The Annual Credit Report’s Details

Many people have heard about the credit report and most know that they have one. Countless, however, have never viewed one and thus don’t know what kind of information it contains.

Your credit report contains factual, specific information regarding the dealings that you have had with creditors. It does NOT include your personal information, such as, how much you drink, whether you smoke, if you like to gamble, or any other personal vices or habits that you may not want publicized.

Identity Information

Name, social security number, date of birth, and past and present addresses are all included on the report. When entering your name and address while applying for credit, try and be consistent. Name, address, and date of birth are most commonly used to identify your credit report. Social security number is next.

Public Recorded Information

The official information about you that is made public includes bankruptcies, child support orders, tax liens, and more.

Collection Activity

Accounts that are tardy and have been sent to collection agencies will appear in this section.

Credit Account Information

Each credit account will be listed. Whether it is open or closed, joint or individual, payment history (on time or late), monthly payments, account type (mortgage, credit card, etc.), and the credit limit of the account can all be viewed.

List of Companies that Have Requested Your Report

When a company requests your credit report, it is recorded and listed on the report. Soft Inquiries are made for promotional purposes (credit card offers, etc.) and can be viewed by you, but not by lenders. Hard inquiries are made by creditors when you have requested they lend you money. These inquiries can be viewed by lenders when pulling your credit report.

Message from You

You can attach a message for each negative mark on your report, if desired.

Credit Score (Optional)

By default, your credit score is NOT listed on your annual credit report. You can, however, request that it is added to your report. Each of the credit bureaus will list a different credit score, so each report’s credit score will vary.

By: Miles Thomas

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Provided by Free Annual Credit Report and Scores