subject: Credit Report – the Gateway to Information about Your Finances [print this page] Credit Report the Gateway to Information about Your Finances
A credit report is an accumulation of information about the way you pay your bills, loan installments, your available credit limit, your monthly debts and any such information that can help a lender decide your creditworthiness.
The report by itself does not make any judgmental statement on your credit ratings or whether you are a good individual to lend. What it does is that it provides lenders with all the requisite information so that they can make the decision themselves. The information is collected by credit bureaus from lenders, merchants, bankers, landlords and other such sources. They then sell this information to businesses to help them evaluate your loan applications.
Lenders make the decision of either approving or rejecting your application for loans on their own and are themselves responsible for the consequences. It is therefore important for them to have the maximum information about your credit situation so that they can make the right decision. A credit report is the technically correct way to evaluate your financial records and standings.
Third party credit reporting agencies were established quite some time back somewhere in the 1830s. They functioned like a modern day franchise and had established networks throughout the country. For a price, you could buy credit information about individuals and organizations. The information accumulated was considered as accurate and dependable and covered a wide geographical area.
In all probability, your credit report would include information about your personal identification such as name, address, social security number, telephone numbers, birth date, name of employers, both current and past and also the name of your spouse.
It also provides explicit information about your credit history such as bill paying patterns, your creditworthiness at banks, retail stores, finance companies, mortgage service providers and other individuals from whom you have borrowed cash. It also provides detailed information about the various types of accounts you have in your name, the period for which they are in operation and the type of transactions carried out through these accounts.
Information about missed or late payments, dispute statements and details about public records such as tax liens, court judgments and bankruptcy are also reflected in a credit report.Bankruptcy car loan is a relatively simple process which can be done professionally with the help of experts in the field. However details about your race, religion, health, criminal records, sources of income, driving records and bank account balances are never shown in such records.
A credit report is the most important tool that gives your creditors the requisite information to help them decide your creditworthiness. A three digit number is what decides your credit ratings. They range from 300 to 850, with the higher numbers indicating a better credit risk.
