If you have recently been denied credit or plan to apply for credit soon, it would be wise to obtain your credit report. You know that it is a document that is the foundation of a decision on whether you will receive credit.
You need to know that there are actually three major credit reporting agencies. These are: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. It is possible to receive a free copy of the report from each agency once a year. See freeannualcreditreport.com for information on how to obtain the three copies. You need all three because differences may be apparent.
The reports will all contain a section with the usual identifying information such as name, address, social security number, etc. The reports will not have information about you personally such as race, assets, salary.
Lines of credit will be included such as balances, monthly payments, and credit limits. This section addresses credit cards, department store credit cards, mortgages, automobile loans, department store cards, gas cards. This will also cite dates accounts were opened, payment history (with late payments), unpaid child support, and overdrawn bank accounts.
In addition, there will be a section for bankruptcies, liens, judgments, divorce which are records submitted by the court system.
Any time that you fill out a credit application ( credit card, loan ) there will be a credit inquiry to one of the bureaus. If you inquire for yourself, it will be on the report. These inquiries will remain for 2 years.
There is no problem if your credit report is positive. However, any true negative comments will stay on the report for 7 years. Bankruptcies stay on for 10 years.
Request those credit reports from all 3 agencies. Compare the reports, be aware of discrepancies and fix errors. We have a personal responsibility to monitor our own credit profile, fix mistakes and, if needed, repair our credit.
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