credit report - What Your Credit Report Says About You

Your credit report reveals your credit history as for your payment history, how much credit you have extended, prior applications for loans and credit cards. Your past and present addresses are on your credit report along with prior employers. This report also gives every name and variation that you have used to obtain or apply for credit. Your social security number tracks your every move in the financial world. If someone else uses your social security number, this shows up on your credit record as coming from you. In some cases, fraudulent credit and identity theft can be avoided by checking your credit report annually. For the most part, if you see something wrong on your credit report and question it right away, clearing it from your credit history with proper documentation avoids further problems with your ability to apply and receive credit. Credit history tells lenders about how you pay your bills. If you pay on time, within one month after becoming due and past sixty days. This allows lenders and creditors to see whether you are a good candidate for a loan or credit card. This also helps lenders determine how much money you can receive at that time. Many employers now conduct a credit check before hiring. The new ruling that came about a few years back, allows the employer to do a credit check in order to determine if you are a good candidate for the job you are applying for in a specific field. The credit checks supply all the information in your credit history. Viewing your annual free credit report helps in many ways, if you want to buy a home, get a credit card or a loan, receive some types of insurance or in getting a job, you need to know your credit history and what it says about you before doing anything, including applying for a job. People usually find out they were turned down for a job because of a credit check and later found out the credit history was inaccurate. The annual free credit report tells if you have been married and divorced as well as vehicles that you may have owned. Your credit report is your life history and needs checking yearly for accuracy to insure your future credit and buying power. Your ability to keep track of your credit history every year prevents so many problems that arise at the time of a personal or home loan. Once you realize how your credit report and credit score affect your every day life, you will want a copy every year to view for any inconsistencies that appear on the report. Corrections usually clear up any misunderstanding that occurs because of your credit history. You can also find more information at Free Annual Credit Report and Free Credit Report Online. Creditscorereportguide.org is a comprehensive resource to find guidness about credit score. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mandy_Fain credit report - Credit Score Lowered When You Cancel Credit Cards Most people are aware that anytime they seek a loan, the lender will check their credit report to see if their credit history warrants such a loan. Along with the credit report, the lender will almost certainly check the borrower's credit score. Also known as a FICO score, this score is a three-digit number, ranging from 300 to 850, that represents the borrower's overall credit worthiness. There are several factors that come into play in compiling a credit score. The score takes into account available credit, any past due payments, and the length of the borrower's history, among other things. Also coming into play is the amount of available credit that the borrower has, along with the percentage of the available credit that is currently outstanding. Borrowers often check their credit reports themselves prior to applying for a loan in order to look for possible errors. Often, they will see old accounts listed that they didn't even know were active anymore, such as a department store credit card from a city in which they no longer live. The first response in this situation is usually to cancel the account, since it isn't being used anymore. This could be a mistake, and could actually lower your credit score! It is true that it may be a potential problem to have too much available credit. Lenders could have concerns that the borrower with ten credit cards might run out and max them all out. On the other hand, a very important component of the credit score is the length of the borrower's credit history. The longer the better and those people with top credit scores usually have histories of thirty years or more. By canceling an old account, you could be reducing the length of your credit history, which will then consist only of newer accounts. There are times when canceling unused accounts is a good idea. This is particularly true if the accounts are relatively new ones. But closing an old account, even if it isn't being used, could do more harm than good for someone seeking a loan.