Monitoring Your Credit Report For Errors
People do not realize this sometimes, but verifying your credit report in order to check its accuracy is very important. It is especially important if you want to get the absolute best rates for loan, credit cards and other services. If you have errors in your credit report and they are seen by someone who is reviewing your credit report, then you can potentially have problems getting these types of consumer services, especially for good rates.
The best way to avoid these errors from creeping into your credit reports is to order a credit report from a certified company that deals with these types of things. They will help you double check your credit report and see if there are any errors in it. Also, once you get your credit report back from them, there are things that you are going to have to verify as well.
What to look at
Here are the things that you need to double check on your credit report to make sure that they are all correct. Of course, you will need to check that all of your personal information is in order. That means that you will have to check your name, your address and your social security number to see that everything is in order. Also, check your previous or former addresses, your employers, and your status – whether you are married, divorced, separated, single, etc.
You need to now look at your credit information now that you have checked all of your personal information. The credit report will usually should all of the credit lines that are open from the past ten years and the creditors are usually listed chronologically from the most recent to the oldest. You really need to be diligent and review every single entry and all of the information on accounts as well. This means that you need to be looking not only at bank accounts, but also deposits of another nature, credit cards, loans for homes and cars, and even student loans that you have taken out. For every single loan that is listed, you need to check to the name of the creditor, their address, your credit limit, the balance that is owed, and the payment status.
When you are looking at the payment status, you need to be looking for the term “paid as agreed,” unless you are not doing a good job of this and you are missing payment and making late payment. You really need to make sure that all of the information listed there is correct, and of you do stumble upon some information that is incorrect, you will need to contact the credit bureaus and let them know as soon as possible.
Finally, you should also keep an eye on the public and legal records that are listed as well. You need to see all of the listings related to possible bankruptcies, foreclosures or any other legal proceedings of note, and see if all of that information is correct. Also, it is important to note that these inaccuracies that you come across could be a sign of identity theft.