Your credit report contains everything a lender would want to know about you

We have written extensively in the past about the importance of the credit report to anyone who uses money. It’s not just about whether or not you can get a loan; employers and landlords check them to be sure that an employee or a tenant is a good risk. You wouldn’t want to hire someone to work in a bank if they had a history of financial malfeasance, and you wouldn’t want to rent an apartment to someone who has a history of not paying his or her bills. The credit report is perhaps the single most important document that you have, and yet many people have never seen one.

So, what is on a credit report and how can I see one? You can get one for free at annualcreditreport.com. This is a Website created by the three credit bureaus to provide the one report per year per bureau that the Federal government requires them to provide. If you go there and fill out a short form, you will receive a copy of your report.

Here is what you will find on it:

Your personal information - Your name, address, phone number and Social Security number will be listed. The report may also include former addresses, particularly if you have moved a number of times in the last ten years. Current and former employers may be listed, as well.

Your financial history - This will be a list of all current and past accounts and loans. Anyone who has offered a charge card or lent money to you should be listed. Closed accounts will be listed as closed. In this section of the document, you will see how well you have paid each of these companies and whether or not you have ever made any payments that were more than 30 days late. You total available limit will also be listed. Got a $30,000 limit on your Visa card? Your record will probably show that.

Judgments, etc. - Ever file for bankruptcy? If you have within the last ten years, it will be noted here.

Inquiries - Any time you apply for a loan, it will be shown as an inquiry on your report. An application for a charge card or a home loan will show up. Each inquiry makes a small “dent” in your FICO score; a number of such inquiries in a short period of time could lower your score by a significant margin, suggesting that you may be financially desperate. On the other hand, a number of similar inquiries in a short time, such a few in a month’s time in search of a home loan, should be treated as a single inquiry.

That’s about it. You should get in the habit of checking your document at least once a year in order to be sure that it contains no errors. If your record contains errors, you can fix them, and it’s well worth your while to do so. The document is an important one, and it will hurt you greatly if the information contained within in not accurate.

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