Why it's important to review your credit report

Why it’s important to know what's in your credit report:

Accurate credit is vital in this day and age.  Your credit report contains information about you that lenders and financial institutions rely upon when deciding whether to lend money or extend credit.  Your credit score is based on your credit report, and directly affects your ability to secure new credit or a loan.  Your credit score also affects the interest rate a bank or financial institution will attach to its financial products.  Typically, the higher your credit score is, the better your interest rate will be.

Getting your credit score without reviewing your credit report is similar to receiving a test score without the actual results of that test.  How can you know if there is an error on your credit report that affected your credit score?  Mistakes can happen more often than you think.  These mistakes can be costly, as they  may result in higher interest rates or the complete denial of credit period.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting agencies, (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit reports at your request, once every 12 months.  Consumers may visit the website, www.annualcreditreport.com and access these credit reports at no cost.

We recommend that you obtain annual credit reports and review your credit reports for error or irregularities such as:

• Accounts that do not belong to you
• Accounts with incorrect balance or payment history  
• Negative accounts that are more than 7 years old
• Closed accounts or accounts discharged in bankruptcy reporting as open or with a balance

If you need help reviewing or understanding your credit report, you should speak to a knowledgeable credit attorney to help you determine whether your credit report contains complete, fair, and accurate information about you.  If there are errors or inconsistencies, you have the right to dispute these errors with the bureaus at no cost to you.