MONEY AND FINANCE

Credit Reports Explained

Credit Reports Explained

Credit reports may look different but they are alike. That may sound like a contradiction of terms but it isn’t. All credit reports regardless of the agency issuing them contain the same information. Hence, they are all alike.

The first section in a credit report is the Identification section. As the name implies, it is the section with your personal information. It has your name, current and former addresses, employer, spouse’s name (if applicable), date of birth, and Social Security number.

The other sections of a credit report may be in different order depending on the agency issuing them. However, you will find this information on all of them.

There is an area called Trade Lines. Trade lines contain the names of your creditors with at least a partial account number, account status, current balance, payment history, date you opened the account, date creditor last reported to the credit bureau, type of credit, repayment length with monthly payment, original amount borrowed with credit limit and highest balance ever held and name of person(s) responsible for paying the account.

In the section titled, Public Records any liens, bankruptcies, evictions, repossessions, judgments, foreclosures, and court-ordered child support arrears will be found. Lien release dates are also found, usually, in this section.

There will be a section called Inquiries. This is the section that lists anyone who has accessed your credit report. Inquiries come in two flavors, hard or soft.

A hard inquiry results from an application or transaction initiated by you. Applying for a credit card is a hard inquiry. A soft inquiry occurs when you pull your credit report or your credit report is checked for pre-approval offers.

There is a section, usually at the very back of the report, that lists all of the names, addresses and phone numbers of the entities that have made a report to the credit reporting agencies about you. This is a handy detail especially if you have a question about an entry.

As with any anatomy, the above may not be complete given the credit reporting agencies can structure their reporting format any way they select. However, the above information does cover the most important parts of any credit report.

Money and Finance

Credit Reports Explained