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What a Credit Report Contains

A credit report is divided into 4 sections: identifying information, credit history, public records and inquiries.

Identifying information

A credit bureau report contains basic identifying information such as:

  • Name
  • Social security number
  • Current/previous address
  • Telephone #
  • Date of birth
  • Driver's license #
  • Employer
  • Spouses name

Credit history

Includes previous and current types of credit, name of the creditor and account number as well as:

  • When the account was opened
  • The kind of credit (installment, such as a mortgage or car loan, or revolving, such as a department store credit card)
  • Whether the account is in your name alone or with a person
  • Total amount of the loan, high credit limit or highest balance on the card.
  • How much you still owe.
  • Fixed monthly payments or minimum monthly amount
  • Status of the account (open, inactive, closed, paid, etc.)
  • Payment habits/How well you've paid the account.

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In reading your report the "O" means open account, "I" is installment and "R" is revolving. Payment codes range from 1-9. "1" is the best and "9" is the worst in terms of payment on time and in full. An R1 or I1 is an indication of good payment history.

On Experian's report, your payment history is written in plain English - never pays late, typically pays 30 days late. Other comments might include internal collection and charged off or default. Charged off means that the creditor has given up on collections and has written it off.

Public Records

This section is the part you want to be completely blank. It doesn't list arrests and criminal activities - just financial-related data such as bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens. Those are the monsters that will trash your credit faster than anything.

The final section is the inquiries

That's a list of everyone who asked to see your credit report. Inquiries are divided into two parts: "Hard" inquiries are ones you initiate by filling out a credit application or taking you child to the orthodontist. "Soft" inquiries are form companies that want to send out promotional information to a pre-qualified group of current creditors who are monitoring your account.

If you run around and apply for lots of credit, it will most likely result in many inquiries showing on your report. This concerns creditors and they may assume that the inquiries are negative because you weren't issued credit.