Credit Information

What's On A Credit Report?

Your typical Credit Report gathers five information types:

  • Personally Identifying Information: this information consists of name, address, and Social Security number. It may also have such information as previous address and alias names.
  • Financial Information: this information is reported by creditors or institutions regarding current and past credit or debt. This can be loans, leases, or even utility or medical debt.
  • Public Record Information: any information that travels through the court system is public information unless otherwise directed by a judge. Financial matters that become public record this way such as bankruptcy, tax lien, garnishment, foreclosure, or other civil judgment will be listed on a Credit Report.
  • Creditor Collections: Collection agencies report successes and failures to credit bureaus.
  • Credit Inquiries: Each inquiry to a credit report is logged and recorded on that credit report. This means each time a potential lender, an employer, or even yourself requests a copy of the credit report it is recorded as an inquiry. Inquiries are categorized by type and the inquiring person's or company's information is also recorded.

Problems come up when the people entering this information make mistakes. Typos may seem harmless but a single character out of place can put information in the wrong file. Imagine a misplaced decimal on your auto loan; it could be the difference between qualifying for new financing and rejection. Serious errors capable of causing denial of credit are common enough to justify keeping close watch on your credit report. And when these errors pop up you need the tools and the know-how to fix them quickly.

What Makes A Credit Score And What Does It Do?

Your credit report is your unique financial portrait. The total picture is made up of categories where information is grouped and weighted for importance. The percentages offered below are an estimation of a typical credit report evaluation and not a fixed rule. Inquiring parties may have different criteria based on their individual policies and the purpose of the inquiry.

Payment History (35%)
  • Payments to creditors such as credit cards, mortgages, and loans are reported and recorded on the report.
  • Derogatory public information like bankruptcy, judgments, liens, etc. are recorded as payment history.
  • Length of delinquency; the longer past due the more severe
  • Dollar amount of delinquent accounts or accounts in collections
  • Elapsed time since last derogatory record
  • Quantity of past due accounts
  • Quantity of accounts paid in full
Outstanding Debt (30%)
  • Dollar amount still owed on all accounts
  • Dollar amount owed on certain types of accounts
  • In some cases an absence of some types of debt is counted
  • How many accounts hold balances
  • Percentage of credit used
  • Percentage of balances to original loan amounts
Length of Credit History (15%)
  • How old are the accounts
  • Age of accounts further broken down by account type
  • How long since the account was used
Types of Credit Currently in Use (10%)
  • A calculation of how many accounts are open categorized by type
New Credit (10%)
  • How many new accounts compared to total accounts by account type
  • How many credit inquiries are recently made by potential creditors
  • How long since the last credit account was created categorized by type
  • How long since the last credit inquiry
  • Positive credit information follow derogatory information showing a re-establishment of good credit