Q. I was turned down for credit. What can I do?
A. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act gives credit applicants the right to an explanation for the refusal within 30 days. Within 60 days, the applicant may secure a free credit bureau report from the credit reporting agencies. If you have already used up your one free credit report offer from annualcreditreport.com you can use our service to get credit report instantly.
You can either obtain a one time report which would cost you $29.95 or sign up for a monthly subscription at $14.95/month. The monthly subscription gives you a host of benefits.
The following are some of the benefits of a monthly subscription:
* you will get unlimited access to your credit reports
* You will also be notifed within 24 hours of any critical changes made to your credit report
* You will get toll free easy access to specialists. You will get access to advanced analytical tools
* Plus $25,000 theft insurance at no additional cost
Signing up for a monthly subscription will ensure that you stay free of any kind of identity fraud forever! To sign-up just scroll to the header of this page and click on the button that reads "Click Here"
Q. Am I hurting my own credit if I check my score?
A. The use of a monitoring service or individually checking your credit score does not affect your standing in any way. You may check as often as you like.
Q. Why does the system make use of three separate credit bureaus?
A. In actuality, thousands of credit bureaus operate across the nation, but three have emerged as those most used by financial institutions to verify individual credit standing: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each issues a separate report and generates a separate FICO score. You may obtain a report from each to get a full understanding of your credit history.
Q. Can you explain the FICO score?
A. The scoring system was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation as a measure of credit worthiness. Five different types of data are used to determine the calculation: payment history, amount owed, length of credit history, new credit, and types of credit utilized.
Q. What is a good FICO score?
A. The FICO score range is 300 to 850 with the majority of individuals falling between 600 and 800. The most favorable interest rates typically go to those people with a score of 720 or more, but anything over 650 is considered “good” and people with scores of 620 routinely qualify for loans. Those with scores below 620 are considered “sub-prime,” meaning they will face higher interest rates on any loans they obtain. Lenders are free to use their own criteria for judging a credit score as either good or bad.
Q. Is there a difference between a credit report and a credit score?
A. A credit report is simply a compilation of an individual’s borrowing history. While you will want to carefully review the items listed and work to correct errors or to remove outdated entries, the lender generally is more interested in the credit score, which is the number between 300 and 850 that places a value on your credit worthiness. By reviewing your credit report carefully, you can improve your credit score, which is really the bottom line when it comes to applying for a loan.
Q. What is a credit file disclosure?
A. That is the terminology credit bureaus use to describe your credit report.
Q. How do mistakes get into my credit report?
A. Some common mistakes occur when individuals apply for credit with variations on their names -- Tom Smith on one application and Thomas Smith on another. Handwritten applications can lead to transcription or typographical errors, a Social Security number may be entered incorrectly, or loan and credit card payments may be applied to the wrong account.
Q. Can I dispute things on the credit report that are wrong?
A. If you report something that is wrong or incomplete on your credit report, the bank or credit card company, by law, has to correct the item.
Q. How frequently should I be checking my report?
A. Experts recommend a thorough review of your credit report as much as three to four times a year. The information changes often, and you will always be in better shape by clearing up mistakes quickly.
Q. I want the credit card companies to stop sending me offers. What can I do?
A. Creditors get lists of consumers who fall within a certain credit score range and market to them as “pre-approved.” Consumers can opt out of all such offers for five years or forever by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or by visiting optoutprescreen.com.
Q. Why should I get 3 credit report?
Before sanctioning a loan, lenders get credit report data from all the three credit bureaus to find out how you have utilized your credit in the past. They decide the interest rate to levy on your loan purely based on these three credit report records. Obtaining and viewing tri-merge credit report on a regular basis can help you maintain a healthy credit profile. And a healthy credit profile can help you get loans and other credits at very low interest rates. This way you can save a lot of money by investing a very low rate to obtain and view credit report.
Second important reason why you need to check your tri-merge personal 3-in-1 credit report is to ensure that the reports are accurate. This is because there are chances that your personal credit report may contain inaccurate data. Checking your credit-reports in all three agencies can help you identify and dispute inaccurate information and also help you fight instances of fraud and identify theft.
Q. How to read and understand your tri-merge credit reports Reading and understanding your credit reports is not that hard. Find below the various information included in the credit reports and how to understand them.
1.) Consumer Information: This section of your personal credit report contains general information like your name, date of birth, residential address and employer information. Make sure that this information is accurate
2.) Consumer Statement: The 3 credit reports consumer statement is the message you have asked the organization to place on the report. This message could be because of fraud alert, disputes or late payments that might have occurred in the past
3.) Credit History: The credit history section of your personal credit report is the most important. Make sure to read and understand this section properly. This section contains information about debts you have taken and your obligations. Lenders check this section to access risks of offering a loan to you
4.) Public Records: If you have past records of bankruptcy, judgment filings or tax liens, you will find that in this section
5.) Inquiries: If you want to find out about the Companies who have requested access to your personal credit reports in the last two years, you will find that in this section.
6.) Creditor contacts: This section in the three credit reports contains contact addresses and phone numbers of your creditors. You can use this information to get in touch with a creditor if you need one. This is the final section in your credit report.
Find more information in our credit reports learning center
Our learning center gives you complete information on how to get credit report from all 3 credit bureaus, how to dispute errors and many more tips.