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| Five Reasons to Check Your Credit Report Regularly.
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Inaccuracies & Mixed Credit Files
Many inaccuracies on a credit report can be the result of simple human error, and are therefore are not difficult to dispute. Of course, if you don't order your credit report, you might never know about it. Whether the inaccuracies relate to payments not credited, late payments, or data mixed in from the credit file of someone else with a name similar to yours, you will want to contact the credit bureau to dispute inaccurate information promptly.
Tracking Payments
One of the most important elements of credit is a demonstrated history of on time payments. Once you send the check though, anything can happen - a delay in the payment being received can kick you over to a 30-day delinquency. If you call your creditor and explain the situation, they might adjust the information. Of course, if you don't read your credit report, you won't necessarily know which payments are being received and reported properly. If you would like to get a free copy of your credit report right now, click here.
Identity Theft
This issue alone is reason to order your credit report immediately. Identity theft is an insidious crime, involving a thief who assumes your name to open new accounts, divert your card statements to another address, and run up all sorts of bad debt without you ever knowing about it until collectors come calling. Over time, identity theft could jeopardize your ability to obtain further credit. The best way to catch a thief who is using your name is by getting a copy of your credit report, which will show you if there are accounts listed you know you haven't opened. For example, if a thief has intercepted a pre-approved credit card offer in your name and sent it in with a change of address, your credit report will include the account.
Inquiries
If you're shopping around for a loan or more credit, you should know that when creditors check your credit, it places an inquiry on your credit report. Inquiries can add up, which is often interpreted as a negative by creditors. For this reason, too many inquiries can actually make getting credit more difficult. Moreover, if you didn't authorize someone to look at your credit report and they did, they may have broken the law.
Credit Fraud - Unauthorized Charges
Credit fraud involves the theft of your credit card or account number to make unauthorized charges to your account. Though consumers are protected financially from this abuse, other creditors may take note of all this activity and decide to raise your interest rates or refuse to grant you a loan. Ordering your credit report will help you catch new activity on accounts that you haven't been using, or may have closed.
When it comes to managing your credit worthiness, your credit report is your best resource. Ordering your credit report gives you the opportunity to manage your credit wisely today, while planning your credit strategy for achieving future goals - a credit-savvy move every consumer should make!
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| What do the credit bureaus include
on the credit reports?
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COURT RECORDS
Bankruptcies, judgments, divorces, liens, satisfied judgments or liens are all
considered court records and show up on your credit report as negative
listings.
COLLECTIONS
Any time a creditor turns a delinquent account or bad check over to a
collection agency, it shows up on your credit report and is considered to be a
very negative listing. This shows up on your credit report as Collection
Account, and can appear as a paid or unpaid account.
MERCHANT TRADE LINES
Regular credit lines, department store cards, auto loans, mortgages and credit
cards are all under the heading of Merchant Trade Lines. Credit grantors
consider these listings negative if they:
1. Have a history of late payments
2. Have been included in a bankruptcy
3. Have been charged off
4. Put into repossession
INQUIRIES
If credit grantors observe excessive credit inquiries on your credit report, it
may sometimes result in your being turned down for a loan. Whenever a lender
takes a look at your credit report, it will show up on at least one of the
credit bureau reports.
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Credit Monitoring
Services offered by online credit reporting
agencies to monitor consumer profile for fraudulent credit activity. You can
sign up to have your personal credit files monitored on an ongoing basis. This
means that for an annual fee you will be notified via email when something on
your credit report changes. Free Credit Report is available for 30 days.
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