Your Credit Report: the File That Follows Wherever You Go
A Credit Article Contributed by Cathy Wilson
The Credit Report File That Follows You
If you have ever gotten a loan to buy a car, applied for insurance, gotten a mortgage, applied for a cell phone, or bought any item on time, there's a credit report file on you. If you've been sued, or been arrested, filed for bankruptcy, failed to pay taxes, there's a credit report file on you. This credit report file contains just about everything about you: your social security number, where you live, where you work, and more.
You Don't Necessarily Ever See Your Credit Report
Unless you deliberately ask for it, you may never ever see a copy of your credit report. And unfortunately, that's asking for trouble. Certain companies make it their whole daily business to gather and sell this information about YOU. They are called Consumer Reporting Agencies. The most common type is the credit bureau. They collect information about you -- and sell it to creditors, creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses in the form of a credit report, also called a consumer report.
It's Not Hard to See a Copy of Your own Credit Report
Fortunately it's not that hard to see your credit report, thanks to special legislation called The Fair Credit Reporting Act. How do you do it? The easiest way is to contact one of the Credit Reporting Agencies, such as:
Equifax - 1-800-685-1111 - www.equifax.com
Experian - 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) - www.experian.com
Trans Union - 1-800-916-8800 - www.transunion.com
Once you make the request, you're entitled to everything: what they know about your medical record, your employment, your credit card history -- everything in that file that follows you, your credit report. And in most cases, when you ask WHAT the credit report says, you must also be told the sources of the information. Not only that -- they also must give you a list of everyone who has requested your report within the past year and TWO years for employment related requests.
Most of the time you can get a copy of your credit report for free. And if someone should take some kind of action against you, you must be able to receive a copy of the credit report for free as well.
What is in Your Credit Report?
In all, four basic kinds of info show up in your credit report. First of all there's your personal info: name, birth date, social security number, employer, and spouse's name. The report may also have stats about your employment history, home ownership, income, and previous address.
What most people think of when they think credit report is your payment history, including accounts with various creditors, showing your credit limits as well as if you have paid on time and if anything has gone to collections.
Further, if anyone has requested a copy of your credit report, it will be in the record. Finally, items of public record such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, or tax liens may appear in your report.
Remember this though: this is YOUR credit report. You can see it and many times, you can take steps to fix it, too.
