Why Is There a Need to Review All Three Credit Reports?
Thursday, 07 May 2009 10:31 | Author: Jesse Hughes |
Nowadays, people no longer carry much cash in their wallets. This is because they no longer need them when buying things. If it is just small items, there is always a credit card. If you wanted to buy a car, a car loan is taken. If it is a house you fancy, you can always get a mortgage. Even an education can be obtained with the help of a student loan.
by JesseHughes
Nowadays, people no longer carry much cash in their wallets. This is because they no longer need them when buying things. If it is just small items, there is always a credit card. If you wanted to buy a car, a car loan is taken. If it is a house you fancy, you can always get a mortgage. Even an education can be obtained with the help of a student loan.
Before an individual can access a credit or a loan, however, his credit history will first have to be checked by the bank or the financial entity that will be issuing him the loan. This is done through credit reports review. With the importance such a credit report have on your future loans, it is vital that you review first all your credit reports before you decide to apply for a loan. Otherwise, you run the risk of being rejected.
CRAs or consumer reporting agencies are the companies responsible for gathering and then selling credit information. The most typical type of a CRA is a credit bureau. There are 3 major operating credit bureaus in the country and some small ones. There are also 3 types of credit reports, the annual credit report, the business credit report and the consumer credit report.
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the 3 major credit agencies where people get their credit reports from. All three maintain the "annual credit report". This credit report can legally be requested by individuals from any of the three agencies every year for free. An extra copy will require a fee though.
Most of the credit agencies in the country maintain the "consumer credit report". This one however is not free of charge but can be requested anytime of the year as long as the fees are paid. You can access the consumer credit report online. Likewise not free of charge is the last type, the "business credit report". It contains the credit history of a certain company or business.
A credit report basically contains several information, first of which is the "identifying information". This includes the name and aliases, the addresses and social security number and other pertinent details such as the date of birth, employer details and your spouse's identifying details.
The credit report also includes the "credit information" such as the existing bank account details, the existing loans and all other related data. The report also indicates the "public record information" like the court records, previous bankruptcy records, etc. Finally, the credit report has "recent inquiries" which include the names of those who took a copy of the report for the last two years as may be needed.
Getting the different reports from the three major credit agencies mentioned above is very vital to someone who intends to get a loan or a mortgage. These reports will enable you to already know your chances of your loan and will therefore prevent unsavory surprises. Reviewing all three reports will also assure you that no mistakes or errors in details are in the report.