Credit Report FAQ & What's Included on a Credit Report

How is a 3 Bureau credit report different from a single-bureau credit report?

Why is my credit report and score different among the 3 bureaus?

Why is it important to check my credit report & credit score
at all three bureaus?

How do I dispute possible inaccuracies on my credit report?

Areas of Information Included On Your Credit Report:

Personal Profile

• Names on File: Your name and/or nicknames.
• Current Address: Your current U.S. mail address.
• Current Employer: Name of your current employer.
• Year of Birth: Year you were born.
• Previous Addresses: Your previous mail addresses.
• Previous Employers: Names of your previous employers.

Credit Summary

This section summarizes your credit status. You should pay special attention to the information on past due and delinquent accounts, as those can negatively affect your credit. Knowing the different account types will help you understand your report. They are:

• Installment - These are accounts like a car loan. You borrow a specific amount of money and make regular payments, with interest.
• Revolving - These are accounts like a credit card. You have a credit limit and can pay off the amount of money you borrow in different ways.

Account Details

• Total Account Balance: Total balance of all reported Installment and Revolving accounts.
• Total Accounts: Total number of reported accounts on your report, including credit/loan and collection accounts.
• Satisfactory Accounts: Total accounts that have had no late or delinquent payments.
• Account Paid in Full: Accounts that have been paid off completely.
• Oldest Account Opened: Earliest date you opened an account.

Installment and Revolving Accounts

• Installment Balance: Total unpaid balance on all installment accounts.
• Monthly Payment: Combined monthly payment for all revolving and installment accounts.
   

Past Due Accounts

• Past Due Accounts: Number of reported accounts past due. NOTE - Recent changes to your account might still be in process at your creditor or the credit bureau.
• Total Past Due Amount: Total amount past due (in dollars) for all reported accounts.
• Current Delinquent Accounts: Number of accounts that are currently delinquent.
• Previous Delinquent Accounts: Number of accounts that have been delinquent in the past, but are not delinquent now.

Number of Times Delinquent in Past 7 Years

• 30 Days Delinquent: Number of times any account has recorded a payment that was 30-59 days late.
• 60 Days Delinquent: Number of times any account has recorded a payment that was 60-89 days late.
• 90+ Days Delinquent: Number of times any account has recorded a payment that was 90 or more days late.

Report Inquiries

• Total Inquiries: Total number of credit inquiries that were reported. (The following are a few of the types of companies that can make inquiries - banks, department stores, auto dealerships, cell phone or credit card providers.)
• Inquiries in Last 6 Months: Number of inquiries in the last 6 months.

Public Records

Length of Time Public Record Appears on Report:

• Civil Judgments: 7 years
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Dismissal or Discharges: 7 years
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filings: 10 years
• Bankruptcies Voluntarily Dismissed: 7 years
• Paid Tax Liens: 7 years from date paid
• Unpaid Tax Liens: Indefinite
• Chapter 7, 11, or 12 Bankruptcies: 10 years

Public Record Details

• Type of Public Record: Civil judgments, state tax liens, federal tax liens and bankruptcies.
• Amount: Dollar amount of the lien or judgment.
• Plaintiff's Name: Name of the person or company who filed the suit in a legal judgment.
• Status Date: Last date the public record was changed.
• Reference Number: Identification number of the public record used by the court.

Credit Inquiries

This section contains the names of potential creditors who obtained a copy of your credit report. A potential creditor is anyone that you authorize to check your credit (for example, you go to a car dealership and sign a form authorizing them to see your credit history).


Report Inquiry Details

• Company Name: Name of the company that requested your credit record. The name, at times, is abbreviated by the company.
• Company Type: Describes, as closely as possible, the company's type of business.
• Date of Inquiry: Date the company made the inquiry.

Account History

This section contains specific information on each account you've opened in the past. Positive information about your accounts remains on your report indefinitely.

