What Information Is On Your Credit Report?
Now that you know how to get your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, let’s take a look at the information you’ll find there. Some of it is basic and easy to understand, while other parts require a little more analysis. The good thing is, you only need to learn this information once.
After you figure it out, you’ll be able to quickly review and understand your credit report with little effort going forward. This information can help you fix your current score as well as contribute to making better informed financial decisions in the future.
Personal Information
This basic section is easy to understand, but you’ll still want to check the details carefully for accuracy and consistency. Here you’ll see information including your name, former legal names, current and past addresses, birthday, social security number, employer, spouse information, and whether it’s a joint account report or not. You may or may not have a lot of information in this section depending on how often you’ve applied for credit.
For example, your employer doesn’t send any information to the credit bureaus and this section isn’t meant to serve as a resume. Instead, a lender may report your employment information from a loan application you’ve submitted.
Any personal information shouldn’t affect your credit score but is instead used to verify your identity when needed. Check to make sure everything is accurate, but don’t stress, especially if you see something like a past job missing from your credit report.
Account Summary
Here you’ll find a summary of all of your debts and where you stand with each of them. You’ll see four categories: mortgages, installment loans, revolving credit, and other types of debt. Your report also gives you an overview of the status for each category type. For example, if you have a mortgage, you’ll see your balance, the original loan amount, and how many total balances you have.
For revolving credit, you’ll see your total balance owed for all card, how much credit you currently have available, your credit limit, debt to credit ratio, monthly payment amount, and the number of accounts with a balance. You’ll see the same information for installment loans as well.
One thing to note about your credit card balance is that depending on when the report is pulled, you could still have a balance even if you pay all of your cards in full each month. That’s because credit reports are essentially a snapshot in time. So if the report (or your credit score) is pulled after a billing cycle is complete but before you’ve made your payment, then that full balance is shown.
If you’re in the middle of a loan application and need to boost your credit score by a few points or lower your debt to income ratio in order to qualify, ask your lender to perform a rapid rescore once you’ve settled your balances. This service quickly updates your credit report with the most recent information and just takes a few business days to complete, rather than the typical month or two.