How to Access Your Credit Report and What to Look For

Knowing where to find your credit report and what to look for is key in maintaining a healthy, positive credit profile. Regularly reviewing your credit report will ensure that the information included is accurate, and can help you spot errors that could be bringing your score down. We’ve compiled some of our favorite resources and tips that will make pulling and understanding your credit report easier!

 To pull your credit report, we recommend using a website like SmartCredit.com. Smart Credit is a credit reporting and monitoring website that pulls information from all three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. It offers different levels of monthly subscriptions that you can use to track your online banking, credit reports, and more. It compiles all three reports for you and makes it easy to spot inaccuracies or misleading information.

If you’d like to access a free copy of your credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com. As a consumer, you are entitled to one free report from each credit bureau every twelve months. Experian.com also lets you access your credit report and FICO score through their website for free!

 To access your credit report, you will be expected to provide your full name, date of birth, social security number, and address to verify your identity. 

 \While the three bureaus organize reports differently, they all include the same basic sections: personal information, credit history, public records, and inquiry history. When reading over your credit report, keep these keywords in mind: inaccurate, unverifiable, misleading, or outdated. Anything that falls into one of these categories can potentially be hurting the health of your credit and could prevent you from qualifying for a home or getting a lower interest rate.

Personal Information

Off the bat, make sure all of your personal information is correct. This includes the spelling of your name, your date of birth, and social security number. Double check that your current and previous addresses are listed correctly, and your phone number and employment information is up to date. 

Credit History & Accounts 

This section is the meat of your credit report. It includes:

  • Open and closed credit accounts, like credit cards, loans and mortgages

  • Accounts shared with someone else

  • Remaining loan balances and total loan amounts

  • Payment history/late payments

  • Collections accounts 

When going over the accounts listed on your credit report, there are several things to keep in mind to ensure your report is accurate. Make sure you recognize these items listed here:

  • Name and address of the creditor, date opened, and account number.

  • Status of the account (open, closed, transferred) and whether you’re current on payments.

  • Type of account (credit card, loan, etc.)

  • Ownership status (individual vs. joint or authorized user)

  • Credit limit or original loan amount 

If you notice something seems off - like a credit card you closed is still reporting as open, or a payment is listed as late when you actually paid it on time - your credit report could be inaccurate, and you could potentially dispute the errors. 

Public Records

Hopefully, this section is empty. It would include things like bankruptcy or judgements, and these can usually stay on your credit report for seven to ten years. Mistakes in this section are rare, but double check. If you find any errors, they need to be cleared up as soon as possible. 

Inquiry History

This part of the report includes a list of the times you or someone else has checked your credit. There are two types of inquiries: hard pulls (when a potential creditor checks your credit) and soft pulls (when you check your credit). Hard inquiries typically take a few points off of your score, but soft inquiries have no impact. When reviewing this section, make sure you recognize all inquiries and that the names, addresses, and dates from each organization are correct. Hard inquiries should fall off after two years.

If at any point in reviewing your credit report, you notice something is off or that falls into the four categories we talked about earlier (inaccurate, unverifiable, misleading, or outdated), take action! Schedule a Free Evaluation with us, and we’d be happy to work on your behalf to ensure your credit report is accurate and complete. 

Alex Grimnes