Most people have heard about credit bureaus. There are three main bureaus in the United States: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Do you know what type of information they collect and how it affects you?
How Creditors Interact With Credit Bureaus
Most creditors send information to the credit bureaus concerning what accounts you have, what type of accounts they are, and what your payment history with those accounts has been. Federal law says that creditors do not have an obligation to send account information to the credit bureaus, but if they do, the information they send is required to be accurate. It’s important to keep your accounts in good standing or it can wreak havoc on your credit score.
How To Track Your Credit Report
A good place to start in rebuilding your credit is to find out what information is on your credit reports. Everyone in America is entitled to a free copy of all three credit reports once every year. The easiest way to get those credit reports is to go online to www.annualcreditreport.com. You’ll be asked some background information, and you can print those credit reports or have them mailed to you.
Errors Do Exist With Credit Reports
You will want to review your credit reports carefully to make sure all of the information that is reported there is correct. If you do happen to find errors, the best way to resolve those and preserve your rights under federal law is to send a letter directly to the credit bureau stating what information is incorrect. Next, the credit bureau has to investigate that and make corrections if they find out that the information is actually incorrect with the credit furnisher.
Taking an active part in your credit report is critical, especially if you want a healthy credit score Reach out to me if you have any questions: [email protected]