It's easier than you think and we'll show you how!
The Fair Isaac Corporation is the creator of the FICO score and is the widely known credit-scoring model that is used to determine your credit score.
When reading your credit report, carefully look for everything from typing errors, outdated and incomplete information to inaccurate account histories. Credit reports can be difficult to read, so we have supplied a quick guide to help you read a credit report:
The Basics... How To Read Your Credit Report:
Your credit report is basically divided into four sections: identifying information, credit history, public records and inquiries.
Identifying Information
Identifying information is just that -- information to identify you. Look at it closely to make sure it's accurate. It's not unusual for there to be two or three spellings of your name or more than one Social Security number. That's usually because someone reported the information that way. Other information might include your current and previous addresses, your date of birth, telephone numbers, driver license numbers, your employer and your spouse's name.
Credit History
The next section is your credit history. Sometimes, the individual accounts are called trade lines. Each account will include the name of the creditor and the account number, which may be scrambled for security purposes. You may have more than one account from a creditor. Many creditors have more than one kind of account, or if you move, they transfer your account to a new location and assign a new number. The entry will also include:
• When you opened the account.
• Type of credit (installment, such as a mortgage or auto loan, or revolving, such as a department store credit card).
• Whether the account is in your name alone or with another person.
• Total amount of loan. • High credit limit or highest balance on the card.
• Credit balances and credit limits. • Fixed monthly payments or minimum monthly amount.
• Status of the account (open, inactive, closed, paid, late payments, collection, charge off judgment, etc.).
• How well you’ve paid the account.
On Experian's report, your payment history is written in plain English -- never pays late, typically pays 30 days late, etc. Other comments might include internal collection and charged off or default. Charged off means the creditor has given up, or thrown in the towel. Other reports use payment codes ranging from 1 to 9; an R1 or I1 on a report is an indication of a good payment history on a revolving or installment account.
Public Records
The next section, public records, is the part you want to be absolutely blank. It doesn't list arrests and criminal activities; just financial-related data, such as bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens.
Inquiries
The final section is the inquiries. That's a list of everyone who asked to see your credit report. Inquiries are divided into two sections. "Hard" inquiries are ones you initiate by filling out a credit application or taking your child to the orthodontist. "Soft" inquiries are from companies that want to send out promotional information to a pre-qualified group or current creditors who are monitoring your account. The soft inquiries are only shown on reports given to consumers. Note: You can dispute inquiries. So be sure when generating your dispute documents that you include any inquiries you would like removed.
Guide to Fields on a typical Credit Report
W = Whose Account (ECQA)
0 = Undesignated
1 = Individual (borrower)
2 = Joint (borrower and someone else)
3 = Authorized User of Account
4 = Joint Account
5 = Co-maker
6 = On Behalf of
7 = Maker
8 = Individual Account for Spouse
9 = No Longer Associated With
Creditor Name & Account Number
The name of the Credit Grantor, Bank or Credit Card issuer. This is followed by the Account Number. NOTE: Account numbers may be truncated due to regulatory privacy requirements.
Date Reported
This is the date the information was last reported to the credit agency. A = Automated - Information came from the repositories. M = Manual - Tradeline has been manually updated.
Date Opened
This is the date the account was opened.
Date of Last Activity (DLA)
The date of last payment or other activity on the Account.
High Credit
This is the highest balance reported or credit limit on the account.
Balance Owing
This is the balance on the account as of the Date Reported.
Past Due
This is the dollar amount that the account is past due, if any, as of the Date Reported.
Historical Status
Months Reviewed - The number of months reviewed by the Payment History.
30 60 90 - The number of times the applicants account was 30, 60 or 90 days past due.
Manner of Payment
This is the current rating on the account.
Type of Account
I = Installment Account
M = Mortgage
O = Open Account
R = Revolving Account
Rating
0 = too new to rate.
1 = pays in 30 days.
2 = pays in more than 30 days but less than 60 days.
3 = pays in more than 60 days, but less than 90 days.
4 = pays in more than 90 days, but less than 120 days.
S = account is at least 120 days past due.
7 = bankruptcy
8 = repossession.
9 = collection.
Source
Lists the repositories where the tradeline information originated for each tradeline.
XPN = Experian (formerlyTRW)
EFX = Equifax
TU = TransUnion
Kind of Account
A = Automotive
B = Banking
C = Clothing
0 = Department & Mail Order
E = Employment
F = Finance
G = Grocery
H = Home Furnishing Insurance
J = Jewelry & Camera Contractors
L = Lumber & Hardware
M = Medical & Health
0 = Oil & National Credit Cards
P = Personal Services Not Medical
R = Real Estate & Public Accommodation
S = Sporting Goods
T = Farm & Garden Supplies
U = Utilities & Fuel
V = Government
W = Wholesale
X = Advertising
Y = Collection Services
Z = Miscellaneous & Public Record
Document, Document, Document
Keep copies and records of all the forms, letters and documentation that you send the credit agencies. The credit agency must investigate any relevant dispute within 30 days of receiving your letter. Any item that is not verified as accurate by a creditor must be removed by law.
If the credit agency makes any changes to your credit file, it will send you the results and a free, updated copy of your credit report. Once a negative item is removed from your report, the credit agency cannot put it back on unless a creditor verifies its accuracy and completeness -- and sends you written notice.
For best results...
Just like the directions for shampoo: lather, rinse, repeat, to achieve the desired results with improving your credit, you may have to repeat the dispute process every 45-60 days.
Results vary depending upon your score. If you are in the 600’s you may see the desired results in 60 days, whereas if you are in the 400’s it may take 12 months to get the desired results . To maximize your results, TURBOCREDIT recommends that you check out our TurboTips section for ways to help improve your credit while you are going through the dispute process.
TURBOCREDIT gives the option for five personalized cycles. Under the guidelines by the Credit Repair Organizations Act, the credit reporting agencies cannot refuse to process your dispute. Note: the agencies may send out letters refusing to investigate or that the information was previously verified, but be persistent. It may take a couple dispute cycles to achieve the desired result.
2nd, 3rd, disputes and beyond...
Be sure to dispute only the negative items on your credit report. If you disputed 20 items on your credit report in the 1st dispute cycle and 5 were removed, then there are 15 negative remaining items. When starting your second dispute, only dispute the remaining items and not the items already removed. To do this, simply click on the dispute cycle you are starting and deleted those items from the Accounts Entered queue. Repeat this process for the 3rd dispute. If another 5 items are removed in the 2nd cycle, then you will only dispute 10 in the 3rd cycle and so on.
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