Checking Your Credit Report for Problems
Whenever you apply for a loan or credit card, your credit history will play an important roll in determining whether or not you get approved. Not only that but the information on your current report will likely be different between the three different credit reporting agencies, who likely to have different information and files. It is important that the information in all three of these files be up to date accurate and not reflect any negative information that should not be in your report.
With that in mind, before making any major financial decision it is wise to have a good understanding of what information is on your credit report and what your current credit score is. By knowing this information, you can address any problems or negative information that is on the report prior to seeking a loan or credit card. If you find problems on your credit report or worse, your creditors discover them, it is important that you take the necessary steps to correct misinformation and repair any damages that have been done in the past.
Some of the things that you might want to address and clear from your credit reports as much as possible are, delinquencies in making payments on previous loans, checks that you may have bounced inadvertently, or even liens and bankruptcies. The last two of these are not easily repaired, you may still be able to reduce the impact they have on future loans and applications for credit though.
How to obtain your credit reports
Getting copies of your credit reports has become easy thanks to a federal law that was passed in 2004 that entitles everyone to one free credit report per year from all of the three main reporting agencies, Trans Union, Equifax and Experian. Most of these services also offer access to all three credit reports by making a single payment through their websites. To obtain the free reports that are divided by the government you can fill out the annual credit request brochure and mail it in. This can be found at www.annualcreditreport.com or by phone at 877-322 – 8228.
Correcting errors and problems
If you are about to make a major purchase such as an automobile or a new house, it is very important that you give yourself enough lead time to check your credit reports and address any issues that you may find on them. For major purchases or trying to establish credit with new credit cards, you can use the following guidelines to give yourself enough time:
- If you’re buying a home, make sure you check your credit scores at least for the six months before sending in your mortgage application.
- If you are looking to buy or lease a new car, you should probably give yourself at least two months before you start the research and buying process.
- If you apply for credit cards, you need to check your credit reports before you apply. Though it’s never too early to do this, you should try and give yourself enough time to fix any problems. The last thing you want is to have another credit inquiry on your credit reports for credit that you do not qualify for.
Information you need to check
The following is a short list of things that you need to check for accuracy on your credit reports
- Your legal name
- Your Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Your addresses from the past five years
- Your employment history
- All your previous credit accounts including those that are pending
- If you have made mistakes in the past make sure that they are no longer on your reports if the time limit has expired. Bankruptcies can only remain on your credit report for 10 years. Charge-offs usually can only last seven years.
- Records of delinquent payments and other credit mistakes that enough alone you reports.
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