Credit Reports
A Credit Report is primarily a report listing information on all loans taken in your name along with the payment history and status on such loans. Such information will show all your credit accounts with banks, credit card issuers, utility companies, retailers and other lenders. In order to determine your credit worthiness, lenders typically require to see your Credit Report before issuing you a new loan. Employers, as well as landlords, may also require to see your Credit Report.
A Credit Report will also show your (and where applicable your wife's) name, known aliases, social security number, date of birth, current and past addresses, and employer.
All Public Record information, (bankruptcy, tax liens, monetary judgments, etc...) and Recent Inquiries (names of those who obtained a copy of your Credit Report) are also reported on your Credit Report.
A Credit Rating, or Credit Score, is drawn from information provided on the Credit Report. Typically, a higher Credit Score implies better credit worthiness (which can positively influence your eligibility for a loan, and can possibly reduce your borrowing costs).
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Whenever obtaining Credit Reports, or Credit Monitoring, such services are typically available either as 1-Bureau service (with data access to only one of the 3 national credit reporting bureaus), or 3-Bureau service (with access to data to all 3 national credit reporting bureaus). It is often advisable to see your data with all 3 bureaus.
If you already have a Credit Monitoring service, and such service offers unlimited Credit Reports, you should be able to retrieve your Credit Report through your Credit Monitoring Service without incurring any additional charges. Otherwise, to see your credit Report, you also have the following options:
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A- Get a Credit Monitoring service with 30 day free trial, see your Credit Report, and either: 1- cancel the service before the 30 days and pay nothing, or 2- if you like the service, keep it and pay the monthly fee
B- Pay a one time fee to see your Credit Report
C- Get a free Credit Report once every 12 months through the Free Annual Credit Report program. You can obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act). You may request your free report online, by phone or by mail. Online requests are viewable immediately upon identity authentication, while phone and mail requests are processed within 15 days. If you want a Free Copy of your credit report, click below. When you click below, you will be directed to the official service of the three Credit Reporting agencies: AnnualCreditReport.com . This free report is a valuable service. Since it is limited to once every 12 months, then if you want to monitor your report on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, you may want to consider Credit Monitoring.
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| • To receive a Free Copy of your Credit Report from annualcreditreport.com, click on the opposit button |
| • To Monitor your Credit Report, click on the opposite button. For more information Click Here |
| • To Lock access to your Credit Report, click on the opposite button. For more information Click Here |
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For additional information on Credit Reports, see Credit Reports Additional Information below.
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Credit Reports Additional Information |
Question
Who generates your Credit Report?
Answer
Credit Reports are generated by Credit Bureaus. Although there are many Credit Bureaus, the three major national regulated Credit Bureaus are Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. These are private for-profit companies.
- Equifax, P.O.Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241, 800-685-1111
- Experian, P.O.Box 2104, Allen, TX 75013, 888-397-3742
- Trans Union, P.O.Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022, 800-916-8800
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Question
How are accounts organized on a Credit Report?
Answer
Accounts are typically organized by type of loan, such as mortgage, revolving credit, installment loan, student loan, etc...
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Question
Who can see my Credit Report?
Answer
Those who can see your Credit Report are: Creditors (from whom you requested a loan), Employers (from who you requested employment), Insurers (from whom you requested a policy and Government Agencies. A Landlord, or anyone else with a legitimate reason to see your Credit Report, can also see your Credit Report.
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Question
Can Credit Reporting Agencies approve or decline loans?
Answer
No. Loans are approved or declined directly by the Creditors (banks, credit card issuers, etc...). Creditors' decision is influenced by information contained in your Credit Report, and possibly by other factors. Credit Reporting Agencies are not Creditors. Credit Reporting Agencies are primarily in the business of gathering and distributing data.
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Question
What are other free or paying alternatives for me to see my Credit Report
Answer
If you want to see your credit report, and you do not qualify to receive your free annual credit report (because you have already received it within the last 12 months), you have the following 3 choices:
1- Get 30-Days Free Trial for Equifax Credit Monitoring (1-Bureau). That will give you unlimited Equifax Credit Reports, along with Credit Monitoring Service. As long as you cancel before 30 days, you don't have to pay. Otherwise, if you find the service valuable, you can keep the service and pay an average of $8.33 per month, based on annual purchase price of $99.95. For complete information, and to order, click Option A below.
