Credit & Credit Reports - Part 2

Now that you know how to get a free copy of your credit report, what’s in the report and what do you do with it once you get it?

There are three main areas of a credit report:
1. Your personal information: name, address, Social Security number, telephone number, employer, past addresses, past employers, etc.
2. Account information: for each creditor, there will be the creditor/lender’s name, address, account number, type of account, opening date, terms, etc. as well as a payment history, high balance, and present balance.
3. The last section will list who’s been asking for your credit report in the last 24 months.

It may be lengthy, but you need to check all information in for accuracy. If any information is wrong or you wish to dispute an entry, you need to correct it with the credit bureau that issued the report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to have any correct or misleading information removed from your credit report. The credit bureaus have 45 days to investigate after your report an error. If, after the investigation, the credit bureau feels their information is correct, you have the right to add a short statement to your file to explain your side of the story.

Keep in mind, the better your credit history looks, the better your credit score. The better your credit score, the easier it will be for you to get credit – or get credit on better terms.