Who can check their report?

Credit Reports

Question:

Can someone under 18 check their credit report? If so, what steps should they follow to check their report?

Answer:

Yes, anyone that has a credit report can view a copy of their credit report. However, if you have never used credit before, there is a possibility that you will not have a credit report yet, because there isn’t any information to include in that report. To receive a copy of your credit report, follow the instructions in the Secrets Revealed: How Do I Obtain My Credit Report? article. This article will tell you exactly what to do to obtain a copy of your credit report from one or all three of the credit bureaus. I would also suggest reading the rest of the Credit Report articles, especially if you would like to learn how to begin developing positive credit history if you currently don’t have any information on your credit report.

Even if you have never used credit it may be a good idea to check your credit report, because there is always the possibility of identity theft (meaning that someone has used your information to obtain credit under your name). It is smart to make sure that no fraudulent or wrong information is included on your credit report. Read the Identity Theft articles to learn more about identity theft and how to protect yourself.

Creditreport

Submitted by jhondep13 on Mon, 2012-04-30 01:01.

Creditreport.org

credit report

A credit report is such an important piece of information that every person who has received credit is entitled to a free one each year. But what exactly is this document that wields so much power?

How Credit is Gathered

One of the official definitions of credit is noted in Wikipedia:

Credit is the provision of resources by one party to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources (or other materials of equal value) at a later date.

When you apply for a credit card (even the unsolicited ones), a car loan, a mortgage or any type of credit, the potential creditor sends your information to the credit report bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and/or Equifax).

Credit Information Sent

You might be curious as to what type of information is compiled by the credit bureaus. The information that appears on your credit report is placed into four categories:

Consumer Information- This will contain all of your identifying data. This means your name, addresses, SSN, where you have been employed over the years, birth date, and other information that may be pertinent.

Inquiries- The inclusion of these may be surprising to some. However, every credit application you complete, approved or not, is reported to the credit bureaus. These inquiries remain on your credit report for one year.

Credit Information- This is a thorough listing of all your credit and actions regarding it. All of your loans, credit cards, mortgages, car notes, etc. are noted on the report. This information also includes names of the creditors, the credit limit, payment amount, when payment was made, amount owed, and remaining time on the loan.

For example, if you were fifteen days late on your February car payment, that will be on the report. If your credit limit is $5,000 and you have used up $4990 in credit, that will also be noted.

Public Record- This category includes any kind of state or county records that impact credit. This means tax liens (federal, state, or city), bankruptcy, and monetary judgments. Each of these will contain details of each record including: when it was filed, how it was filed, along with the amount of money involved in the situation.