Deciphering your credit report

Corey Blake from New Horizons Credit Union joined us on Studio10 to talk about credit reports.

Why is our credit report so important?
Think of your credit report like a report card that shows how you’ve managed your finances. It is kept on file by credit bureaus and includes your overall credit score, which can range from 300 to 850.

You mentioned the score, how does this impact a consumer?
The higher the score, the less risk you pose for potential lenders and therefore the better interest rates you’ll receive which translates to more money in your pocket for other things.

So how does the credit report work?
There are 3 national consumer credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.  They collect information from credit-granting companies like financial institutions, financial companies, department stores, tax authorities, landlords,etc.
From this information, they each compile credit reports.

What do these reports show?
Each report is a file of information from all companies you have done business with.
It will show:

• Any open accounts you have with balances, including credit limits
• Whether you pay on time or in full
• Whether you make late payments or miss payments
• Whether any of your accounts have been turned over to a collection agency
• Any suits, judgments or tax issues, etc.

How can you check your credit report?
You should check your credit report at least once a year to ensure that it’s accurate and that nobody is “borrowing” your identity.  You can get a free copy of your credit report every year from the 3 major credit bureaus by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com

New Horizons Credit Union
www.newhcu.org