How to Read Your Credit Report 

What to look for – and how to interpret what you see

For most people, a credit report will be full of unfamiliar terms and concepts. Understanding what a credit report says – and how a mortgage lender or a potential employer might interpret it – is critical to your being able to present your credit history in its best light, address any discrepancies or inaccuracies and – if you've legitimately had a credit problem – begin your task of understanding your credit status.

Each of the three credit reporting agencies – Equifax^®, Experian^®and TransUnion^SM – has an individualized format for presenting your free credit report. But regardless of presentation, all reports generally contain the following:

• Records of bankruptcies, tax liens and monetary judgments against you (available from public sources).
• Information about all your accounts, including loan amounts, current balance and payment pattern over the past several years.
• The names of companies that have obtained a copy of your credit report.
• Your name, current and previous addresses, phone number, Social Security number, date of birth and current and previous employers.
• Disputes between you and your creditors. The credit report will show both the creditor's statement of the account as well as your own.

The most important thing to look for in reviewing your credit report is accuracy – everything from account names and numbers to amounts paid and owed as well as any other information. Even if the inaccuracy is seemingly innocuous and occurs within an account in good standing, it needs to be addressed. For example, if your credit limit is incorrectly stated to be lower than it actually is, it will appear that you are using a higher percentage of your total borrowing capacity. This could negatively affect your credit score.

Knowing how to read your credit report is critical to understanding your credit score rating. But credit reports can be notoriously difficult for most people to understand. That's why many people interested in protecting their credit rating look for help.

IDENTITY GUARD^® – the leader in credit management services – is committed to helping consumers understand and protect their credit ratings. Our EXTRA CAUTION^SM service monitors all three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – to keep you apprised of your credit score and alert you promptly to potentially suspicious changes to your credit files – minimizing the risk of real damages occuring. It's a 3-3-3 credit profile – 3 credit reports, 3 credit scores, 3-bureau monitoring.

Plus, with EXTRA CAUTION^SM, you get daily surveillance of the Internet's "financial black markets", "back alley" chat rooms and news groups. Patented scanning technology helps ensure that your important financial information is not being compromised or "swapped" in sites frequented by identity thieves.

3-in-1 Credit Report

With our 3-in-1 Credit Report you get unlimited online access to a consolidated report of your credit history with side-by-side data compiled from the top 3 credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This gives you a comprehensive view of your credit reporting history, and also makes it easier for you to verify the accuracy of the information at each credit reporting agency.