Your credit report is information about you which is used by lending agencies in their determination as to whether or not to extend you more credit. Your credit report will including personal information, employment information, and credit information. There are three credit report agencies which regularly gather information and update their reports. Due to discrepancies in collection and reporting, the three credit report agencies may have slightly different information about you. Regular monitoring of your credit report is important in maintaining good credit.

Inside the credit report

Your credit report contains information about you as a person, you as an employee and you as a borrower. The personal information on your credit report is gathered from your previous credit applications. This credit report information includes your full name, mailing and residential addresses, social security number, and birth date. Information on your employment history, earning status and current employer will also be in the credit report.

Perhaps more important than this basic information is the information in the credit report which describes you as a borrower. Any financial problems which are of public record, including any bankruptcy filing, home foreclosures, automobile repossessions and court judgments against you which deal with finances are all potential for inclusion in the credit report. The credit report will also show your history of credit applications and inquiries. Frequent applications are considered negative by most lenders.

Credit report agencies

There are three major credit report agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. When a lender receives a loan application from you, the lender will obtain your credit report from one of these three agencies. The three agencies usually have the same information about you; however, discrepancies in information gathering and reporting may lead to slight differences in the information in each credit report.

Monitor your credit report

Your credit report is the major factor used in determining whether or not you qualify for a credit card or loan. For this reason, it is important to regularly monitor your credit report, checking for errors including delays in clearing problems. For example, if you have paid off a loan which shows as outstanding on the credit report, you should contact the credit report agency and repair the report to reflect your better credit. Everyone is entitled to receive one free credit report each year from each of the three agencies, available on request to the credit report agency. Any time that you are denied for a loan application, you are also entitled to a free credit report. Checking the credit report can improve your credibility as a borrower and increase the likelihood of being able to borrow when you need to do so.