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Below, you'll find
extensive information on leading experian articles and products to
help you on your way to success.
How To Read An Experian Credit
Report
By Delia Galley, Thu Dec 8th
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
requires each of the Nationwide Consumer Reporting organizations
(Equifax, Trans Union and Experian) to provide you with one free credit
report every 12 months per your request. This means that you are
entitled to three free credit reports per year, if you deem it
necessary.You can stagger the requests or order all of them at the
same time.
Each of the National Consumer Credit
Reporting bureaus have aunique credit report format, but in essence
they provide you with the same information. When you receive your free
Experian credit report use the following guidelines to read your report:
Personal Header Information
This section lists your full name,
report number and report date. You will need to reference the report
number, if you wish to contact Experian regarding your credit report.
Potentially Negative
Information
Any information that may lead
creditors to view you as a credit risk will be listed here. The
following details will be listed: the name of the creditor, their
address, your account number,account status, claim filed date, claim
amount, claim resolved date and who bears the responsibility of
resolving any claims or issues against the account.
In addition, this section will list
any bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments or liens in your credit
history.
Credit Items
Here you will find all the credit
accounts that you have or have had in the past. It will list the name of
the creditor, their address, your account number, the type of account,
the status ofthe account (e.g. paid or past due), the date on which
the account was opened, the credit limit, payment terms (e.g.
12months/year), monthly payments, recent balance and recent payment.
You will see a summary "credit
history" for each of your accounts. The summary will indicate, whether
the account has been to collections or was delinquent. In cases, where
you are disputing items against the account, you will see a
note indicating your dispute status.
Accounts in Good Standing
This is the good part. Every account
you have listed here works towards a good FICO Score. You will find the
name of the account creditor, their address, your account number, the
type of account, the status of the account, the date on which the account
was opened, the credit limit, payment terms (e.g. 12months/year),
monthly payments, recent balance and recent payment. If you closed the
account, you will see a note indicating so.
Requests for your Credit
History
Any inquiries against your credit file will be listed in
this section. This section is divided into two subcategories:
(a)Requests Viewed by Others (b) Request Viewed by You.
"Requests Viewed by Others" are
inquiries against your credit report from creditors with whom, you have
applied for credit lines or loans (e.g. mortgage loan or credit card
application). Some inquiries may have been originated from
potential employers. Each request will have details identifying the
name of the requesting company, their address, the date on which
they made the request and any comments regarding the request.
"Requests Viewed by You" are
inquiries against your credit report by yourself or persons who have
permission to review your credit file by law (e.g. creditors wanting to
offer pre-approved credit, employer about to extend an offer of
employment or consumer credit reporting bureau processing a request made
by you). Each request will detail the name of the requesting company,
their address, the date on which they made the request and any comments
regarding the request.
Personal Information
This section will detail your
personal information. "Names" will reflect all variations of your name
(e.g. Sam J.Doe, Samuel J.Doe, S.J.Doe). Additional information will
include your date of birth, social security number, current address,
previous address, phone number, current employer and any
personal statements that you have made to Experian regarding your
credit report.
Note: By law,
Experian cannot disclose medical information, therefore any accounts of
the medical nature will be listed as "Medical Payment Data".
You may also find the following
credit report terms helpful:
· CURR ACCT - Account is current in
payments and in good standing.
· CUR WAS 30-2 - Account is current
was 30 days late twice.
· PAID - Account has been paid off
and has a $0 balance and is inactive.
· CHARGEOFF - Unpaid balance on
account was reported as a loss by creditor and the creditor is no longer
seeking reimbursement.
· COLLECT - Account is severely
delinquent and assigned to collections.
· FORECLOS - Property was
foreclosed.
· BKLIQREQ - Debt was forgiven due
to Chapter 7, 11 or 13.
· DELINQ 60 - Account is 60 days
delinquent.
· INACTIVE - Account is inactive.
Sample
Experian credit report
About the author:The author is the
owner of the information-rich website www.poorcreditgenie.com.
The website offers free advice on how to rebuild credit and manage debt.
The site also features numerous articles and news stories on credit
report, credit cards and bankruptcy.
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