Much of the purchasing made by individuals are done with the use of credits or loans. You get a car through a car loan, a house via a mortgage, your education through educational loans or just about any other need through the use of credit cards. Gone were the days when you had to carry load of cash to buy what you require.
Before an individual can access a credit or a loan, however, his credit history will first have to be checked by the bank or the financial entity that will be issuing him the loan. This is done through credit reports review. With the importance such a credit report have on your future loans, it is vital that you review first all your credit reports before you decide to apply for a loan. Otherwise, you run the risk of being rejected.
CRAs or consumer reporting agencies are the companies responsible for gathering and then selling credit information. The most typical type of a CRA is a credit bureau. There are 3 major operating credit bureaus in the country and some small ones. There are also 3 types of credit reports, the annual credit report, the business credit report and the consumer credit report.
The three major credit bureaus, the TransUnions, Equifax and Experian, maintain the annual credit report. The law dictates that an individual can acquire a copy of the annual credit report annually from one or all of the 3 major agencies when they ask for it. If additional copies are requested, a fee will already be required.
Next, the consumer credit report, is a report that lists down the credit history of the consumer. It is also available from the number of credit agencies found in the U.S. Compared to the annual credit report, this one is not free of charge and may be requested anytime the consumer needed it. It is available online and can be accessed anytime as long as the proper fees are paid. The last type, the business credit report, is a company’s credit detail. It can be accessed for a fee.
A credit report basically contains several information, first of which is the “identifying information”. This includes the name and aliases, the addresses and social security number and other pertinent details such as the date of birth, employer details and your spouse’s identifying details.
The credit report also includes the “credit information” such as the existing bank account details, the existing loans and all other related data. The report also indicates the “public record information” like the court records, previous bankruptcy records, etc. Finally, the credit report has “recent inquiries” which include the names of those who took a copy of the report for the last two years as may be needed.
It is vital that you get a copy of all three credit reports and review them well. They are quite important if you wanted to get future loans. By reviewing them before applying for a loan, you will prevent possible problems such as inaccuracies or errors. Credit reports are known to contain errors. Likewise, you will know the chances of your loans if you already know what your credit report contains. No unwelcome surprises.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
