Equifax
Credit Report is your financial fingerprint along with
other major credit reports.
To
stay on top of your credit, it is essential to be aware of
the contents of your credit report. An Equifax credit report
and other consumer credit report is a document that contains
a factual record of an individual's credit payment history
and identification information. Equifax credit reports and
other consumer credit reports from major credit bureaus is
mainly used to judge his/her credit worthiness by lenders.
These
days your Equifax credit report and other major credit reports
are truly one of your most important financial assets. It
really makes or breaks decisions when it comes to getting
loans, mortgages, credit cards and other types of credit.
So, you want to make sure that it looks as good as possible.
Your Equifax
credit report lists your personal and credit information.
The personal information includes your age, birth date, social
security number, current and previous addresses, and current
and previous jobs. The credit information describes all the
cerdit relationships you have, such as bank credit cards,
retail cards, and student loans. Included is the date you
opened each account, how much you owe, the maximum amount
you can borrow, and your payment history.
Major
credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian and Trans Union gather,
maintain, and sell information about a person's credit history.
They collect information about consumers' payment habits from
various sources including banks, savings and loans, credit
card companies, and other financial institutions. Compiling
this information in their computer database, credit bureaus
sell it to lenders and other credit grantors in the form of
an Equifax credit report or other major bureau's credit report.
Equifax credit bureau maintains centralized databases containing
the credit records of more than 170 million Americans.
Although
Equifax and other credit bureaus provide your credit report
to lenders when you apply for credit, they do not make actual
lending decisions. It is up to the lender to evaluate your
Equifax and other credit reports and any other factors they
consider important and then decide whether or not to offer
you credit.
Ideally,
your Equifax credit report is an accurate, up-to-date reflection
of your credit history. Too often many people find something
wrong with their Equifax credit report and/or other major
credit reports only after having an application for credit
denied. This is not only embarrassing and frustrating; it
can also create a delay in receiving the credit you deserve.
If your
credit report contains inaccurate or incomplete information,
write to the credit reporting agency and the company that
provided the information to the agency. If an error is found,
the the agency must correct it.
More disturbing
fact is that "Identity Theft" is on the rise and
could jeopardize your ability to obtain further credit. Identity
theft is an insidious crime, involving a thief who assumes
your name to open new accounts, divert your card statements
to another address, and run up all sorts of bad debt without
you ever knowing about it until collectors come calling. The
best way to catch a thief who is using your name is by regularly
checking your Equifax credit report, which will show you if
there are accounts listed you know you haven't opened.
While
a single bureau report is a file that represents the data
from just one credit bureau, a 3-in-1 merged credit report
is a credit report that includes data from all three credit
bureaus (Equifax, Experian [TRW] and Trans Union). When determining
your ability to pay back a loan, many lenders examine your
3-in-1 Credit Report.
Your Equifax Credit Report offers:
- Immediate
online access at the Equifax credit report site
- Details
on credit cards and loans opened in your name, companies
accessing your credit file, payment information, and more
- An
easy-to-read, printable format
- Ability
to dispute errors in your credit file quickly and easily
online
- Access
this snapshot of your information online for 30 days
- Access
to Customer Care, available 7 days a week
Credit
Monitoring
Identity
theft is an increasingly occuring financial crime these days.
Unless you check your Equifax credit report and other major
credit report regularly, there's often no way to tell if identity
thieves have used your personal information to obtain credit
accounts or other services in your name. How to protect yourself?
Subscribe to Credit
Watch  credit
report monitoring service, and get an early alert to new and
suspicious activity on your report, identity theft insurance,
and access to your credit report.
Credit
Score
Along
with the Equifax credit report and other major credit reports,
lenders also buy a credit score based on the information in
the report. Credit scoring is a scientific method that uses
statistical models to assess an individual's credit worthiness
based on their credit history and current credit accounts.
A computer-generated score is compiled using information from
an individual's credit report.
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Credit Report
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Equifax
Credit Report and Credit Score
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