Credit Report Guide

There are three national credit reporting agencies that maintain records about you—TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Each of these bureaus works independently to gather information from businesses and update your credit profile. This data is then requested by creditors, lenders, insurers, landlords and employers to be used in evaluating your financial responsibility.

There are three national credit reporting agencies that maintain records about you—TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Each of these bureaus works independently to gather information from businesses and update your credit profile. This data is then requested by creditors, lenders, insurers, landlords and employers to be used in evaluating your financial responsibility.

Your credit report data from each bureau is divided in to six main sections:

• Personal Information
• Summary
• Account History
• Public Information
• Inquiries
• Creditor Contacts

Now, let's go into detail about each of these sections and how they impact your creditworthiness. You can also read more about keeping the information on your credit report accurate and up-to-date
in the Credit Learning Center:

Personal Information The personal information section of your credit report lists some basic information about you. None of the information in this section is included in your credit score calculation. First, your name is listed along with any other names you may use and your date of birth. After this your current address, previous address and employer information is detailed including the full address and the date that this information was reported to the credit reporting agencies.   The data in this section is often used to verify your identity or to confirm that the information you provided for an application is accurate. Small variations in this data between the three bureaus are normal as each agency may have their own recording procedures.   The personal information section of your credit report may also include a "consumer statement." This is a statement that you asked the credit reporting agencies to add to your report. Commonly, this statement is used to explain a record on your report. For example, "The Smith Bank account from 2004 was a shared account with my ex-husband." This statement does not impact your credit score but may help you clarify a situation to a potential creditor or lender.  Summary The summary section includes a categorized list of all the accounts on your credit report. This overview allows you to quickly review your credit profile and compare data between the three agencies. The accounts on your credit report are sorted into the following nine categories: Total Accounts The total number of accounts - both open and closed - on your credit report. Open Accounts The number of accounts listed as "open" on your credit report. Closed Accounts The number of accounts listed as "closed" on your credit report. Delinquent The number of accounts on your credit report that are currently past-due for payment. Derogatory The number of accounts on your credit report that are negatively impacting your credit score. Balances The total amount of debt that you owe for all open and closed accounts on your credit report. Payments The total amount you owe in monthly payments for all the accounts on your credit report. Public Records The number of public records listed on your credit report. This category includes bankruptcy filings, court judgments and tax liens. Inquiries The number of inquiry records on your credit report from the last 2 years. These records are placed when your data is checked by a financial institution for the purpose of an application for new credit. Checking your own credit does not cause this type of inquiry to be reported and does not harm your credit score. Account History The account history section of your credit report gives detailed information about the credit accounts in your name. Credit accounts are divided into five categories—real estate, installment, revolving, collection and other: Real EstateFirst and second mortgage loans Installment  Accounts comprised of fixed terms with  regular payments, such as a car loan. Revolving      Accounts with opened terms with varying payments, such as a credit card account.  Collection     Accounts seriously past due that have been assigned to an attorney or collection agency. OtherAccounts where the exact category is unknown. This could include 30-day accounts, such as an American Express. Your credit report lists a summary of the details and terms for each account. This summary includes information about the account number, condition, balance, type and pay status for each account. The summary for collection records is slightly different (see below). The following information is for real estate, installment, revolving and other type records: Creditor name The official account name. This name may be different than you expect if your account is managed by a larger financial corporation, such as MBNA. Account # An identifying number for your account. Typically, this would be a credit card number for a credit card account or a loan identification number for a mortgage. A portion of the number is hidden for security reasons. A partial account number is all that is needed to file a dispute about the record. Condition The account's status as open or closed, according to the most recent update from your creditor. Balance The amount you presently owe on the account, based on the last reported activity. Very recent activities may not yet have appeared in the bureaus' computer system, so this balance may be a few days out-of-date. Type The account's specific type. Some common types are real estate, automobile, educational and credit card accounts. Pay Status The account's payment status, according to the most recent update from your creditor. For each account, the report also displays an illustrated payment history over the last 24 months. The key at the top of this section describes each payment history symbol and what it indicates for your account. Green boxes marked "OK" show that your payment was made on time. Not applicable indicates that the payment information has not been reported by the credit reporting agency. Unknown indicates that the credit reporting agency has reported that they are not aware of your payment status this month. This is common for accounts that you have not used in a long time or that you recently opened. The payment was received by the due date for this month. The payment was not received as of 30 days after the due date. Payment was not received as of 60 days after the due date. Payment was not received as of 90 days after the due date. Payment was not received as of 120 days after the due date. Payment was not received as of 150 days after the due date. A payment arrangement has been agreed to by the creditor and the consumer. The account was turned over for repossession or foreclosure. The account was either assigned to a collection agency or charged off by the credit grantor. If you want to review more details about your accounts, you can click on the "More about this