Resources for people with Bad Credit & information on Credit Reports, Debt Consolidation, Auto Loans, Mortgages, & more.

Credit Report Resource Guide

How to read a Credit Report

So now you have your report, the next step is to read and interpret what you have. This can be somewhat difficult if you’ve never worked with one before. There are a lot of sections and many different abbreviations to understand. Credit reports from the three credit reporting bureaus all look different, but contain the same basic sections. The information reported from each agency should be similar, but may vary from report to report based on when they update their records and when information is being reported.

Below are the categories of a credit report and a description of each section. We are using a credit report obtained online from Experian in our example.

IDENTIFICATION

This area will contain your name, the report date and the report number. This will be the number that you will reference should you need to contact Experian with any disputes or to discuss the actual report.

POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE ITEMS

This section will contain as it states, information that creditors may find negative. This includes information gathered from Public Records and Credit Items. Things like a bankruptcy or liens and judgments will appear in the Public Records. In the Credit Items area you will see disputed credit that is still owed or not resolved. Information like the creditors name, address, account number (shortened for security purposes), account status, type and terms on the account will be included. You will also see any additional comments or information provided to Experian by the creditor.

ACCOUNTS IN GOOD STANDING

This area will list the credit accounts that are in good standing, reported to Experian. Not every creditor reports to Experian that is why you want to get your credit report from all three of the credit reporting bureaus.

You’ll find information in here on each account like the creditors name and address. Your account number and current status. Date Opened, Reported Since (the first time they reported data to Experian on your account), Date of Status and Date Last Reported.

Other information like; Type of Credit (installment or revolving), Terms, Monthly Payment and Responsibility will appear next. Information on your Credit Limit and Original Amount, High Balance on the account, Recent Balance amount and Recent Payment amount will round out this section. You should also see any comments that may be on the account, perhaps a request from you to close an account or a report of a lost card, etc.

REQUESTS FOR YOUR CREDIT HISTORY

This is perhaps one of the most important areas of your credit report. Here you will see who is actually inquiring about your credit. These are called ‘Inquiries’ and they are logged on your report anytime some requests information on your credit worthiness. There are two types of Inquiries; Requests Viewed by Others and Requests Viewed by You.

REQUESTS VIEWED BY OTHERS

This area includes requests from providers that you applied with. They could be from credit card companies, employers, loan providers, or rental inquiries and mortgages. You will also see transfers to credit agencies (collections) here. Creditors will likely be looking at this information when analyzing you. It is important to note that the inquiries listed here are for services or products that you have gave approval to, to look up your credit score. This is the area of the report that will show how often you are applying for credit from different providers.

REQUESTS VIEWED BY YOU

This is a report of inquiries for services or products that you did not personally request. The requests may have come from pre-approved credit card offers, offers of employment, investment review or requests by you for your own report. These items are only viewed by you and are not used by any other agencies or services to determine credit worthiness. Experian simply provides this to you so you’ll know who has inquired.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Just like it sounds, this is the area that will report your personal data. Here you may see many different versions of your name. You may have applied for credit or used products under different versions of your name ie John Q Public, J.Q. Public, J Quincy Public, or even John Public. You should also see your current address and some of your past residences. Social Security number as well. This area is very important to look over carefully. You want to make sure that all the information is accurate and that everything is truthful. This could be an area where you may spot identity theft, perhaps an address where you did not live or an alias you never used.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Finally on the bottom of the Experian report you will find an area for a Personal Statement. This is an area that will record any important information that you provided to the reporting agencies. The comments usually last about 2 years and anyone with permission to view your report will see the comment. For example, you may have lost your wallet and you report it to the credit bureaus, they should add that comment here. Some experts argue that negative comments in this area may adversely impact your ability to get credit.

So now you know how to read a credit report and what all the components are. Keep in mind we just reviewed an online example of an Experian credit report. Reports from Trans Union and Equifax will contain similar information, but may look a little different.