Credit Reports: How They Evolved, And What’s In Your Records
It may be of interest to you to know that the credit reporting system you are now familiar with started from humble beginnings. Early in the 19th century (when light-speed processing was obviously still unavailable) the method for keeping tabs on credit was very primitive, but nevertheless efficient for the small-scale purpose. Whenever people buy on credit at a store, the clerk wrote the transaction information on a slip of paper before inserting it in a paper tube on the customer’s wrist (called a ‘cuff’). It was inevitable then that someone would develop the notion of collecting all this information, and then offering this to merchants for reference. But since the data collected seemed to always put the customer in a disparaging light, an efficient system of collection was jointly developed; this evolved with developing technology, and came to be known as the credit reporting agencies of this day.
What exactly is included in your credit report? Well, a number of things actually. Personally-identifiable information such as your name, your current and most recent addresses and employers (‘recent’ meaning within the last five to ten years), your phone number, date of birth, your social security number, and even your spouse’s name is included. As expected, your credit history is detailed in thorough fashion, and involves your payment records with banks, mortgaging institutions, retail businesses, financing companies, and any other institution which have approved you of credit. It includes detailed information on all your accounts, their types, date of effectiveness and maturity, the amount of credit allotted for each, the regular premium dues, and others. If you cancelled an account or if you have paid off a loan, these details are included as well. Of course, slack or failed payments are also reflected in here.
Public-accessible information are also included as part of your credit report’s entries, including your credit reliability, filed bankruptcies, liens, and court-enforced judgments. Those who have secured a copy of your report for reference purposes are included in a separate section called report inquiries, including those who were granted authorization to view it. While companies who have obtained your personal information for the purpose of granting you credit are also included, these are otherwise unable to view your report, but they do receive your name and contact details in the instance that you meet their requirements for credit or insurance approval. This provision is the reason why some credit cards are pre-approved for special cases.
Dispute records are the final essential components which complete your credit report; these detail your contesting efforts on any information on the report. Such entries will be most likely a two-sided, providing your version and that of the creditors especially for significant disputes which require extensive clarification. Credit reports are provided in two versions, depending on the nature of the requestor. For consumer inquiries, all of the previously-mentioned details are provided, including all of the report inquiries. For business-oriented inquiries, the same details are provided, except that only the report inquiries of companies with sufficient reasons are provided, those whom you have actually done business with. The next time you pull up your copy, make sure you browse through these entries to ensure that you’re only required to answer for those which are due to you.