Credit reports and how they are formed

Credit reports are formed on the basis of the payment history of consumers. This includes the payments made to clear debts, loan repayments, credit card bills and other bill settlements, types of loans taken, time taken to clear the same, default and non payments history and various other related factors. These factors are used to make the credit report. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three main credit reporting agencies in the United States of America. These agencies also provide credit scores to consumers based on their requests. Credit scores can be free or paid for.

Getting your free credit report

The FCRA or the fair credit reporting act provides all citizens of the U.S to get a free credit report from each of the three crediting bureaus. This free credit report has to be provided by each of the bureaus in 12 months. The best way to keep a track of your creditworthiness is to apply for these reports on the basis of rotation. This way you can get at least one credit report, once in 4 months, from each of the three bureaus. There are slight differences in credit reports of these companies but it is very marginal. These credit reports can be seen online or can also be mailed as per the request made.

A beginners guide for using your credit report

The credit report is not your bank statement which should be seen and kept away. The free credit report can help you to keep a track of your finances and also check your creditworthiness. Once the report is availed you should check if the payments made by you are reflected on the report. Also the errors or discrepancies in these reports should be immediately reported to the credit reporting agencies and the creditors. This will also help to improve the credit score which is based on these reports.

How can the credit report be improved?

Once you get the free credit report, and check that there are no errors or misinformation on the report, you should try to analyze the same. A poor credit report will reflect on your credit scores and creditworthiness. An effort should be made to settle all previous debts or unpaid bills. It is best to repair your credits when they are at a gradual fall because this can lead to a severe decrease in credit scores and your creditworthiness.

Other Credit Report Related Articles

• Free Credit Report & Scores
• Sample / Example Credit Bureau Dispute Letter
• Do-It-Yourself Free Credit Report: Beginner's Guide
• Accessing your free credit score
• Credit Repair: How to approach the credit bureaus
• Your Credit Report and Score: Six Costly Mistakes
• Ways a free credit report can help you
• How to get your free credit score and check your credit
• What does your credit report score mean?
• Misconceptions of Your Credit Beacon/ FICO Score
• Quickest and Easiest Way To Get Your Credit Score
• Forgotten Secrets of Credit Repair and Repairing your Credit