Five Reasons to Check Your Credit Report Regularly
In much the same way that a
resume displays your work experience to a prospective employer,
a credit report provides prospective creditors (and in some
cases employers and insurers too) with a detailed picture of
your credit history. And like a resume, your credit report can
influence whether you will receive what you are applying for.
Ideally, your credit report is
an accurate, up-to-date reflection of your credit history.
However, since we don't live in an ideal world, there are many
reasons that your credit report could contain inaccuracies that
might prevent you from receiving the credit you deserve. The
good news is you can take action to keep your report accurate.
Here are the top five reasons why you should make a practice of
regularly reviewing your credit report:
Inaccuracies & Mixed Credit
Files
Many inaccuracies on a credit
report can be the result of simple human error, and are
therefore are not difficult to dispute. Of course, if you don't
order your credit report, you might never know about it. Whether
the inaccuracies relate to payments not credited, late payments,
or data mixed in from the credit file of someone else with a
name similar to yours, you will want to contact the credit
bureau to dispute inaccurate information promptly. If you would
like to get a free copy of your credit report right now,
click
here.
Tracking Payments
One of the most important
elements of credit is a demonstrated history of on time
payments. Once you send the check though, anything can happen--a
delay in the payment being received can kick you over to a
30-day delinquency. If you call your creditor and explain the
situation, they might adjust the information. Of course, if you
don't read your credit report, you won't necessarily know which
payments are being received and reported properly. If you would
like to get a free copy of your credit report right now, click
here.
Identity Theft
This issue alone is reason to
order your credit report immediately. Identity theft is an
insidious crime, involving a thief who assumes your name to open
new accounts, divert your card statements to another address,
and run up all sorts of bad debt without you ever knowing about
it until collectors come calling. Over time, identity theft
could jeopardize your ability to obtain further credit. The best
way to catch a thief who is using your name is by getting a copy
of your credit report, which will show you if there are accounts
listed you know you haven't opened. For example, if a thief has
intercepted a pre-approved credit card offer in your name and
sent it in with a change of address, your credit report will
include the account. If you would like to get a free copy of
your credit report right now, click
here.
Inquiries
If you're shopping around for a
loan or more credit, you should know that when creditors check
your credit, it places an inquiry on your credit report.
Inquiries can add up, which is often interpreted as a negative
by creditors. For this reason, too many inquiries can actually
make getting credit more difficult. Moreover, if you didn't
authorize someone to look at your credit report and they did,
they may have broken the law. If you would like to see who's
been looking at your credit, click
here to get a free copy of your credit report right now.
Credit Fraud--Unauthorized Charges
Credit fraud involves the theft
of your credit card or account number to make unauthorized
charges to your account. Though consumers are protected
financially from this abuse, other creditors may take note of
all this activity and decide to raise your interest rates or
refuse to grant you a loan. Ordering your credit report will
help you catch new activity on accounts that you haven't been
using, or may have closed. If you would like to get a free copy
of your credit report right now, click
here.
When it comes to managing your
credit worthiness, your credit report is your best resource.
Ordering your credit report gives you the opportunity to manage
your credit wisely today, while planning your credit strategy
for achieving future goals--a credit-savvy move every consumer
should make! Click
here to get your credit report right now, for free!