying credit scores, your reports can vary.
Your credit reports are a compilation of your credit history, including accounts that are open and closed, personal information, and employer information. Just like you can have varying credit scores, your reports can vary.
Different credit bureaus compile credit reports, though the reports may be different depending on what information has been provided to the bureaus. Sometimes, information that has been shared with one credit bureau has not been provided to another one. Therefore, it’s important to monitor reports from each bureau.
What Is Included in Your Credit Reports?
There’s a lot of important information in your credit report. Everything from your personal information and your credit accounts to your public records can be found here.
Personal Information
Your personal information is shown in your credit reports, including your name, your current and previous addresses, your social security number and your employer information.
- Legal name
- Current and previous addresses
- Date of birth
- Social security number
- Employer information
- Listed phone numbers
Credit Accounts
Credit reports also include information about your accounts such as credit cards, auto loans, student loans, and mortgages. They also include information like late payments, collections, and timelines associated with these accounts.
- Current and former credit cards
- Auto loans
- Student loans
- Mortgages
- Credit limits and amounts
- Account balances
- Account payment histories
- Open and close dates of accounts
- Names of all creditors
- Collection items and accounts
Public Records
Your credit reports also contain a list of businesses that have pulled your credit. This includes instances when you applied for a new credit account or when a business pulled your credit for promotional purposes. Public records are also included.
- Credit inquiries
- Liens
- Foreclosures
- Bankruptcies
- Civil suits and judgments
- Child support payments
Why Are Credit Reports Important?
Credit reports are incredibly important because the information in them is used to calculate your credit score. Your credit score shows whether you are a credit risk to potential lenders. If any information in your credit reports is inaccurate, it could be hurting your credit score as well as your chances of getting approved for new credit.
Lenders aren’t the only ones who can access your credit reports. Employers can also check your credit reports. Not every employer does this, but a lot of jobs in finance want to see if you’re financially responsible. Government jobs that require security clearance are also known to check credit reports.
Checking Your Credit Reports
Monitoring your credit helps you know what information is in your credit reports at all times. Sometimes, errors may pop up and you will need to dispute them.
If you want to improve your credit, the first thing you should do is request to see your credit reports. Checking your reports helps you understand what’s helping your score and what is hurting your score.
It can also be helpful to look at your credit reports if you’re about to apply for something big, like an auto loan or a mortgage. The better your credit score, the more likely you’ll be able to get approved and have a lower interest rate. Having your credit report a few months before you apply gives you the chance to fix anything that may be negatively impacting you.
You can request your credit reports from all three credit bureaus for free through Annual Credit Report once a year. Other circumstances such as credit denial and identity theft also allow you to access your free credit reports. You can also purchase credit reports from the credit bureaus if you need to look at updated copies for whatever reason.
If you see errors on your credit reports that are negatively impacting you and need help challenging them, contact FreshCredit™.
