With all of the focus today on credit and credit scores, you might find yourself wondering exactly how it is that your credit score is compiled and who it is that does the compiling. The responsibility for maintaining your credit report and determining your credit score falls on the shoulders of various credit reporting agencies… companies that deal solely in maintaining records of payments and non-payments for all of the individuals that they receive reports on.
Several different credit reporting agencies exist, and different creditors can prefer to work with specific ones or with all of them. While many people know that credit reporting agencies exist, they may not be sure as to exactly what services these agencies perform.
What all this means is that you have to be aware of the state of your finances, and especially know what credit score you have. And just like the banks, you can get this information from a credit reporting agency. You can go through the agency to purchase a copy of your credit report. This is a document that provides details about your credit history and your record of payments, and it basically gives you an idea of how your creditors will see you as a loan applicant.
If you have been denied credit based on information in your credit report (the creditor must provide a reason for denial), you have 60 days from the day you receive a denial notice to receive a free copy of the credit report. Additionally, the law also entitles you to receive a free credit report every 12 months if you are unemployed and seeking work within the next 60 days, are on welfare or if your report is inaccurate as a result of credit fraud.
A bit more detailed than your credit score, credit reporting agencies also produce full credit reports for those creditors or employers who request them. These reports show your credit score as well as a listing of the reports that you’ve received over a period of time… this time can vary from 6 months to several years. You can also request a copy of your own credit report, either by ordering it from a credit agency or by applying for a free credit report via certain government agencies (depending upon where you live) or credit monitoring services who in turn will try to sell you a subscription to their service which tells you when changes are made to your credit report.
