Free Instant Credit Reports – Score

Jeremiah Perez asked:




Have you ever wondered how lenders evaluate your credits report? Credit score? Background Check?

Learn what creditors, landlords, and employers look for so you can ultimately improve your credit to obtain what you want.

Below are the 7 most crucial aspects creditors are evaluating and tips to improve them.

1. First one is a no brainer; a favorable point is to have all your accounts current. Tip: Make all your payments on time. Just with this, you will rank high amongst the general public.

2. Keep your debt-to-income ratio under 20%. Debt-to-income ratio is calculated by obtaining your total monthly debt and dividing it by your gross monthly income. Tip: Do not over extend yourself. Keep your expenses low and try not to use your credit for a while if it is over 20% or pay it down.

3. Having to many credit cards and open lines is not a favorable characteristic. Available balances on these lines are viewed as negative due to the fact that they can easily turn to future debt. Tip: Limit the amount of open accounts you have on your report.

4. One of the worse characteristics to have on your credit is late payments. Whether you are 30, 60, 90, or 120 days late, your credit score will suffer along with creditors risk analysis skyrocketing. Tip: Do what it takes; sell some items on the internet, get another job, lower your expenses, but make your payments on time. The longer it goes pass due, the worse it looks. If there is a negative comment or incorrect information, dispute the finding with the bureaus.

5. Too much credit inquires. Creditors frown upon more the 4 inquires within a year. Tip: Stop applying for all those department store credit cards because they offer you an additional 20% off your purchase. Be wise and pull your credit only if needed. Credit inquires usually disappear after 2 years depending on the nature of the inquiry.

6. Lenders do not like instability. Several changes in your physical address and employment are shunned upon by lenders. Tip: Try to keep the same address even if it requires you to rent a P.O. Box or a UPS box.

7. Last but not least, negative credit history such as bankruptcies and charge-offs may either force a rejection or approval with really high interest rate and fees. Tip: Depending on the type of bankruptcy or charge off, the negative remark will only exist for 7 – 10 year from the date of the original delinquency.

Credit reports all have 4 general types of data; Personal information, history data, Public records information, and creditor inquiries.

Pearl

Paul Abbey asked:




Today actually getting hold of an instant credit report is much easier to achieve than it was a couple of years ago. As we are all beginning to realize being able to know where we stand in relation to how credit worthiness is extremely important to many of us today. Unfortunately if your credit history is poor or bad actually getting a loan or mortgage is very difficult to achieve.

But by getting hold of a copy of your credit report from any of the three major credit reporting agencies you will be able to see just where you stand when it comes to your credit worthiness. Today not only are there personal credit reports a person can obtain but there are also business credit reports available.

The main feature of any of these types of reports is that they contain data relating to either you or your business which the various credit reporting agencies have collected. It contains information relating to your financial position and will show if you have any problems relating to late payments or debts remaining unpaid.

But when it comes to you getting hold of a copy of your credit report you need to be very careful when you are trying to obtain it. This is because the report will contain very important and personal information about you including details of your name, your address, any contact numbers and your date of birth. Plus it will also contain your social security number all of which can be extremely beneficial to those people who like to use other people personal details to obtain funds and goods fraudulently.

Therefore if you choose to arrange to get hold of your credit report through one of the many online services that offer such a facility you need to make sure that it is a completely secure website. With a site such as Experian they have a padlock which they use to denote that this is a secure site and no one else will be able to gain access to your personal and financial information.

The biggest advantage to be had from getting hold of a copy of your instant credit report especially if you are considering taking out some form of credit (loan or mortgage) is you will be able to see whether you are likely to be declined or approved. Certainly by keeping abreast of your credit history and how you are being scored will ensure that when it does come time to take out any kind of loan or mortgage you will be able to do so more easily. Plus it allows you the chance to help to improve your credit history if at any time you find that your financial situation changes.

Andre

Karen R. Miller asked:




If you are reading this article, there is a good chance that you are interested in finding out more about your credit report. Experian.com ReportAccess gives you a complete assessment of your financial standing and credit worthiness as seen by your lenders, insurers, credit cared issuers, and employers.

Only certain institutions are authorized to grade your credit score with Experian being one of them. The other two agencies are Equifax and TransUnion.

This article will discuss in detail exactly what an Experian.com ReportAccess will show you. Before we get into that, here is a little bit more of information about credit scores in general.