account" link. A small window will appear with information about your account balances, limits, important dates and payment history over the past 7 years. The following information may be reported for your account in this section: Past Due The amount of payment overdue as of the most recent reported activity. Very recent payments may take a few days to appear on your credit report. High Balance The most you have ever owed on this account. In the case of a credit card, this is the highest balance you've ever charged. For a mortgage, it is the initial amount of the mortgage. Terms This is the number of payments you have scheduled with a creditor. Most commonly this applies to loan accounts. For example, an auto loan may have  repayment plan scheduled over 36 months and a home loan may have a repayment plan scheduled over 360 months. Limits For a credit card or other revolving account, this is the maximum amount you are approved to borrow. Payment This is the minimum amount you are required to pay each month toward the account. Opened The date the account was opened. Reported The last date when any activity for this account was shown. Activities include payments, credit card billings and changes in your terms. Very recent activity may not yet show on your account, since it takes time for it to appear in the credit reporting agency's system Responsibility This indicates your responsibility for the account. For example individual, joint or co-signer. Late Payments A summary of your 30, 60 and 90 day late payments over the past 7 years. Please note that the figures in the seven year history include any late payments shown in the two-year history. Remarks Notes about the status or condition of your account. Collection accounts are accounts that are seriously past due and have been transferred to an attorney, collection agency or creditor's internal collection agency. As your debt is transferred between different agencies, you may see several records on your report for the same debt. Only one record should be marked as open at a time. All the collection records and the original debt record will expire from your credit report at the same time. Collection records use a unique summary format on your credit report: Creditor Name The official name of the company that is currently collecting the debt. Account Number An identifying number for your account with the collection agency. This is not the same as the account number on your original debt. Original Creditor The name of the original creditor where you accumulated your debt. This could be an account that is listed on your credit report (such as a credit card) or an account that is not listed on your report (such as a library, video rental or cell phone company). If this creditor was a medical office, the name may be masked for your privacy. Responsibility This indicates your responsibility for the account. For example individual, joint or co-signer. Condition The current status of your collection record. For example open, closed or paid. Original Balance The amount of debt owed on the original account before it was transferred. Date Opened The date the account was transferred to the collection agency. Date Reported The date of the collection agency's last update to this account record. Remarks Notes about the account as reported to each credit reporting agency. For example, this section may note that the collector has been unable to locate you or that you have not yet paid the debt. Public Information The public information section of your credit report includes publicly available information about legal matters affecting your credit. This could include judgments against you in civil actions, state or federal tax liens and bankruptcies. Here are definitions of the eight types of public records you could see listed on your credit report: Bankruptcy A legal filing that relieves a person of responsibility for all or some of their debts because they are unable to pay. Tax Lien A claim filed by a local, state or federal tax agency against a person who owes back taxes. Legal Item A general filing. This is most commonly a judgment against you in civil action. Marital Item A legal filing related to a marital or divorce issue. Financial Counseling A public record indicating that a person has participated in financial counseling. Financial Statement A type of lien filed by a creditor against a person's property. This can be filed when a loan is secured against personal property. Foreclosure A record indicating that a mortgaged property has been taken over by the creditor because the borrower has defaulted on the loan. Garnishment A record indicating a court order to withhold some or all of a person's wages to repay a debt owed to a creditor. The summary information listed for each of these types of public records can vary. Here are some definitions of common record categories: Type The type of record. For example a tax lien, bankruptcy, garnishment or judgment. Status Current status of the record. For example released, filed or dismissed. Date Filed/Reported Date when the record was initially filed or created. How Filed The role that you played in the public record. Usually the record is filed either individually or jointly. Reference No. Identifying number for the record. Released/Closing Date Date when the record was closed, released or judgment was awarded. Court The court or legal agency that has jurisdiction over the record. Plaintiff Plaintiff in the case of a legal judgment. Amount Dollar amount of the lien or judgment. Remarks Notes regarding the public record as reported to the credit bureaus. If the public record is a bankruptcy, three other fields will be visible: Liability The amount the court found you to be legally responsible to repay. Exempt Amount The dollar amount claimed against you that the court has decided you are not legally responsible for. Asset Amount The dollar amount of total personal assets used in the court's decision. The Asset Amount can include items of value that can be used to pay debts. Inquiries The inquiry section of your credit report includes records of businesses that have checked your credit in the last two years. When creditors and lenders review your credit data for the purpose of an application, a "hard inquiry" is listed on your credit report. Too many hard inquiries can harm your credit score. Each hard inquiry record lists the creditor's name, the date of the request and the credit bureau that processed the request. Hard inquiries are only recorded on the credit file maintained by the agency that processed the request. Checking your own credit data or subscribing to a credit monitoring service does not cause a hard inquiry to be recorded and will not damage your credit score. Creditor Contacts The creditor contact section lists the name and contact information for each creditor that appears on your credit report. This can also include the contact information for creditors that have made inquiries. Each creditor's address is listed to the right of the creditor's name. When available, a phone number is listed for the creditor. Creditors without listed numbers should be contacted by mail.