What is Included in Your Credit Information?
Your credit information contains, in addition to your credit score, your name, past and present addresses, your employer, and a detailed history of your financial behavior over the last seven to 10 years. The three credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian — gather this information from lending institutions, credit card issuers, and retailers with whom you've done business.
You should regularly check your credit information, particularly if you're looking for a loan, an account with a utility company, or some other line of credit in the near future. Lenders, credit card companies, utilities, landlords, and even wireless phone providers can and will check your credit score and other information before approving your request. In the case of lending institutions, credit card issuers, and insurance companies, the information helps them determine interest rates, premiums, and/or how big a line of credit you receive.
It's a good idea to check your credit score and other information a few months before applying for any line of credit. If you find errors, or learn that your credit score is low, you can take steps to correct the errors and/or to strengthen your score before submitting your application.
Here's what your credit information includes
Typically, you are likely to find:
- Personal information, including your Social Security number, your previous addresses, and your current and previous employers.
- Your credit history, including credit lines, utility accounts, and credit cards for which you're an authorized user. This information is provided by your creditors (lending institutions, utilities, credit card issuers, and others) and covers:
- The date each account was opened;
- Your payment history for each account (on time or late);
- The loan amount or the maximum limit of the line of credit;
- Your current balance or remaining available balance; and
- Closed or inactive accounts in your name.
- Inquiries into your credit, typically from companies from which you're trying to acquire a line of credit, including credit card issuers. If you see inquiries from parties you don't recognize, investigate the matter.
- Publicly-held information about you, including foreclosures, bankruptcy filings, tax liens, and any other financial data that must be reported to public agencies.
- Contact information for your creditors, which you can use to dispute errors or inaccuracies.
It's important to know what information about you is available and how to check it. You're entitled to a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year; you can request yours at annualcreditreport.com.You can also purchase your credit report directly from each of the three credit bureaus, or you can join programs like Credit Score Express that offer you a credit report, credit score, credit monitoring, and other benefits for a small monthly fee.
