Have you been checking your credit report recently? If you haven’t, then it may be costing you money! On this page, we want to tell you exactly why you should be staying up to date with your credit report.
What is Your Credit Report?
First things first, what is your credit report?
Well, your credit report is a ton of information about your credit history over the last few years. It will contain the following information:
- Any loans that you have outstanding
- Any credit cards that you have
- Any late payments that you have made
- Any bankruptcies that you may have
- How many times you have applied for credit
- How much of your credit you have utilized
As you may well know, when you look to borrow money, lenders will often consult their credit report API to generate a report on your credit history. By looking at this report, they will get a feel for whether they are going to be able to lend to you or not.
Why Should You Stay Up to Date on Your Credit Report?
It is always good to have a rough idea about your credit history. After all, our credit history can impact the price of loans that we apply for, mortgages, and whether we are able to obtain certain contracts e.g. a cellphone or internet contract.
By getting an idea of your credit report and, ultimately, your credit score, you will start to get an idea of how healthy you are financial. It can actually be quite motivational for those that have not had the best credit history in the past and are taking steps to remedy it. On the personal finance level, there are few things better than being able to see your credit score creep slowly up.
If you are looking to apply for a loan or mortgage in the near future, then looking at your credit report could be a good thing. It, basically, provides you with all of the information that you need to know about whether you are likely to be approved for the loan or mortgage.
We suggest that you check your credit report regularly because it will allow you to see whether there are any mistakes on the credit report. Remember, even the smallest of mistakes can push your credit score down, so they are going to need to be corrected quickly. Remember, this information is going to be staying on your account for several years, and the longer it takes for you to correct the information, the more difficult your job.
How Do You Correct Mistakes on the Credit Report?
Firstly, mistakes happen. So, don’t go about blaming anybody for the mistake on your credit report. It is a good thing that you noticed. Most people don’t!
If the mistake seems to be limited to a particular company e.g. they have misreported any payments that you have made to them, or they have accidentally listed an incorrect amount of credit that you have, then get in touch with the company. They will be more than happy to help you out.
If the information is more general e.g. information about your address, then you will need to get in touch with the credit reporting agency. They may require you to provide proof of your identity so all of this information can be changed. Chances are that if it is incorrect information with one credit agency, it will be incorrect with all of them. This is why you should be gaining your information from a company that collects information from multiple agencies.
Conclusion
It is vital that you keep tabs on your credit report. Your report, and the score that is obtained from the report, are absolutely vital when it comes to determining whether you are able to obtain loans, etc.
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