credit report generated by three major credit bureaus. The report has information about your employment, the way you have paid your bills and details about major financial transactions in which you were involved. It also includes details about any loans or payments on which you have defaulted and also if you were arrested or have filed for bankruptcy in the last decade. In short a credit report is what determines your credit worthiness to businesses and financial organizations across the world. The credit bureaus sell your information to major banks and financial agencies across the world.
The Major Credit Bureaus
There are three major bureaus. TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. There are many small time bureaus as well but they are affiliated to one of these three majors in the field.
A Clean and Error Free Credit Report
It is extremely important to have an accurate, clean and error free credit report. If you have applied for a loan and have been denied it due to a bad credit report, then the lender will give you the name and telephone number of the credit agency that gave the report. If you contact them in writing within 60 days of being denied, then you can get a free copy of your credit report mailed to you. Even otherwise, you have a right to receive at least once copy of your credit report every year. Even if you wish to review your credit report at any point of time, you simply need to get in touch with one of these credit report agencies.
If There Are Errors
If there are any errors or discrepancies in your credit report, then you need to once again let them know in writing about the information that you believe is incorrect. The letter should have your complete name and address, each part of the report which you are willing to dispute and copies of documents which support your claims. It would be better if you keep a copy of the letter with yourself as well.
Then it is up to the agency to review the information which you are disputing. They will then reinvestigate those parts and if there are any errors correct it. For example, if there is an account which you cannot identify and have not opened, and then you need to report it. It may even be a case of fraud. It is also called as identity theft and millions of people are falling prey to it. Hence it is always recommended that you keep checking your credit score.
Online Credit Report
An online credit report is the latest addition to the list of services that credit bureaus provide. When you sign up with these credit bureaus for their services, you are allotted a unique log in id with which you can easily access credit reports from all the leading agencies. It includes all reports from all three major credit bureaus, viz. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This is an excellent service because it reduces the time factor by a huge margin. Earlier, it took days for the credit report to reach you after you wrote or got in touch with the agencies. Now, thanks to the online credit report, all that you have to do is click on the website and log in. Viola
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