Why a Credit Report is Required?
A Credit Article Contributed by Girish Katyal
Why a Credit Report is Required?
Credit Report helps your creditors to decide whether to give you credit or not. When you apply for a credit card or mortgage or want to by house, history about your financial deals is taken note of. Whether you get that mortgage or credit card, or not, depends totally on the agencies which maintain their network of credit reporting and share information with three major credit bureaus. Credit report is crucial not only for getting credit or loan but is also very critical for the lenders who use it to make a decision to grant you the credit or loan.
It will be good for you to check your own credit report before applying for a loan. And if you have any discrepancies in it you can always get it rectified before it reaches to the companies which are going to provide you a loan. If you have a bad credit report then you can take measures to reduce the damage and clean up the record.
Where to Get a Copy of Your Credit Report?
You can get the copy of your credit report from the agencies or bureaus which maintain these reports in your country. In America you can request a copy from each of the three major national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can get your credit report by paying a small fee to these bureaus. And they can check your credit standing in the market.
You can also get a copy of your credit card report for free if your loan is turned down recently or you are unemployed and want to apply for a job. It will be good for you to check your credit report periodically and get it corrected if there are any errors in it, as you need to have a good credit report to get a loan or a credit.
Why You Need to Check on Your Credit Report?
Now you know that getting a credit depends on your past financial dealings, along with how you have paid your creditors in the past. The details of which are noted down in a file which is consulted whenever you apply for a new loan to purchase a house or a car or whatever your credit requirement may be at the time. Therefore, it is really important for you to check your credit report from time to time and get it corrected if there are any mistakes in it.
It is always a good practice to check your credit report at least six months before you apply for a major loan. Also get it checked at least annually by a financial expert.
Following information is provided in a Credit Report and should also be checked (which you can easily do by yourself) for errors, if any, should be reported to the bureau issuing it and get it corrected.
Basic information provided in a Credit report is as follows:
> Your Name
> Marital Status
> Date Of Birth
> Previous Addresses
> Current Address
> Companies or Places where you worked and are currently working and
> Your Social Security Number
Besides these basic details, your credit report will have in great detail your credit history, if any.
