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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 your 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 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.
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 an 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.
Identity
Theft
This
issue alone is reason to order you 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.
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.
Credit
Fraud - Unauthorized Charges
Credit
fraud involves theft of your credit card or account
number to make authorized 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.
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 creditsavvy move every
consumer should make!
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