With the importance of having good credit becoming considerably more crucial in today’s economy, reviewing your credit report on a regular basis should be a no-brainer. Consumers are bombarded with advertisements and funky song-jingles reminding them to obtain their free credit reports annually, but once you get this (sometimes rather lengthy) document, what do you look for?
In a nutshell, you simply need to review your credit report for accuracy. Sound easy? Really, it is– if something is legitimately in error, you can get it fixed or removed usually without a significant hassle. Here are some of the most common errors that you may find:
Incorrect Accounts: If you do not recognize one of the accounts listed on your report, contact the creditor as soon as possible– request confirmation that the name and Social Security number listed for this account matches yours. If an incorrect account is listed on your report, it could be a case of mistaken identity or identity theft.
Late payments. If you have any listed, they should be within the last seven years (no longer).
Credit line limits. Confirm that the credit limits listed for each of your accounts match the information on your billing statements. This is important as available credit is a crucial factor in scoring.
Original Account dates. The length of time that you’ve had open credit accounts in good standing is a key factor in scoring, thus you’ll want to ensure that these dates match your records. Some causes for inaccurate account dates may include a takeover by another credit card company, or if your card was lost or stolen.
Type of account. It is important to ensure that accounts are listed in the correct category, to ensure you are attributed proper credit for “the optimum mix of credit types”. For instance, if you have a home equity line of credit, this should be designated as a second mortgage, not just a line of credit.
Collections and Charge-offs. Just like with late payments, any collection or charge-off activity in excess of seven years old should be removed. Those that are there legitimately should reflect the correct status, ie paid in full, zero balance, etc.
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can credit bureau report accounts that had been on your report 7 years by the original crditor who then sells it to a collection agency to report for another 7 years and if a bill was for a child under age can thry report it under your name and credit?
So many of us are unable to identify the errors on credit reports. We think that whatever is given by credit report companies or the agencies are accurate. But that is not the truth always. So thank you for bringing up this subject. It is very important for all of us to verify our credit report thoroughly.
Hello,
Most of people don’t know what are the steps and condition to take loan, some of us don’t what type of documents we have to submit for taking loan. So thanks for giving information in very easiest way.