What's in Your Credit Report?

If you're like many people who have heard that your credit report is very important, you may be wondering just what is in it. If you have never seen your own credit report, you may not actually know what type of information is detailed throughout. You need to know what's in your credit report and how it affects you and your financial future. So what is in your credit report and what does this mean for you? Can you change what's in your credit report?

One thing you will have noticed if you have seen your credit report before is that each credit reporting agency has different formats which they use and can report your personal information differently. However, if you’re asking what’s in your credit report, you'll be happy to know that it is the same basic information no matter which credit reporting agency you are asking.

Some basic information that you will find in your credit report is:

• Your identifying facts

• Name
• Address
• Social security number
• Date of birth
• Employment information

The identifying facts of your credit report will not be used in credit scoring. Instead, they are provided to help identify who you are. They are updated based on the information that you supply to lenders or to potential lenders when you apply for credit.

You can also find:

• Trade lines - these are your credit accounts. Any account that you have open with a lender will be listed in the trade lines. Lenders will then report on these accounts. They will tell the type of account, such as if it is a bank card, auto loan, home mortgage, etc and information such as when you opened your account, how much the credit is for, the credit limit if you have one and the account balance as well as your payment history. If you have made payments late or missed payments, this will be listed. It will tell in your trade lines if you are current with your payments.


• Credit inquiries - many people are not aware that every credit inquiry made on their account affects their credit score. This means every time that you apply for a loan or credit of some type, you will have an inquiry placed on your credit report.


• Public record - other items that you will find listed on your credit report are those of public record. Matters of public record include foreclosures, suits against you, wage attachments, bankruptcies and more.


• Collection items - collection items will also be included in your credit report. Any time that a line of credit has had to be turned over to collections, it will be listed here in your credit report to give future potential lenders an idea for how well you manage your finances.

If you see information in your credit report that is inaccurate, there are steps you can take to have these things removed. However, you will never know if you don’t check your credit report regularly to see what's in it. Take the time to familiarize yourself with what's in your credit report and then request your free copies of your report to be certain everything within it is accurate.