How to Read Credit Report

How to Read Credit Report1 How to Read Credit Report Credit reports are an absolute essentiality in today’s age where identity theft has become the order of the day. It is advised to all consumers to check their credit reports on an annual basis. Today the consumer has a right to receive the credit report yearly from any three of the credit reporting agencies. They are: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. One can easily visit the website of Annual credit report and receive their credit report. However the credit report may appear a bit confusing for those consumers who are looking at it for the very first time. So, here we shall be making the task of reading a credit report easier and simpler for you. You just have to keep certain points in mind while reading a credit report. These are as follows:

Study and go through your credit report completely. It doesn’t matter whether you have the electronic copy or the printed format of your credit report. You just have to gain a basic idea by going through the entire report in entirety. Have a look at all the data and figures mentioned in the report. After having gone through the complete credit report, we can move on to have a detailed look at the report and understand the points in an elaborate manner.
The first thing that you need to check is whether your contact information is correctly mentioned or not. Generally you will find the contact information towards the top of the report. However the credit bureaus have different orders to list down the credit information. You will notice that the contact information will include your current addresses and the previous addresses also. It will also have the employer information in it.
After checking the contact information, we will go towards reviewing the credit summary. You will notice that below the listing of your contact information, there will be a summary of your credit report. However this summary of credit will contain both the installment and collection accounts. Here it is worth noting that the credit summary will have the details of all the accounts by you both open and closed. It will also have the details of the total outstanding debt.
There will be a public records section in the credit report. However not every consumer will have data listed here. The public records section usually contains data on liens, judgments, bankruptcy etc.
Now let us move towards the credit inquiries section and observe what information is given there. A credit inquiry is generally generated when a person applies for credit. The credit report will contain information on those companies that have had a look at your credit in order to extend you a credit offer. The credit report also contains information on those of your current creditors that have a look at your credit report from time to time.
Now move towards the accounts history section. This is the section wherein majority of your credit accounts will reflect. This section usually includes the partial account number, creditor’s name, account status, type of account, payment status, balance information etc. It will also have the dates and months mentioned below the summary which show the creditor’s report to the account and it will also include delinquencies if any.
Now you have to compare the account history data to the legend (appears at the bottom of the credit report) to interpret any information from your credit report.