Account Details

• Account Number: Account number with the creditor.
• Type of Business: Describes the creditor's type of business. Common types are Bank Credit Cards, Mortgage Companies, Personal Loan Companies or Credit Unions.
• Type of Account: Describes the type of account. Common types are Revolving, Installment, or Collection.
• Date Opened: Date the account was opened.
• Balance Date: Date the account balance was reported.
• Balance: Current account balance as of the balance date. NOTE - Recent changes to your account might still be in process at your creditor or the credit bureau.
• Credit Limit: For revolving accounts - indicates the maximum amount of credit available.
  For installment accounts - indicates the balance of the account.
• Monthly Payment: Monthly payment on this account.
• Past Due: Reports the amount past due for the account. NOTE - Recent changes to your account might still be in process at your creditor or the credit bureau.

Credit Score

Your Credit Score is a numerical representation of your credit risk on a scale very similar to those used by lenders. Your credit score is based on the information contained in your credit report.

Financial institutions often use credit scores to help determine your creditworthiness for credit card approvals, mortgage lending, setting insurance premiums, and much more. Your Credit Score is determined using many of the same factors considered by leading credit scoring companies. To better understand these factors, please see your Personalized Score Analysis. The higher your score, the better, since a higher score indicates you are less risky to lenders. By understanding your current level of credit risk, you will know what kinds of offers you can expect and avoid surprises when applying for a loan or credit card. By identifying the factors affecting your credit, you can learn to better manage your credit and get better loans.

Since there are three major credit bureaus in the US (Experian, Equifax, & TransUnion), you actually have three different credit reports. Each one is based on the information that lenders have reported to that individual bureau. In the same way, you have three different credit scores – each based on one of your credit reports. Because a lender can report your information to any of the bureaus (some lenders report to all three bureaus, while others may report to none or only 1), your credit report at each bureau often contains different information. If there are differences among your three credit reports, your three credit scores will reflect these differences, as well.

It's important to note that each of your credit scores will change over time, just as the information in each of your credit reports will change. In fact, your score can actually change from day to day, since it's based on the information in your credit report on the day your score is calculated. We recommend periodically checking your credit score, score analysis, and credit report in order to be aware of your total credit picture.

Different Ways to View Your Credit Score

Your Credit Score is a three-digit number that represents your credit rating. Using a scale widely accepted by the lending industry, the majority of Personal Credit Scores are between 400 and 900. Higher scores are better.

Category Ratings

The Credit Category Rating provides an easy way for consumers to evaluate their credit and understand what types of loan terms (such as interest rate, credit line, fees, etc.) they can expect when applying for credit. This snapshot of a consumer's credit is based on general industry guidelines. Although each lender has different criteria, you will most likely receive the best loans and terms if you fall in the "Excellent" category. If you fall in the "Very Poor" or "Poor" categories, you will probably receive less favorable loans and terms.

The Percentile Value

Your percentile ranking is computed using a distribution of Personal Credit Scores based on over one million credit reports and reflecting the natural distribution of the US population. This provides an easy way for you to compare your credit rating to the rest of the U.S. population's. For example, if you rank in the 90th percentile, your credit rating is higher than 89 percent of the U.S. population. The higher your percentile ranking is, the more likely you will be able to receive good loan terms.

2010 statistics indicate this score distribution (percentiles):

• 25% of the US population is below 600
• 35% of the US population is below 670
• 50% of the US population is below 710
• 70% of the US population is below 755
• 90% of the US population is below 790

• Payment History - Information about the way you paid your credit accounts in the past, including late payments and bankruptcies.
• Credit Accounts - The number of credit accounts that you have and the different types of those credit accounts (e.g. credit cards, auto loans, etc.)
• Credit Usage - The amount of credit you are using, and the amount of credit still available.
• Length of Credit History - The number of months your credit accounts have been on your credit report.
• Credit Applications - The number of times you have applied for credit in the recent past.
• Bankruptcies - The presence and age of bankruptcy records (if any) on your credit report.
   

With many lenders using credit scoring as a significant part of their loan process, it's extremely important to know the reasons that make your score higher or lower. In fact, knowing the reasons behind your particular score is more important than knowing your score itself. This knowledge enables you to proactively manage your credit so you can get better loans.

The negative and positive factors listed on your Personal Score Report are based on actual data from YOUR credit report. By improving your negative areas and continuing your positive actions, you will be able to improve your credit rating.

Factors Not Used

Factors NOT used in calculating your Personal Credit Score include age, sex, and race. These factors are excluded from credit scoring to eliminate bias and discrimination from the decision process. Only the information from your credit report is used to calculate Your Credit Score.

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