Things You'll Need:
- Credit report
- phone numbers for the 3 credit reporting agencies
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Step 1
There are codes on your report under Whose Account. They are abbreviations. J means joint. I means individual. U means undesignated. A means authorized user. T means terminated. M means maker. B means on behalf of another person. S means shared.
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Step 2
Date opened means how long your account has been tracked by the 3 credit reporting companies and or retailers and other creditors requesting information about you.
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Step 3
Under HIGH CREDIT is a column of various numbers. These are the highest amounts you have charged on the card or the credit limit of the card on a certain account.
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Step 4
Balance is the amount owed at the time of requesting and reading your credit report.
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Step 5
Late payment history shows how often you've made late payments and how late they have been. It also shows the two most recent late payments and the first late payment you made.
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Step 6
Status shows the kind of account. Open, meaning the balance is due each month, Revolving, meaning the payment amount is variable, Installment meaning a set arrangement with payments and how long it takes to pay.
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Step 7
You can order a free credit report:
* On the Internet: www.annualcreditreport.com
* On the phone: call 1-877-322-8228
Credit Reporting Agencies
Equifax (www.equifax.com)
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-800-685-1111
Experian (www.experian.com)
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-0949
1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Trans Union (www.transunion.com)
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-916-8800
Comments
jpwriter said
on 10/30/2008 Great article, these can definitely be tricky to figure out.
2besure said
on 5/21/2008 Thanks for the credit information.