More about credit scores

An individual’s credit score falls in the range of 280-850, with 850 being the best and 280 being the worst. The national average for a credit score in 2009 was 693. This would mean that you have a less than average quality credit history if your score is lower than 693. If your score however is in the 700+ range, it would mean that you have better credit than the average population.

Why are credit scores useful to you?

Now that you know exactly what credit scores establish, you might wonder about their use. A credit score or a credit report is an important tool with which you can negotiate in the financial world. Let’s say that you are applying for a mortgage for a house. A lot of things will be taken into account before a bank decides to give you a mortgage. They will find out about where you work, whether you have a spouse and so on but the most important thing that they will look into is your credit report.

Your credit report would have summarized your whole financial history in a few pages. Loans that you took out before and repaid, loans that you took out and failed to pay, late payments and many other details will be shown. There is also the all important credit score number that will allow the bank to quickly evaluate you for a loan.

This is why a Experian.com ReportAccess is very important as it would allow you to leverage your good credit history to get the best possible deal on your mortgage. If however your credit report is less than spectacular and is in fact poor, you will be able to understand why a bank might turn down your loan request or give you unusually high interest rates.

The Experian.com ReportAccess credit report

The Experian.com ReportAccess credit report will give you 6 sections with which you can analyze your credit history. From personal information to credit summary to individual account details, you will be able to get a snapshot of your credit history by viewing just a couple of pages. The Experian.com ReportAccess will also give out information such as Creditor information and public records information. The report will also show you how many times your credit history has been requested by various entities. The more number of times your credit history has been requested would mean that you are generally considered high risk in terms of credit worthiness.

Jessie

Justin Smith asked:




Raising your credit score can be a fairly simple and straightforward process unless you have derogatory marks that need to be disputed (which will be explained below).

The reasons for bad credit can be as follows, high balances, bankruptcies, late payments, and many others. The most significant thing you can do to raise your score is to change your financial habits. Chances are that if you have a bad credit score, you did something to make it that way. Here are some of the best ways to quickly raise your credit score:

1. The most obvious: pay off your debt! This doesn’t include a home mortgage, but revolving balances such as credit card debt, a car loan, etc.

2. Make every payment on time. This is the most important factor in your credit score rating. If you have had late payments in the past, it will take some time to see real results from your on-time payments, but keep it up, sooner or later the credit bureau will notice the change in your payment habits. Develop the mentality that no late payment is acceptable!

3. If possible, pay over your minimum amount. This is especially important with credit card balances, and will reflect a slight boost in your score.

4. If you have paid off all your debt, and your credit score seems to be at a stand still, you might want to make small purchases each month with your credit card and pay them off immediately. Often times the credit bureaus like to see at least some kind of activity. Otherwise, they have no way to gauge how you are doing financially.

5. Be patient! Sometimes repairing credit can be a long and arduous process. Especially if you have had a bankruptcy. It can often take the better part of a year or more to see any significant raises in your score.

Clearing a derogatory mark on your credit report:

This is probably the most difficult in regards to credit repair. If you have requested a copy of your credit report, and notice a problem (an example would be a late payment mark), that shouldn’t be there, you need to take action to get the derogatory mark cleared as soon as possible. It is extremely important to get your credit score cleared before you attempt to get prequalified for mortgage.

Here are the steps you should take:

First of all, if you are in contact with a loan officer, you may want to describe the problem you are having to them. They can be very helpful when it comes to credit repair, and should know exactly what to do if you have a bad mark on your credit that is a mistake. In some cases, they may even call the creditor for you to address the situation.

Second, you should call your creditor and each credit bureau to find out which course of action you should take. In most cases, writing a letter will do. Here is an example letter:

Date 00/00/00

Dear Big Credit Bureau,

This letter is a complaint that you are reporting inaccurate and/or incomplete credit information on my credit report.
I am displeased that you have included the below information in my credit profile that includes the following errors. Credit reporting laws ensure that bureaus report 100% accurate credit information.

The following information concerning my credit report needs to be re-investigated. I respectfully request to be provided proof of this alleged item on my credit report. If this cannot be provided, the item must be deleted from my report as soon as possible:

CREDITOR AGENCY, acct. 123-34567-ABC

The listed item is inaccurate and/or incomplete, and is a serious error in reporting. Please delete this information, and supply a corrected credit profile to all creditors who have received a copy within the last 6 months, or the last 2 years for employment purposes. Also, please provide the name, address, and telephone number of each credit grantor or other subscriber.

Under federal law, you have 30 days to complete your re- investigation. Be advised that the description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information is hereby requested as well, to be provided within 15 days of the completion of your re-investigation.

