All of us have probably been informed that our credit report is a very important document. Its importance will increase if we have been denied credit and realize that we must repair poor credit.
We can obtain copies of our credit report for free, on an annual basis, from the three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Go to annualcreditreport.com to obtain these copies. Please request reports from all 3 agencies because they may differ.
The reports will have several sections. Know that there will not be personal private information about your race, worth, or salary included. There will be the usual identifying such as name, address, social security number in the first section.
There will be a section related to any credit lines. These credit lines will include loans, mortgages, credit cards, gas and department store cards. It will give the date each credit line was opened, credit limits, payment history (including late payments), balances, overdrawn bank accounts, and unpaid child support.
Credit reporting agencies also receive information from the court system. This section will have a listing of bankruptcies, liens, judgments, divorce.
Any time you apply for a loan or credit card there will be an inquiry made to a credit reporting agency. Your credit report will include not only these inquiries but inquiries by you. Credit inquiries remain for 2 years.
It is to your benefit if your credit report is positive. However, any negative information will remain on the report for 7 years. A bankruptcy is on your credit report for 10 years.
It is highly recommended that we obtain and seriously review our credit reports to be aware of differences on each report, locate any and all errors. It is up to each individual to monitor his/her own credit profile, fix errors, and repair personal credit.
With unprecedented challenges in the credit markets its more important than ever to have excellent credit. For more information visit Rob Kosbergs’ Complete FREE Guide on Maintaining and Repairing your Credit Score by going to Credit Score Repair for your FREE information. You may also visit Increase Credit Score for a Guide on Raising your Credit Score.