Your report typically does not contain information about your checking and savings account balances, brokerage accounts, medical history, your race, sex, religion, national origin, your driving record, personal lifestyle, political party, or criminal record. In summary here is what you will find on your report:

	Personal Identifying information: your name, current and previous addresses, Social Security number, year of birth, employment history and income, and home ownership.
	Personal Credit information: information for each account you hold, such as date opened, credit limit or loan amount, balance, monthly payment and recent payment history. This information is gathered from a large number of sources, including banks, credit unions, credit card issuers, mortgage and loan companies, landlords, insurance companies, professional service organizations, and others.
	Public record information: information from government agencies, including federal district bankruptcy records, state and county court records, tax liens, monetary judgments, and (in some states) overdue child support, for the last 7 years (sometimes 10 for bankruptcies).
	Record of Inquiries: the names of anyone who has requested a copy of your report within the past year (or the past two years for employment-related inquiries).

How To Get A Copy of Your Credit Report

The best way to gauge the risk you pose to prospective lenders such as banks, loan officers, and landlords and to establish whether your credit report contains any erroneous information, is to obtain a copy and check your credit report.

Many financial advisors suggest that you review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions about once a year. It's especially important to review your credit report before making a major purchase, such as a home or a car, so you can correct an error before it slows down your credit approval or prevents you from getting the best possible loan terms.

You can order your credit report from each agency individually, or order all three at once from sites such as TrueCredit.

Obtaining a copy of your credit report isn't usually free, but it is inexpensive as Credit bureaus can charge no more than $9 for your report.

Kinds of Problems You Could Encounter With Your Credit Report

 

While federal law requires lenders and other companies providing information to credit bureaus to give accurate information, mistakes do happen. So, when you look at your report:

 

	Make sure it accurately reflects how you have paid your bills. If you always pay your credit card and other loans on time, but your credit report erroneously shows late payments, you'll want to correct that.
	Verify that all the accounts listed are yours, especially if you have a common name or you share a name with a relative. You also want to be careful that an identity thief hasn't opened new accounts in your name to commit financial fraud.
	Look for accounts you don't use and may have forgotten. You may be able to raise your credit score by closing unnecessary credit card accounts.

 

How To Correct Erroneous or Incomplete Information In Your Credit Report

 

The FCRA gives you the right to dispute inaccuracies or omissions, and it requires credit bureaus to investigate your complaint (generally within 30 days), send you a prompt response and correct any errors. The law also requires the source of inaccurate information (such as a bank) to correct the record at the credit bureaus to which it initially provided the erroneous information. 

 

In summary you should:

 

	Immediately tell the credit bureau, in writing, about information you believe is incomplete or inaccurate. Include copies, NOT originals, of any documents that support your position.
	Clearly identify each item in your credit report that you dispute, state the facts and request a correction.
	Send your letter by certified mail and request a return receipt to document that your complaint arrived at the credit bureau.
	Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures. Also contact the company that provided the inaccurate or incomplete information to the credit bureau and request a correction of its records, too.

 

If a credit bureau's investigation does not resolve your concerns, the FCRA allows you to submit a brief statement about the matter, in 100 words or less, that must be attached to your report and provided to anyone that accesses your report in the future. This enables you to tell potential lenders or anyone else who sees your credit report your side of the story.

 

Remove Negative Items from your Credit Report!

 

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