Sincerely,

your signature

Your Name

SSN# 123-45-6789

Unfortunately, you will need to write 3 separate letters to each of the 3 major credit bureaus. Here are the contact addresses for each:

Trans Union

P.O. Box 1000

Chester, PA 19022

1-800-888-4213

Equifax

P.O. Box 740241

Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

1-800-997-2493

Experian

P.O. Box 2104

Allen, TX 75013-2104

1-888-397-3742

Bill

Tim Gorman asked:




Credit reports are pointers to your credit worthiness. It gives information about your credit history – past and present loans from various sources and payments made, late payments and payment dues to the creditors. From the credit report, the credit score is derived. The credit report is the basis on which you will be able to apply for various loans. The better your credit report, the better chances you will have of getting a loan. A good credit report will always fetch better loan amounts, lower interest rates and easier payment options. From a personal point of view, a credit report can help you to keep an eye on where you stand as regards to your credit situation.

Having stated the importance of a credit report, let us look at how to get totally free online credit reports. According to Fair and Accurate credit transaction Act, the three top credit agencies in the USA Experian, TransUnion and Equifax are obliged to provide free credit reports to those who seek them within a period of 12 months. The act has been enacted to ensure that every American knows what reports the credit bureaus are providing about him. It is also a measure to curb the increasing identity thefts and errors in the reports. So, getting your credit report periodically and manning it for errors and omissions has been made easy now.

The three credit bureaus have jointly created a website where you can request your rightful free copy of your credit report.

Log on to http://www.annualcreditreport.com for placing a request for your totally free online credit report. You have the option to order all three-credit reports simultaneously or order each one at different times. Ordering them at different times helps because you will be able to monitor your credit report on a periodic basis throughout the year. This way, you will be able to see the effects of any major financial transactions you might have got into. For example, if you are getting a large home loan, it will be a good idea to get a report before this to make sure it is in good order to fetch you a higher loan amount and lower interest rates. It will also be a good idea to get a report after a major transaction to ensure that all the details in the report are correct and to get an idea of what effect it has had on your credit report.

There are many sites online that advertise for a ‘free’ credit report or even a three-in-one credit report that has the reports from all the three top credit bureaus. But they are attached to some other offer, usually on a free trial basis for a week or a month. At the end of this period, your credit card account will be credited for some amount, if you forget to get out of the free trial (which typically everyone forgets). And you will be trapped into this offer for a minimum period like one year and have to continue to pay every month. For this reason, be careful of sites that advertise ‘free’ credit report(s). Plan your credit reporting and use the above-mentioned site to get your totally free online credit report, absolutely free of cost!

Henry

Clara Ghomes asked:




Credit reports of an individual are a record of all his/her past lending transactions such as borrowing money, repayments, information regarding late payments (if any) and bankruptcy. The credit rating or score is based on the credit report of an individual. These ratings help in determining the ease and difficulty with which a person would (or won’t) get credit from credit card companies, banks or any other creditors.

The US laws have allowed every person to request for a free copy of their credit report every year. It’s very beneficial to get a free report, but the opportunity could get wasted if one doesn’t know how to read them. It also could be frustrating if a person doesn’t have any clue regarding how to read or understand their credit report. Nowadays, these reports are many important with the number of identity thefts which are on a rise and regular checking of reports helps a person in dealing with any issues in the report.

A person can request his/her copy of free report from any of the credit bureaus- namely TransUnion, Equifax and Experian (or TRW). One can also go online to get a copy of their financial records. One should make a habit of checking their report every year. Also, the credit bureaus should be contacted in case of any occurrence of incorrect information in an individual’s report.

After receiving the copy, one should sit down and review the report slowly and carefully. Each line of the report should be analyzed to get all the information regarding the debts. Many documents also provide ‘key’ with which one can understand the meaning of the symbols and codes used in the report. Also, a copy of the report should be faxed to the accountant for identification of any tax implications.

Any information which doesn’t make any sense should be highlighted. One should remind themselves to search online for explanation regarding the unclarified information. Friends with adequate knowledge regarding this report can be contacted for advice. One can also try free credit counselling agencies if there is still problem in analyzing the report, why it exists and the information on the report. Also, one should immediately investigate anything that doesn’t look familiar. The information should be reviewed on a monthly basis.

There are also companies which offer services of checking credit reports and confirming information for a fee. But, going online to request free such report can help in viewing the information for free. Also, these reports don’t mention the credit rating of an individual; they just provide all the list of accounts to check that the information on the report is true and contains no errors.

Harold