Need Facts? Credit Facts? Get "Equifax"! Your Equifax Credit Report, That Is!

A Credit Article Contributed by Ann Hull

Give Equifax "Some Credit" for Being One of the Big Three!!!

Equifax is one of the premier credit reporting agencies in the US, and there are two other major bureaus, as well as a number of smaller entities. Each credit-reporting agency keeps data on you and your credit history. This information is continuously generated from various creditors.

Your lenders, landlords, employers, and some other service providers purchase this information to aid them in determining whether or not to approve any credit application you might make, for the following: a credit card, loan, job, some insurance, or housing, or also to offer you a specific service or product at a certain rate.

What to Look at, When You View Your Equifax Credit Report

Since your file changes on a regular basis, you should review your information often, to check for errors, which are not unusual. On your credit report, you'll normally see info such as your name, (maiden? name, if applicable), and your current and other recent addresses. You will also find your Social Security Number, your date of birth; your work history, from the present, on back, normally about five to ten years.

As for your credit history, this refers to all the details about your various accounts, or they may be accounts where you're listed as an authorized user, such as with your spouse, or a parent, etc. Details here will include the date the account was opened, your credit limit or loan total, your current balance, the specific payment terms, and your payment history. This last will indicate whether or not you've been paying on time, and how much. Also, any inactive or closed accounts and their payment records, will often be shown on your account for seven to ten years of last activity.

You should also know that credit reporting agencies record any inquiry, such as whenever another party requests your report. Some that may do this include potential and present creditors, landlords, employers, insurers, and other service providers

Your credit report will also include anything such as a bankruptcy, tax lien, or delinquent child support that appears on public records and court records. This information usually stays on your report for 7 years. What a credit report does not show is information on your checking and saving or old debts or charge-offs, or bankruptcies more than a decade old. A credit report should also NOT indicate the following: religious and political affiliation, criminal records, medical history, gender, or ethnicity.

You and Your Credit: What's So Special about Equifax?

At Equifax, you'll be assigned a credit score, which will be based on your credit report information, but it's not actually part of the report. At Equifax, your total score package is called "Score Power". What this is, is your present FICO® credit score, and a copy of your Equifax Credit Report™.

What Will Lower Your Equifax Credit Report??

When viewing your Equifax credit report, you should keep in mind, the following:

Understand that there are various formulas that are used to calculate credit scores, but most of these are based on shared specific information, such as payment history, public records, amount owed, length of credit history, new accounts, and inquiries. For instance, when it comes to your payment history, if you typically pay late, or have a lot of current and past late payments, your credit score will be lowered.

Also, some public record information, such as judgments, liens, collections, and bankruptcies, will also decrease your credit numbers. Too, if you owe too much, as compared to your total credit limit or income, this will negatively impact your score. It's also helpful, although of course, not necessary, certainly with young people, that your credit history is fairly extensive. In other words, size matters here! ! ! Longer IS better. . . .

Also, do you have any new accounts? If you open multiple accounts within a short while, your score may be lowered, for this. Also, if you have a lot of inquiries on your report, particularly, if they are from credit granting entities, your score may be negatively influenced. Finally, you can't have too many accounts open at once, whether or not you're using them all.

So, Just How Can You Get an Equifax Credit Report?

Lastly, here's how to contact Equifax: BY MAIL, Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374; or BY TELEPHONE 800-685-1111; or online, where you can go to Equifax.com and order your report for a minimum of $9.00, although residents of some states are entitled to 1-2 credit reports per year, and you can find that information either online, or when you speak with an Equifax representative.