How to Read an Annual Credit Statement
Under federal law, consumers are entitled to receive a free credit report each year from the three main credit reporting agencies. This annual credit report is sometimes referred to as an annual credit statement. Reading the annual credit statement from Experian, TransUnion or Equifax consists of verifying the information reported and checking for inaccurate information.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Note your report number and date requested. The report number should be included on any documents you must file against the report in a dispute, and will be requested by telephone operators if you contact the reporting agency about the statement. The report date lets you know when your next free annual credit statement will be available (one year following the listed report date).
-
2
Review the potentially negative items on your report. Any court judgments and past due or defaulted credit accounts are listed here. The creditor and creditor's mailing information, as well as the debt type and amount, are listed for each entry, and additional information such as the high balance and the recent balance appears for revolving credit accounts.
-
-
3
Verify that your accounts are in good standing, to ensure that no accounts are listed that do not or did not belong to you for the time period starting with the "date opened" reported on the statement and the current date. The type of account, high balance, low balance, opening date and closing date of each account will be listed. Accounts that are currently open may feature a balance history that shows the account balance changes over a period of several months.
-
4
Dispute any account or item on the credit statement that does not belong to you. Each statement will contain information (located at the end of the document) for disputing an item with the credit reporting agency. All three agencies allow consumers to dispute the credit statement online, over the telephone or via post mail.
-
5
Check the "Requests for your credit history" items. You should recognize the inquiring companies listed here, as these inquiries originate from credit, mortgage and loan applications. Items in this section may be viewed by potential creditors who wish to review your credit report before extending a line of credit.
-
6
Check the "Requests viewed only by you" section. Some inquiries that you did not initiate will appear here. These are information requests from companies offering preapproved credit or current creditors monitoring your credit. These requests cannot be viewed by third parties accessing your account and do not affect your credit score.
-
7
Verify the personal information list. This list includes previous addresses associated with your credit history, such as past residential and business addresses.
-
8
Review your rights as listed at the bottom of the annual credit statement. Methods of contact for disputing inaccurate information on your statement are listed in these closing pages.
-
1
