A credit report is document that contains the record of a persons credit payment history. A credit report typically contains four kinds of information: identifying information (your name, your current and previous addresses, your social security number, your year of birth, your current and previous employers, if you're married, your spouse's name), credit information (with banks, retailers, credit card companies and other lenders), public record information (bankruptcies, tax liens and monetary judgments), and inquiries relating to other credit grantors. The credit report can be viewed by creditors to determine a persons creditworthiness. It can also be analyzed by employers and land lords for knowing a persons credibility. The credit score is a three digit score which is based on the credit reports. It can be considered to be a summary of the credit report. The credit score ranges between 300 and 850 wherein a score below 600 is considered bad while a score above 720 is considered good. A high credit score attracts more creditors and lower interest loans where as a low credit score may lead to rejection of a loan application or high interest rates. The credit score keeps changing over time, sometimes on a daily basis. It has to be updated by providing accurate information in the credit report. Credit reports and scores are provided by three major credit bureaus in the US: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. All three reports can be ordered at the same time. These reports can be obtained for free, once a year. There are also other companies that offer free credit scores and reports using their own tools and resources. They also provide other services such as free alerts about changes in the credit report and advice about loan lenders and credit card companies that would provide credit suitable to the clients credit score. However, the free offers are generally used to just attract people towards their other services. The free services are only for limited periods and usually require registration to their other paid services for accessing free credit scores. |
