Your credit report and score tells lenders whether or not you are a good risk for a loan. Your credit history, payments, and account information are on this report. Your FICO score is also an important factor for lenders. The information contained in your credit report is used to generate your FICO score which acts as your credit “report card”. A FICO score is not the same as your regular credit scores. It uses different set of rules & algorithms for coming up with your credit score. And many lenders utilize the FICO score to determine your creditworthiness. Therefore it may be prudent to see what’s on your FICO score as well before applying for a loan.

Often the information contained in your credit report has some inaccuracies. This is why it’s important to check your credit report on a regualr basis. At least once a year to ensure that the information is correct and up to date.

Reasons you should check your credit report include:

* Basic Inaccuracies

Payments that’s have been made, but not credited to you. Late payments or having someone else’s date (especially if the names are similar) being mixed in with yours. If you notice inaccurate information, you must contact the credit reporting agency to get the mistake corrected.

* Tracking Payments

Many times, checks sent through the mail do not reach the accounting office of the company on time, or get lost in the mail. Such late or missed payment issues could be posted on your credit file. Therefore you would need to correct this information by contacting the creditor. If you don’t read your credit report, you will not know which payments have been received and properly reported.

* Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in thw U.S. It’s one that has caused people to have poor credit ratings because someone has received credit or loans in their name and defaulted on the payments. Your credit report will show you the list of accounts that have been opened in your name. Check them carefully to ensure they match your personal financial details.

* Inquiries

Your credit report will list the names of companies or persons who have requested information regarding your credit history. Read them carefully to make there’s no fraudulent activity and/or unauthorized entry that could be related to id theft. Also, too many inquiries are seen as unfavorable by lenders and will make it harder to obtain loans.

* Credit Fraud - Unauthorized Charges

Credit fraud involves the unauthorized use of your credit cards or account number to make charges on your account. Sometimes this is done so subtly that you do not notice the extra charges on your monthly statement. By viewing your credit report, you will be able to catch new activity on your accounts, especially if they are ones you haven’t been using.

When it comes to managing your credit worthiness, your credit report is your best resource. Viewing your credit report gives you the opportunity to manage your credit wisely. While planning a credit strategy to achieve future goals, you should regularly review your credit report to ensure an excellent credit rating.

*Free Credit Report Services

Free credit report services are not created equal. With some services, you’re able to see what’s on your credit report and score from all 3 major credit bureaus online - TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. This is important because the data contained in one credit bureau file may not match what’s on the others. Also, various lenders may choose to see one or more of your credit files. So it makes sense to obtain the most comprehensive report. And most services do not provide a free FICO score. You only get to see what’s on your regular credit scores. These are some of the reasons why it makes sense to do your homework and make comparisons between the features they provide.

Consolidating your credit cards is a great way to eliminate credit card debt and free up some extra cash for normal expenses. When considering consolidating credit card debt, you want to make sure that you are choosing the right options to improve your financial situation.

One type of credit card debt consolidation that most people are familiar with is balance transfers. Most credit card companies make it easy to transfer the balance of one or more credit cards to a new or existing credit card. This can be beneficial if the card you are transferring your balances to has a noticeably lower interest rate. This type of credit card consolidation is convenient and save you money by requiring less to be paid in interest.

Balance transfer might sound like the right option for you, but there are con’s to it to consider as well. Many credit card companies will charge you fees for transferring balances. Also, the low interest rate you might enjoy initially is probably an introductory offer that will expire in six months or a year. Then you will end up with a large balance at large interest rate again. Transferring your balances regularly will also appear as a negative item on your credit report, lowering your credit score. A final problem with balance transfers is that the credit card company will not be willing to negotiate with you to lower your interest rate if it does shoot up since the money on the account was originally with other creditors.

Another popular form of debt consolidating is through applying for a personal loans. In order for this to be helpful, you will need to qualify for a low interest rate, which requires good credit. Having high credit card balances will decrease your credit score, disabling you from getting a good rate on a personal or debt consolidation loan. It is also not a good idea to pay off one form of debt with another.

If balance transfers and debt consolidation loans don’t work in most cases, you will need to find another way to consolidate debt. There is a type of debt consolidation that is not a loan and can lower your interest rates. This is called a debt management plan. When you enroll with this plan, a credit counselor will work with your creditors to help you see lower interest rates and maybe even lower monthly payments. Because you will be receiving a break on interest rates, more of your monthly payments will be going directly to paying down the debt you owe. By paying one consolidated payment to the debt management company, you will be able to pay on each of your credit card bills at once.

Consolidating credit card debt can be a great way to eliminate it. Just make sure you are making the right decisions for you and your family.

The importance of getting your free credit report cannot be overemphasized. In the current economic climate, with such a strong squeeze on credit, everybody’s credit rating is at risk, and even if you think you have a premium credit score, you might be in for an unpleasant shock. People are getting such shocks not only daily, but hourly throughout the USA.

However, before we discuss that, let’s have a look at what a credit report is and what information it gives you. It contains four parts basically: your personal details, your credit history, public records appertaining to your financial stability and finally, inquiries made by third parties as to your credit record. While you might not understand the need for this information, they are carefully examined by potential lenders.

To put it in general terms, your credit report is a record of your credit history and your financial stability. It contains financial details such as mortgages, loans, mail order agreements, credit cards, banking facilities and so on, and includes your repayment history, any late payments, missed payments, defaults and so on. It also includes any details of credit or loan applications you have made, and whether any have been turned down.

If your credit report is bad, you will either not be offered credit or will have to pay a higher interest rate than those with a good credit report. In some cases you will be refused credit. Hence the importance of knowing what your credit record is like. The same is true of your credit score that lenders use to assess your credit-worthiness.

The implications of a bad credit report include you being refused a credit card application, a loan, a mortgage, a car loan and any other form of credit. You could even be refused a mail order agreement or even a car hire. That is not the end of it, because the same could apply to your partner and your children if they reside at the same address as you. When your kids look for a mortgage of their own before being married, or seek a loan for their first car, they could be refused because of your poor credit record.

That is fine if the record is correct, because although it is bad for you, at least it will have been deserved. However, it has been estimated that up to 90% of credit records are inaccurate, and that a large proportion of people are being wrongly refused credit. Not an entire 90%, obviously, but a lot of people are being unfairly refused credit, and that could be you or your kids. You won’t know till you apply.

Why wait till then? Why not just get a credit report now, so that you know where you stand. It makes sense, and since it is free what are you waiting for? Did you know that anybody can see your credit report? In the USA, the Fair credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows employers, creditors, landlords, insurers and any other business to have access to your credit report for purposes of credit, renting a home, employment or any other reason where your financial situation could be of interest.

These reports are available in the USA from three agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and each has to provide you with a free copy of your credit report annually on request. Once you have a bad record on your report you have to wait 7 years to have it removed.

However, there are companies that help you to check up on your report and have any inaccurate data removed. You could easily have your next credit request refused due to inaccurate or false information. Identity theft or even mistaken identity is no longer uncommon. Nor is it uncommon for office staff to make typing errors and you to have something on your credit record that never occurred.

In today’s economic climate your credit is the one thing you must do all that you can to protect, so make sure you implement your right to a free credit report. There are companies that can get your free report from all three agencies, and then check it with you to make sure that nothing is untoward. With 90% containing inaccurate information, that might be highly likely. If so they can help you to get these false records removed.

It’s your credit, and it affects everybody living in your home. Get it checked out now with a free triple credit report. Also check up on your credit score at the same time.