Your credit report is a record of your loans, credit cards, payments and outstanding debts. The information is supplied by companies that have given you credit or loaned you money (lenders).
Lenders give regular reports about your credit accounts to companies called credit reporting bureaus. These companies are in the business of collecting information about consumers from lenders (such as banks, savings and loans, credit unions, finance companies and stores). Credit reporting bureaus keep this information in computer databases and provide it to lenders when you apply for a new credit card or loan. Credit reporting bureaus do not make lending decisions.
When you apply for a credit card or loan, lenders use your credit report to decide if you are responsible enough to handle additional credit.
Your credit report contains:
Current and past payment information—whether your payments have been on time or late.
Outstanding balances—the balances on your credit cards and the amounts of your outstanding loans.
Information about you from public records, such as a bankruptcy or overdue property taxes.
Overdue child support payments.
The names of everyone who recently asked for a copy (inquiries).
Your credit report does not have:
Information about your race, religion, political party, medical history, lifestyle, background or criminal record.
A new federal law gives you the right to get one free copy of your credit report each year. (If you order additional reports in the same year that you obtained a free report, you must pay $10 per report.) The free credit report law will be phased in across the country between December 2004 and September 2005. It's a good idea to check your credit report at least once a year to make sure all the information is accurate.
Accounts that you have paid off remain on your credit report even after you have finished paying them. If you handled the account well, it remains on your credit report for 10 years after it is paid off or closed. Negative information, such as late payments and abandoned accounts, remains on your report for up to 7 years, and a bankruptcy may stay on your report for up to 10 years.
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Your credit report is a record of your loans, credit cards, payments and outstanding debts. The information is supplied by companies that have given you credit or loaned you money (lenders).
Lenders give regular reports about your credit accounts to companies called credit reporting bureaus. These companies are in the business of collecting information about consumers from lenders (such as banks, savings and loans, credit unions, finance companies and stores). Credit reporting bureaus keep this information in computer databases and provide it to lenders when you apply for a new credit card or loan. Credit reporting bureaus do not make lending decisions.
When you apply for a credit card or loan, lenders use your credit report to decide if you are responsible enough to handle additional credit.
Your credit report contains:
Your credit report does not have:
A new federal law gives you the right to get one free copy of your credit report each year. (If you order additional reports in the same year that you obtained a free report, you must pay $10 per report.) The free credit report law will be phased in across the country between December 2004 and September 2005. It's a good idea to check your credit report at least once a year to make sure all the information is accurate.
Accounts that you have paid off remain on your credit report even after you have finished paying them. If you handled the account well, it remains on your credit report for 10 years after it is paid off or closed. Negative information, such as late payments and abandoned accounts, remains on your report for up to 7 years, and a bankruptcy may stay on your report for up to 10 years.