2- Get 3-in-1 Credit Monitoring (3-Bureau) from Equifax which gives you unlimited 1-Bureau Equifax Credit Reports, one Free 3-Bureau Credit Report, and 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring Services. This costs $12.95 per month. This option gives you monitoring to data of all 3 bureaus, as opposed to option 1 which gives you 1-Bureau Equifax monitoring. For complete information, and to order, click Option B below.
3- Get a one time 3-in-1 Credit Report (3 Bureau) from Equifax, which gives you complete picture of your credit history, with data from all 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union), with option for Fico score inclusion. This service does not include Credit Monitoring Service. This costs $29.95 for the one time only report (39.95 with Fico Score option). For complete information, and to order, click Option C below.
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Option A
1-Bureau Credit Monitoring
30 Days Free Trial
Unlimited 1-B Credit Reports
Free if canceled before 30 days
If not canceled, your average cost will be
$8.33/Month*
*based on annual price of $99.95/year
Click Below to Proceed |
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Option B
3-Bureau Credit Monitorig
Data:Experian,Equifax,TransUnion
One Free 3 in 1 Credit Report
Unlimited 1-Bureau Credit Reports
$12.95/Month
Click Below to Proceed
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Option C
3-in-1 Credit Report
Complete Credit History
Data:Experian,Equifax,TransUnion
One time cost: $29.95
Click Below to Proceed
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Question
What is a FICO Score?
Answer
FICO Score is a Credit Score. It was develop by the first company to develop a Credit Score: Fair Isaac Corp. Such score is a number on a scale between 300 and 850. It has grown to become the most widely used Credit Score.
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How is a Credit Score calculated?
Answer
There are many different models used to calculate a Credit Score. Such models use various mathematical algorithms to derive a Credit Score. The higher the score, the better your credit worthiness. Hence you typically would want to maintain a high credit score. Credit Scores are positively influenced by on-time loan payments. They are negatively influenced by late payments, delinquencies, etc.... Sometimes, too many loan inquiries on a report can also negatively influence a score.
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Question
How do Credit Scores affect Mortgage Rates?
Answer
Typically, a higher Credit Score implies better credit worthiness (which can positively influence your eligibility for a loan, and can possibly reduce your borrowing costs). One such widely used Credit Score is known as the FICO Score. It was develop by the first company to develop a Credit Score: Fair Isaac Corp. Such score is a number on a scale between 300 and 850.
According to Myfico, the effect of your Fico Score on your 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Borrowing Rate would be as in the table below for February 2, 2007. Such table is shown merely to underline the effect of Fico Scores on your Mortgage Rate. Obviously, as the general mortgage rate environment changes, so do these rates, and the difference between them.
For the given table, it is worthy to note that a Fico Score below 580 resulted in a 30-Year Mortgage Borrowing Rate more than 3.3% higher than a Fico Score above 760.
Fico Score |
30-Yr Mortgage Rate
APR |
Monthly Payment |
| 760-850 |
5.961% |
$1,791 |
| 700-759 |
6.183% |
$1,834 |
| 660-699 |
6.467% |
$1,890 |
| 620-659 |
7.277% |
$2,052 |
| 580-619 |
8.401% |
$2,286 |
| 500-579 |
9.296% |
$2,478 |
For more information on Credit Reports, Click Here
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Question
If I request my Credit Report, will that negatively affect my Credit Score?
Answer
No. You have the right to see your own Credit Report.
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What can I do if I find inaccuracies on my Credit Report?
Answer
You can contact the Credit Reporting Agency producing the report and request corrections to any inaccuracies. The agency will follow up with an investigation, which can take up to 7 weeks. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the agency could make any required corrections. If they find that your claim is unfounded, or disputed by the other party, they could decide not to make the requested correction.
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Question
What can I do if the Credit Reporting Agency does not make a correction I requested?
Answer
You can submit a brief relevant statement and ask for it to be attached to your Credit Report. Anytime an entity requests your credit report, they will also receive your statement. Such statement is not meant to make excuses for you, but to explain the inaccuracy. If the agency deems your statement frivolous or irrelevant, they could refuse it.
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Question
How long will information stay on my Credit Report.
Answer
Most your credit information will stay on your Credit Report for 7 years. Personal bankruptcies, will stay for 10 years. Inquiries will stay for 2 years.
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