Credit Reports

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Credit Reports

Credit reporting agencies maintain files on millions of borrowers. Lenders making credit decisions buy credit reports on their prospects, applicants and customers from the credit reporting agencies.

Your report details your credit history as it has been reported to the credit reporting agency by lenders who have extended credit to you. Your credit report lists what types of credit you use, the length of time your accounts have been open, and whether you've paid your bills on time. It tells lenders how much credit you've used and whether you're seeking new sources of credit. It gives lenders a broader view of your credit history than do other data sources, such as a bank's own customer data.

Creating Your Credit Report
Your credit report does not really exist until you or a lender asks for it. It is then compiled by the credit reporting agency based on the information stored in that agency's file. This information is supplied by lenders, by you and by court records.

Tens of thousands of credit grantors - retailers, credit card issuers, banks, finance companies, credit unions, etc. - send updates to each of the credit reporting agencies, usually once a month. These updates include information about how their customers use and pay their accounts.

Your credit report reveals many aspects of your borrowing activities. All pieces of information should be considered in relationship to other pieces of information. The ability to quickly, fairly and consistently consider all this information is what makes credit scoring so useful.

What's in Your Report

Although each credit reporting agency formats and reports this information differently, all credit reports contain basically the same categories of information. Your social security number, date of birth and employment information are used to identify you. These factors are not used in scoring. Updates to this information come from information you supply to lenders.

Identifying Information
Your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth and employment information are used to identify you. These factors are not used in scoring. Updates to this information come from information you supply to lenders.

Trade Lines
These are your credit accounts. Lenders report on each account you have established with them. They report the type of account (bankcard, auto loan, mortgage, etc), the date you opened the account, your credit limit or loan amount, the account balance and your payment history.

Inquiries
When you apply for a loan, you authorize your lender to ask for a copy of your credit report. This is how inquiries appear on your credit report. The inquiries section contains a list of everyone who accessed your credit report within the last two years. The report you see lists both "voluntary" inquiries, spurred by your own requests for credit, and "involuntary" inquires, such as when lenders order your report so as to make you a pre-approved credit offer in the mail.

Public Record and Collection Items.
Credit reporting agencies also collect public record information from state and county courts, and information on overdue debt from collection agencies. Public record information includes bankruptcies, foreclosures, suits, wage attachments, liens and judgments

How Mistake Happen

Once again, credit report frequently contain errors. When they do, there are a variety of causes. Sometimes the report is unfinished, or in some cases it may even have information about an entirely different person! This can happen when:

The person requested credit under multiple names (Jonathan Smith and Jon Smith, for example)

Someone made a mistake when transferring information from one document to another (yes, clerks are human too)

An incorrect Social Security Number was given, or the lender read it incorrectly.

Someone else actually got credit for a payment you made on some type of loan (including credit cards), so you got penalized.

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