Credit Repair

Proof

Testimonials

FAQ

Credit Repair Videos

Articles

Contact

About Your Permanent Record - Part II

Along with the right to poke their nose into your financial business, and sell information about you, comes the responsibility to provide accurate reporting and to substantiate the information that is reported whenever you challenge it. The credit bureaus are governed by federal law to guide their behavior and protect consumers.

Credit repair (also "cleaning" or "restoration") is the process of challenging the credit bureaus to verify their information.

With credit reporting, you are guilty until you ask to verify. However, once disputed, you are considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Below is a list of some of the items that may be found in your report.

• Your name and social security number
• Your addresses, current and all past
• Employment history
• Names and subscriber numbers of reporting institutions
• Credit cards from banks and retailers
• Mortgages, auto loans, student loans
• Loan account numbers
• Date of account opening
• Original amount of account
• How often payments were 30, 60, or 90 days late
• When and if account was paid
• Whether account was paid as agreed
• If an account was joint or individual
• Repossessions
• Charge-offs (lender has given up collecting and written off account as uncollectible)
• Closed accounts, and who requested closure, lender or consumer
• Judgments-date and name of company that filed
• Bankruptcies-dates filed
• Liens-including past liens and unpaid tax liens
• Who has requested your credit report and when

Not all companies report to credit bureaus, however. Some companies only make a report in the event of a negative transaction, and good information isn't reported.

Many people who think they have a good credit report from various creditors are surprised to learn that gasoline credit card companies, hospitals, and credit union account information is not generally reported. Often, unless an account from one of these facilities goes to a collection agency, it will not appear on your credit report. There are even some credit card companies that don't report unless the account becomes negative.

Sometimes even negative accounts don't get reported. In the case of checking accounts, if every overdraft that occurred was reported, it would be too time consuming, and credit bureaus could easily become overloaded.

If you defaulted on any payments, your report may also contain information from utility companies, rent payments, property taxes, contractor's liens and attorney's bills.

One way to use this information is in your financial planning. Know which creditors don't report to credit agencies. If you fall on a temporary hardship and have to choose between bills to pay, be sure to pay the ones that report to the credit agencies. This can keep a temporary hardship from becoming a long-term one reflected on your credit history.

When making a lending decision, most credit cards will pull your report from their preferred agency. Information is stored in the credit agency's database by your social security number.

When you are making a major purchase such as a car or real estate, most lending institutions will run a tri-merged report. This report is a consolidation of all three agency's reports and credit scores. To get a tri-merged report, the lender will usually request one from a small credit agency, who sends a request to each of the three major credit bureaus with your social security number. The three major bureaus run reports on you and return them to the smaller agency, who compiles that information.

Credit Repair Articles

Affiliate Program

Disclaimer

Privacy Policy

Client Login