A Helpful Guide to Reading Your Credit Report

Your credit report contains information about your financial history, including lines of credit and how you are settling them.

It’s advisable to review your credit report at least once a year because it allows you to tell how you are fair in the eyes of creditors. It also helps you devise ways to fix your report for the better.

That said, understanding the information contained in this report can be difficult, especially for first-timers. Here is a guide to reading your credit report to ensure you don’t miss a thing:

Credit Report Breakdown
The format of these reports varies depending on the reporting bureau from which you get the info. The credit bureaus’ information is similar and outlined in several fields.

Subscriber or Personal Information- Consumer Demographics 
Personal information includes any information that identifies you. You will find your name, address, residence type, geographical code, social security number, current or former employers, date of birth, and telephone numbers here.

This section is used to identify you and does not factor in your credit scoring. There could be variations in your name or addresses from different bureaus, which should not be a cause for concern. However, you should ensure that each variation (if any) identifies with you and is not a case of identity fraud.

Credit Summary
This section contains your accounts and their balances. It’s a summary of bank accounts, including current and delinquent accounts as creditors have reported them. This snapshot of your finances includes;

• Mortgage accounts
• Credit cards
• Personal loans; car, student, and other loans apart from mortgages
• Collection accounts
• Any other accounts; lines of credit, or trades

The account information captured in this section also touches on the total number of open and closed accounts. Inquiries made on your report for the last two years will also be part of the summary.
The credit summary also gives you a quick overview of monthly payments, balances, and past due amounts. The summary will contain any delinquencies, which can be current or previous, depending on what your creditor reported.

Account History
This section forms the most significant chunk of your credit report. Each account is analyzed in the finest detail. This is where you need to concentrate on weeding out any inconsistencies. Each account is broken down into several fields;

• Name of creditor
• Account particulars (number, type, and ownership or responsibility)
• The highest amount ever owed
• Maximum credit approved
• Balance owed
• Past due amount
• Monthly payment
• Available revolving credit
• Dates opened
• Dates reported
• Payment status

Account history also contains remarks to explain special conditions about the account. Remarks can be from your creditors indicating delinquencies or the account status (Open, Negative, or Closed). You may find some of the information in this section not up-to-date. This might include balances on credit cards or loans, which you expect to be much lower. This is because creditors might have reported the balance long before you made your monthly installments.

Public Records
This is one section that should worry you if it’s highly populated. It contains information from public records about:

• Bankruptcies
• State and court judgments
• Tax liens
• Overdue spousal or child support (depends on specific state)

Why should this worry you? This information stays on your credit reports for 7-10 years. If your credit report is clear in this section, it’s advisable to ensure it stays that way!  

Credit Score
Some bureaus will also include your FICO credit scores on the report. This is a 3-figure scoring system that ranges from the lowest, 300, to the highest possible score of 850 points. It determines your creditworthiness in the eyes of creditors. It may also affect your chances of employment or even your rent terms.
Learn how Credit Repair Enforcers can help you increase your credit score.
Inquiries
This is a list of parties, including institutions that have requested your credit report. Your report will include hard and soft inquiries: Hard inquiries are requests made by creditors after you have authorized them when applying for loans or credit cards. Soft inquiries are the ones made by creditors and can be made without your knowledge for promotional purposes.

The Key Takeaway
Credit reports can be challenging to read, let alone understand the entries. The above breakdown should guide you in identifying the important details contained in each section. 

Pro Tip: Be on the lookout for any inconsistencies that may point to errors originating from your creditors, the reporting bureau, or as a result of fraud. Such errors could lower your credit score and should be disputed immediately.

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Get the benefits and experience of a firm that concentrates on helping people with credit problems without paying huge setup fees. Credit Repair Enforcers has successfully removed erroneous, unverifiable, outdated, and inaccurate information from our client’s three credit reports for over 20+ years. We assist with all things credit repair and credit building. We have helped people who need assistance with personal, business, and corporate credit repair and credit building. Credit Repair Enforcers fight for your credit rights!