When you look at your credit report for the first time, it may seem like your reading something in a foreign language. But the truth is your reading detail and numbers that may hold the key to your future. It is important that you take the time to read your report carefully and clearly. This will help you understand how the information it contains is affecting your credit score.
Start with the basics on your report. Verify that all of the information contained under your personal information. Although it won't really affect your credit score, it is important that the information is accurate. If you see information that is not yours, then you will want to dispute that information. False information can lead to someone using the information to gain access to your personal information. Then you will become a victim of Identity Theft.
After you have reviewed the personal information and marked which items need to be disputed, then you can start by looking at each listing on your credit report. Each listing will have several parts of information being reported. The first part being reported is the details on the account. The date that the account was opened, dollar amount of the account (or High Limit), monthly balance on the account, who the account is with and then finally any payments made to the account that were on time or late. The next part of the information being reported is the payment history. This information may be listed from 24 to 48 months. It will show during that time what, if any, payments were made late. Any information on your credit report that appears negatively such as a late payment can lead to negative reporting and a bad credit score. Bad credit will hurt you as many things today are being based on your credit score.
On the first part of the information, it is important that you verify the date that the account was opened. The account starting date can help your credit score by being older. If the account was off by 1 year it could affect your credit score by quite a bit. So you want to keep track of when you start accounts. Make sure that the credit bureaus report them correctly. Dispute any dates that are incorrect and make sure that they get updated to the right dates.
