{"id":1803,"date":"2018-08-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondfinance.wpengine.com\/?p=1803"},"modified":"2021-05-10T20:55:32","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T20:55:32","slug":"credit-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondfinance.com\/blog\/credit-report\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Should Know About Your Credit Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You should review your credit reports every year and, if necessary, take the time to clean them up. Mistakes on your report(s) can negatively affect your credit score, which is used by lenders to determine if they\u2019ll lend you money and, if so, the interest rate you\u2019ll pay. Some employers review credit reports, too, so faulty info could even affect your chances of landing that new job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean to clean up your credit report?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleaning up your credit report means identifying, removing, or fixing inaccurate and outdated information – whether it is an incorrect notation about how an account was closed, dated information about a bankruptcy that should no longer appear on your report, or accounts that simply aren’t yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be careful of credit repair companies that claim they can “repair your credit” or miraculously “boost your credit score”. Cleaning up your credit report does not mean hiring a credit repair company to remove delinquent accounts or eliminate other unfavorable entries that are legitimate. When it comes to rightfully removing inaccurate or old information from your reports, you can do that yourself with a little patience – and without the credit repair companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, get copies of your credit reports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You probably only need to order credit reports from the three main credit reporting agencies (known as \u201cCRAs\u201d) – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. By law, you are entitled to one free copy from each CRA every 12 months. And because each report may contain different information, you should order a report from all three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also specialty CRAs such as the Lexis Nexis Personal Reports or Medical Information Bureau. Some of these track information specifically about tenants for use by landlords. Others may contain more personal information and are used by employers and insurers. You\u2019re entitled to one free annual report from these agencies as well – although determining which ones have a file on you could be a bit of a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review your reports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, any adverse information that is more than seven years old can be legally removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carefully review each report for any entries that are inaccurate or incomplete. Here are some examples of what to look for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n