How To Crush Your Credit Report
As a record that follows you around like a faithful dog, a credit report can give you warnings — and bark at false enemies.
If there’s incorrect information on your report, it can hurt you by making it difficult for you to get credit. Or you may pay a high finance charge. Since employers check credit reports, it can even cost you a job.
Yet, according to credit.com, nearly a quarter of Americans surveyed said they never checked their credit reports “because it isn’t important to them.”
Let’s get real. Credit runs the world. You want a mortgage or a car? You want to rent? Every potential creditor is looking to see how you rate.
“Credit reports play a major factor in determining if you’ll be approved for a loan, apartment or even a job, so it’s essential to monitor and understand your report,”explained Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education at Credit.com.
“Not only do credit reports indicate your credit worthiness, they are the first line of defense in monitoring for potential identity theft.”
Here’s more on what credit.com found in its recent survey:
- 27 percentwere surprised by some of the information that appeared on it
- 21 percentfound incorrect information
- One-in-ten(10 percent) found a collection account that they didn’t know about
- 9 percentdiscovered a late payment they didn’t know about
What should you be vigilant about when you take a gander at your report? Here’s whatcredit.com suggests:
Collection Accounts.
These are the lines of credit and credit card accounts you have. Are they up to date? If not, tell the reporting agency to make corrections.
Having too many open accounts can be seen negatively by future creditors.
Credit Accounts. Do you have any late payments noted? If so, is it accurate? Again, you should correct any mistakes.
Accounts in Good Standing.
These are accounts that are up to date in terms of payments. Nothing to worry about here, since staying current is a good thing.
Personal Information. Is your address and other identifying information up to date? If not, change it.
Many banks and credit card companies are offering free reports, so it won’t cost you anything.
You can also get one free report a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencieshere.
John Wasik is the author of “Keynes’s Way to Wealth” and 13 other books. He writes and speaks about investing across the globe. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook
