What is a credit report? \u00a0If you\u2019ve ever applied for a credit card, a personal\u00a0loan, or insurance, there\u2019s a file about you.This file\u00a0is known as your credit report. It is full of\u00a0information on where you live, how you pay your\u00a0bills, and whether you\u2019ve been sued or arrested, or\u00a0have filed for bankruptcy. Credit reporting\u00a0companies such a Experian, Equifax and\u00a0Transunion sell the information in your report to\u00a0creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses\u00a0with a legitimate need for it.<\/p>\n
Why are credit reports\u00a0important?<\/p>\n
Your credit reports are important because lenders,\u00a0insurers, employers, and others use them to assess\u00a0how you manage your financial responsibilities.<\/p>\n
For example:<\/p>\n
– Lenders may use your credit report information\u00a0to decide whether to provide you a loan and\u00a0under what terms (for example, the interest rate\u00a0they will charge you).
\n– Insurance companies may use the information to\u00a0decide whether to provide you with insurance\u00a0and the rates you will pay.
\n– Employers may use your credit report to decide\u00a0whether to hire you.
\n– Telephone and utility companies may use\u00a0information in your credit report to decide\u00a0whether to provide services to you.
\n– Landlords may use the information to determine\u00a0whether to rent an apartment to you.<\/p>\n
What does your credit report\u00a0say about you?<\/p>\n
A credit report is a record of your credit history that includes\u00a0information about:<\/p>\n
– Your identity; Your name, address, full or partial Social\u00a0Security number, date of birth, and possibly employment\u00a0information.
\n– Your existing credit; Information about credit that you have,\u00a0such as your credit card accounts, mortgages, car loans,\u00a0and student loans. It may also include the terms of your\u00a0credit, how much you owe your creditors, and your history\u00a0of making payments.
\n– Public record; Information about any court judgments\u00a0against you, any tax liens against your property, or\u00a0whether you have filed for bankruptcy.
\n– Inquiries about you; A list of companies or persons who\u00a0recently requested a copy of your report.<\/p>\n
Where do credit bureaus get their\u00a0information?
\nCredit bureaus get information from your creditors\u00a0(i.e.,companies that loan you money) such as credit card\u00a0issuers and auto lenders. They also get information about you\u00a0from public records, such as property or court records.<\/p>\n
How can I get a free copy of my\u00a0credit report?<\/p>\n
You are entitled to receive ONE FREE credit report every 12\u00a0months from each of the three credit reporting agencies by\u00a0visiting, www.annualcreditreport.com or by phone,
\n877-322-8228.<\/p>\n
Your credit scores are not part of your credit reports and are\u00a0not provided with them unless you pay extra. A nominal fee\u00a0is charged by the bureaus for each score. The information\u00a0on your credit reports impact your scores, so it is important\u00a0to make sure that information is accurate. Your scores are used by lenders to help them assess risk fairly\u00a0because they are consistent and objective. Consumers\u00a0benefit from this because no matter who you are as a\u00a0person, your credit score only reflects the likelihood to repay\u00a0debt responsibly.<\/p>\n
DMCC can help!<\/p>\n
DMCC has the ability to simulate changes to your reports. \u00a0We will show you what you need to do to improve your score.<\/p>\n
To better assist you reading your report and improving your score, contact one of our certified credit counselors by calling 866-724-3328.<\/p>\n
DMCC is a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization committed to educating consumers on financial issues and providing personal assistance to consumers who have become overextended with debt.\u00a0 Education is provided free of charge to consumers, as well as personal counseling to identify the best options for the repayment of their debt. To speak to a certified credit counselor, call toll-free 866-618-3328 or email\u00a0<\/em>contact@dmcconline.org<\/em><\/a>.DMCC is located at 1330 SE 4th Ave, Suite F, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is a credit report? \u00a0If you\u2019ve ever applied for a credit card, a personal\u00a0loan, or insurance, there\u2019s a file about you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-credit"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5shu1-3I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2071,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions\/2071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}