Credit Info Bureau

Answers to the Top Credit Report Questions You Must Know

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Your credit report and score are the lifeblood of your finances. Find out what goes on your credit report, who it’s reported to and why you have more than one credit report and score to worry about.

Understanding your credit report will help you to improve your credit rating which can save you thousands of dollars in interest on your next loan. Below we’re going to take a look at the top 3 most common questions people have about their credit report.

Q: How Long Do Negative Entries Stay on My Report?

Answer: The simple answer to this is that most information on your credit report, good or bad, will stick around for about seven years after the account has been closed. Long term credit such as a credit cards and mortgages will typically stay on your report much longer as the account may stay open for much longer than seven years.

Chapter 7 bankruptcies will stay on your credit report and affect your score for up to 10 years from the date of filing. The accounts that the bankruptcy covers will disappear from your credit report but the bankruptcy filing itself will stick around. This makes bankruptcy an attractive option for people with large amounts of unsecured credit.

There are some things that will never disappear from your credit history, which should be taken very seriously. Unpaid tax liens will never be expunged from your record, except in California where they must be removed within 10 years. Student loans that have been defaulted on will also stay in your credit history indefinitely, which makes them extremely important to stay on top of. I wouldn’t advocate defaulting on any type of loan, but if you do, make sure it isn’t a student loan.

Q: How do the Three Credit Reporting Bureaus Differ

Answer: Other credit report questions people have may be in regards to the three credit reporting bureaus and how they differ. The three main bureaus that lenders report to are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. These bureaus are the result of a large scale consolidation of credit reporting bureaus, which used to be split into hundreds of different local and regional bureaus.

These three credit bureaus are actually in competition with each other, so they don’t like to play nice and share information. This makes it important to get your report from all three bureaus to verify that all of your information is correct across the board. Not all of your lenders will report to all three bureaus. It’s not a mandatory requirement to report to every bureau, so your report will always be a little different at each bureau. All three bureaus process information at different times as well, which can cause discrepancies between the three reports.

Lenders don’t always pull your credit report for all three bureaus, so if they happen to pull a report from a bureau that contains an inaccuracy, you may not be approved for the credit that you’re seeking. The only way to control this credit report Russian roulette to make sure your report is accurate from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.

Q: Should I Pay Off Accounts with Judgments Filed Against Them?

Answer: Another one of the many common credit report questions people ask is if they should pay off accounts that have judgments associated with them. It’s always recommended to pay off all your debts, delinquent or otherwise. Some lenders will even require you have all accounts paid off, judgment or not, before they will extend you any credit. Your credit score will also benefit from paying off delinquent accounts. It’s better to take care of these accounts sooner than later.

You may also be wondering what exactly makes it on your credit report and what doesn’t. Traditional credit such as car loans, mortgages, credit cards and student loans will all definitely report to the credit bureaus, negative or positive. Other services such as utilities, phone bills and even medical bills will only report to the credit bureaus if you are delinquent.