What Do I Do With My Credit Report?

Your credit report contains information that can affect whether you can get a car loan, home loan, student loan or credit card. The information in your credit report can also determine the annual percentage rate (APR) that you’ll pay and the size of the loan. Ultimately your credit score and credit report information is a guide to help lenders determine your credit worthiness.

Most people don’t look at their credit report because they are afraid of what they might find. But why give that leverage and power to a lender? Why should they know something you don’t? Even if you have had credit problems in the past, in time it can be fixed and you can rebuild your credit. To start the process of fixing your credit score, you must start by getting a free credit report. Some of the issues on your credit report may not be your fault and could be due to an error by a lender or identity theft. So even if you think you have great credit you NEED to check it often.

• The first thing to do is review the personal information and make sure the information is accurate and complete before you apply for a loan. Sometimes issues can arise with your application simply because the information isn’t up-to-date.
  
  
• Protect yourself against identity theft. Identity theft is when someone else uses your personal information to commit fraud. This is very common in the U.S. and is a widespread problem but if you review your credit report often, it can help you catch these problems before they get out of hand. Many thieves will open new accounts in your name and stick you with the delinquent bills all while trashing your credit score.
  
  
• Fix errors from legitimate accounts. There are times with some of your legitimate accounts have reporting errors and submit incorrect information to the credit reporting agencies. By monitoring your credit report often, you can see when the numbers don’t add up or if the lender is submitting an incorrect payment status (for example: a late payment when you made it on time). By catching this quickly you can dispute the information and get the lender to fix the error on your report.