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By Christopher
Luck
Equifax is one of the three major credit reporting agencies, along with Experian
and Tans Union.
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All three get information from creditors
voluntarily. You may have heard of the agencies, and
realize the important of your credit report. If you
do, then you may be interested in retaining a copy
of your own credit report from Equifax. |
Your Equifax credit report should be of great
interest to you since the contents can have such a
profound influence on your ability to make certain
purchases. Therefore, it is important to understand
what you are going to see on your report and what
it means. The contents of your Equifax credit report
can basically be broken down into five parts: your
personal information, inquiries, your credit history,
public record information, and your overall credit
score.
The first part of your Equifax credit report is your
personal profile. Your personal information is kept
in this portion. You name, aliases, spouses name,
current and former addresses, birth date, employment
history, and Social Security number.
When looking at your Equifax credit report,
make sure the information is accurate. You can make
corrections to the information by talking with Equifax.
Next, you will find the inquiries section. Here, you
can see everyone over the last two years that has
requested your credit report. You will find two types
of inquiry on your Equifax credit report: hard and
soft. A hard inquiry is one made by a company and
initiated by you, like when you apply for a mortgage
or credit card. A soft inquiry does not show to creditors
unless you request it and is made by existing creditors
who are monitoring your credit.
Third on your Equifax credit report is your credit
history and public records. Your history will have
a detailed list of your credit debts. It will include
how you have done in terms of paying, all late payments,
and information about how the account has been paid
to date. You records will include bankruptcies, liens,
and over due child support type information. Any public
records are negative and will lower your overall score.
They usually will stay on your Equifax credit report
for six to ten years.
Last you will find your credit score. The credit score
is a rating that shows how great of a credit risk
you are and what the chances are that you may default
on a loan. Most lenders will use the credit score
as factor in y our loan application.
The number of the score is between 300 and 850. The
higher the score on your Equifax credit report, the
less risky you will be considered by creditors. If
the score is lower, you will be seen as a higher risk
and while you still may get loans, you will likely
be headed toward higher rates of interest.
Your Equifax credit report has a big influence on
your ability to make purchases on credit. Many state
and federal laws allow you to receive a copy of your
Equifax credit report either for free or at a low
cost. Take the time to get a copy of your Equifax Credit Report, as well as ones from the other
companies. That way you can be sure that all of the
information is correct and have an idea of how risky
you are so that there are no surprises when you got
apply for any loans.
If you would like more updated information on my credit report resources, or read more articles like the one you just read, please feel free to visit my credit report blog.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Luck
In addition to Equifax, you should also review your
Experian
Credit Report.
For more information, search our site or the web:
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