When you read your credit report for the first time, it can be overwhelming, especially if you have had many accounts over a long period. Knowing the types of things that appear in your credit report can make reading and understanding it much easier.
1. Your Name and Name Variations
Your credit report may contain different versions, and possibly even misspellings, of your name. For example, your first and last name may appear, as well as your first and last name with a middle initial. Your credit report is compiled using information from the creditors and lenders you deal with. The name you put on your applications (which appears on your credit card or statements) is the name that appears in your credit report, so it should be consistent. Also, if creditors have misspelled your name, that error will show up in your credit report.
2. Your Current and Previous Addresses
If you have received mail at more than one address, there is a good chance those addresses will appear on your credit report. Of course, if there is an address you did not live at that appears in your credit report, you can dispute it. It will not affect your credit score, but it can be a sign of identity theft.
3. Your Employer
Your employer’s name may appear in your credit report if you have provided it to any of your creditors or lenders or any of the other companies that report to credit bureaus.
Note: Employer information does not affect your credit score but may help creditors and credit card issuers verify information in your loan or credit card application.
4. Revolving Accounts
Revolving accounts are credit accounts from which you can borrow repeatedly. The balance in a revolving account can go up or down depending on your payments and purchases. Credit cards and lines of credit are common types of revolving accounts.
5. Installment Loans
Installment accounts are one-time loans that require monthly payments every month for a specified period until the loan is paid off. Mortgages, auto loans, and student loans are types of installment loans that may appear in your credit report. Unsecured loans like personal loans will also show up in your report. (Use the calculator below if you are considering getting a new personal loan.)
6. Open and Closed Accounts
Both open and closed accounts will appear in your credit report, except for negative closed accounts that date back more than seven years. These accounts have exceeded the credit reporting time limit. Accounts that were closed in good standing remain on your credit report for nearly 10 years after the account is closed, or any period specified by the credit bureau.
7. Payment History
Your full payment history for your credit accounts will be displayed in your credit report, except for negative payment history that goes back more than seven years. The payment history will show up in your credit report, but old late payment instances may also be included in the notes section for each account. Generally, nothing stays on your report for more than 10 years.
8. Recent Credit and Loan Applications
Recent credit applications will show up in your credit report under the inquiries section. These inquiries remain in your credit report for only 24 months.
9. Collection Accounts
Unpaid debts that have been sent to a collection agency typically appear on your credit report. Even something small like a library fine may show up on your credit report if the library has sent the account to a collection agency.
Note:
This is why it is important to take care of all your bills, even those that are not regularly reported to credit bureaus.
10. Public Records
Public records include things like bankruptcy, foreclosure, and tax liens. All of these are processes that go through the judicial system. They will also appear on your credit report for up to seven years for foreclosure and tax liens, and ten years for bankruptcy.
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Sources:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “How Long Does Negative Information Remain on My Credit Report?”
Georgia Department of Law, Consumer Protection Division. “Credit Reports and Credit Score.”
TransUnion. “How Long Do Closed Accounts Stay on My Credit Report?”
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “I Filed for Bankruptcy. How Long Will That Appear on Credit Reports?”
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-s-in-your-credit-report-960514
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