CREDIT REPORTS » Current Rates, News & Information

Banks, credit cards and other lenders use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk of lending money to you. Your credit score determines whether or not you qualify for a loan, and at what rate of interest you can borrow. Read More...

Your credit report is a record of information collected from your creditors, which summarizes your credit history. When you apply for the credit, your bank, credit card company or mortgage lender uses your credit report to evaluate the potential risk of lending money to you. Read More...

Your credit report contains highly sensitive information, including your social security number, your past addresses, and even the names and addresses of your past employers. Legally, the credit bureaus are only allowed to give this information to certain requestors Read More...

Whether you decide to do a one-time check of a single credit score, or purchase a year’s subscription to monitor your changes in credit data at all three bureaus, or one bureau, depends upon your needs and budget. Read More...

A self inquiry is considered a “soft inquiry” and does not affect your credit score. This is to differentiate it from a “hard inquiry” which is an inquiry that comes from a lender who is inquiring for the specific purpose of extending you credit. Read More...

Consumers can also contact the three major agencies directly and ask for a credit report; however, the fastest and most direct way is to use the website, which is the official site to request your FCRA-mandated annual credit report. Read More...

Using both your credit report and your credit score, lenders will make a determination about your creditworthiness. That is why it’s important, as an informed credit consumer, to know what both of these credit tools are and how they are used. Read More...

The same information does not always go to all three agencies. Some information may be reported to Experian, for example, but not to Transunion. Read More...

Your credit score, or FICO score, is a three-digit number that represents a statistical analysis of your creditworthiness. Read More...

The myth about checking your own credit will lower your credit score is false. Read More...