How to Read a Credit Report

While you may understand all of the negative implications that come with having a bad credit score as well as ways that you can go about improving your bad credit score, you may be unfamiliar with how to read your credit report to verify where you stand in terms of your credit. This is a very important skill to have and one that you should learn immediately in order to organize your finances.

Specific account information

For every loan that you have ever opened, there will be the name of the company listed, along with the type of loan it was and the amount. Below this, there will be information about when you opened the account, the amount of the monthly payments and the interest rate on each payment as well as how much you still have to pay on this loan. Additionally, the company will report whether you have paid the monthly payments on time as well as if the loan was opened under your name.

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Public records

On every credit report there is a section where public companies are authorized to put down the stipulations that you neglected to fulfill on a transaction or the type of money that you still owe. A public record or notification is never a good thing to have, and you want to make sure to avoid this at all costs. By having a public record notification on your credit report, it shows that the company had serious trouble with getting the money you owed them.

Questions/Inquires section

Your credit report is divided so that the final section of the report will be a section for inquires, along with your name, address, phone number and additional personal information like the banks you have used or taken out accounts with. The inquires section is primarily for listing the kinds and types of loans you have applied for, as well as expenses like insurance coverage and things of that nature. The number of inquires that you have on your credit report do not necessarily negatively impact your credit report by any means.