Credit Scores

The Fair Credit Reporting Act outlines the rights you have when it comes to the information contained in your credit report. The FCRA also grants rights to the credit reporting agencies to help...

Three major credit reporting bureaus track consumer information. Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax have a virtual oligopoly on credit reporting, but thanks to federal oversight they're much more...

Closing a credit card account does have an effect on your credit history, but this depends in large part on the type of credit card account. Sometimes closing the account can have a negative...

When credit reports are scored using the standard industry FICO model, each factor that influences your credit score is assigned a code. These codes will often appear on the summary page of your...

Mistakes to your credit report can mean that your credit score has been lowered as a result. Nobody wants to find that there are mistakes on their credit report, but correcting those mistakes...

When you have mistakes on your credit report, it can sometimes affect your credit score. You might even find that simple mistakes on your credit report are dropping your credit score down as much...

Many people might think that maintaining a good credit score requires more work than they want to put into it, but is really is easy to maintain good credit. Once your credit score is where you...

One of the biggest problems people seem to have with their credit is the up and down numbers. Many people might be able to improve their credit score for a short time, but then old habits take...

Everyone wants to have as good a credit score as possible. Improving your credit score, especially when it is already bad, can sometimes be full of hassles! The obstacles that come from...

How a credit check affects your credit score depends on who is making the inquiry, how many inquiries are made over a period of time and what the credit check is for.

When you prepare to apply for a mortgage, you may want to review your credit scores before your lender does. You should be aware, however, that the credit score you review may differ from the one...

Beacon is the trade name that the Equifax credit reporting agency uses for the FICO credit scores it provides. The other credit bureaus use the FICO scoring system as well, although TransUnion...

Creditors use different reporting codes to report the status of a debt to the credit bureaus which then insert that code into your credit report. An R9 indicates that a debt has been charged off...

Renting an apartment does not affect your credit score. Most landlords don't report any information at all to the credit reporting agencies about their tenants.

If you have a job and have adequate income you may be able to pay your debts. Having a job does not increase your credit score. Other factors will help increase your credit score.

More and more often, employers are requesting permission to review an individual's credit report before offering him a position. This can be a problem for applicants who are qualified for a...

Each individual is entitled to request one free credit report each year from each of the credit reporting agencies. These free credit reports are available without you having to provide a credit...

A credit card company will give a consumer a limited amount of time in which to pay a delinquent credit card debt. If the individual fails to make any payments toward his balance, the company...

According to the Public Interest Research Group in 2004, an estimated 79% of all credit reports were found to contain inaccurate information of some kind. Some people even find that their credit...

Any business that extends credit to consumers or other businesses must have access to reporting to credit bureaus. However, there are format requirements that must be followed in order to be...

Financial institutions want to check a borrower's credit: to ensure he is responsible with money. Employers, on the other hand, check credit so they can make a character -based assessment of a...

Repairing credit after losing your rental property to foreclosure can be a daunting process, but it's both feasible and legal if you're willing to spend some additional money or wait for seven...

As the executor or administrator of your loved one's estate, one of your fiduciary duties is to make sure that outstanding debts are paid from the estate's assets. Obtaining a credit report for...

A credit report determines an individual's risk or worthiness when it comes to getting a loan for a home or automobile, credit cards and insurance. What the report says about how you handle your...

Clean up your credit and raise your beacon score. By increasing your credit score, you could qualify for lower interest credit cards, installment loans and revolving charges

A credit reporting agency acts as an intermediary between you and creditors. Potential lenders are able to determine if you are financially responsible from your credit report, because the...

Reporting a negative or delinquent credit account with a business requires that you sign up for a business subscription with one of the major business credit reporting bureaus (Dun &...

When you receive a student loan to fund your education, evidence of the loan and its payment history will appear on your credit report. Once the loan is paid off, however, the credit bureaus will...

Your credit report is a listing of your credit history that shows what accounts you have open, the balances you have and if you pay your bills on time. Your credit score is a number between 300...

While a short sale can be devastating to your credit, it is not as damaging as foreclosure and/or bankruptcy. Recovering from the impact of a short sale isn't easy but it is possible to...

When you have bad credit it can remain on your credit report for a certain period of time even though the statue of limitations is passed. The amount of time will depend on the type of bad credit.

Credit reports contain a wealth of information. Potentially harmful information, such as a slow payment history, a repossessed car or a charged-off loan, can make lenders and insurers avoid doing...

Reporting accounts to the three major credit bureaus (Transunion, Equifax and Experian) requires that you open a paid account with all three. Once you have accounts with the credit bureaus, you...

Your credit history shows your repayment of debts as well as any late payments or even bankruptcies. When someone looks at your credit history, it's called a hard or a soft credit pull.

Credit reports note your bill-paying history, positive and negative. A R9 rating is one of the most negative credit entries that can exist on your report, according to the Equifax credit reporting...

When a landlord rents a unit to a credit-worthy tenant, the landlord does not typically foresee that the tenant will later skip payments and violate the lease. When this occurs, landlords often...

According to the FTC, more than 9 million people are affected by identity theft in America. Having an up-to-date address on all of your credit reports can protect you against any form of identity...

Anyone who extends credit to consumers and/or other businesses as well as those who are renting out space on a property will likely want to run a credit check on their prospects. This will reveal...

It's possible to wipe your credit rating clean rapidly without breaking the law or hiring a specialist. You can pay your creditors to delete charged-off credit cards, delinquent accounts, unpaid...

Millions of people have their identities stolen each year. If your identity is stolen, someone can open credit card accounts, take out loans or steal money from your checking or savings account....

If you're going to check a customer's credit, you must have a legitimate reason for doing so. A lender such as a bank or other financial institution can check a customer's credit; collection...

A repossession record is among negative information that can be reflected in a credit report maintained by Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires...

TransUnion is one of the three major consumer-reporting agencies. These companies keep a record of how well you manage your finances, including the types of credit you've used, your outstanding...

Applying for credit--whether a loan or a credit, or some other form of credit--does not itself affect your credit score. However, the application leads to official "inquiries," which can affect a...

Keeping your FICO score high is important to many parts of your life. Not only is it important for getting credit or buying a home, some employers may even check your credit score. Therefore, when...

Keeping track of your credit report records and scoring is an essential part of good financial planning and financial responsibility. While many commercial companies offer paid credit monitoring...

It's important to review your credit report when applying for a loan. If there is inaccurate information in your report, you need to correct it before submitting your loan application. Incorrect...

One out of four credit reports contain errors, according to a study by the consumer group PIRG in 2004. Since a credit report reflects personal responsibility, its contents can have a profound...

"Written off" can appear in a credit report when the debt has been unpaid after collection action by the company has been pursued, according to Maxine Sweet of Experian, a credit-reporting agency.

Adding paid-as-agree accounts to your credit report is a simple process that may improve your credit score. Your credit report probably won't reflect an accurate picture of your payment history if...