January 31, 2009

There are three different credit bureaus and each of their credit reports contain the same general information.  Here is a brief overview of what you will find or could find.

Person Information

This includes your name, social security number, employer, and addresses that you have lived at.

Your Accounts

This section of your credit report is a list of all your accounts.  With each account will be the date it was opened, the credit limit, the balance, your payment history to the account.  Also, each account will include the type of credit it represents like mortgage, auto loan, and credit card.

Your Credit Applications

These are usually called credit inquires.  This is a list of every time your credit report has been accessed in the last two years.  There are two different type of inquiries, hard or soft.  Hard is when you have applied for new credit and the lender reviews your credit report.  Soft is when yourself, a employer or insurance company access your credit report.

Collections and Public Records

This is section will show an accounts that have sent your to collections.  It could also include any liens, bankruptcies, wage granishments, suits, and or forclosures.

Your reports look different?

Since there are three different credit bureaus you will have three different credit reports.  Not all the information will be the same and can vary vastly from report to report.  This is becuase accounts are not required to report to every bureau just one.  If this does happen the information will only show on this report.

So if you are going to  review your credit report you should get all three.  Consumers are entitled to get a free credit report once per year and everyone should be taking advantage of this privelage.  Here are some place where you can find them for free:

• Credit Report 360
• MyFico
• Equifax

Once you got your copy hold on to it.  It is a great reference.  It could point out what you should do to improve you credit score.