- Information In
Consumer Credit Reports
The consumer credit report is
the best and most cost effective way to learn a great deal
about who you are selling to, renting to, loaning money to
or going into business with. In short, the credit report is
the most comprehensive information source you can get for
the money. If there is a possibility of being at risk, a credit
report is the one report that is a must for anyone doing business
with someone else.
Does the individual have good
or bad credit? Has the individual been the subject of civil
legal actions? Has the individual filed for bankruptcy - and
more? The credit report has many of the answers.
The consumer credit report lists:
- an individual's creditors;
- the highest credit granted
per creditor;
- the highest credit granted
in total;
- the balance owing per creditor;
- past due amounts;
- payment history;
- total outstanding balances;
- bankruptcies;
- legal collections;
- foreclosures;
- tax liens;
- garnishments;
and much more.
The credit report also validates
the authenticity of a given Social Security Number. It alerts
you when a Social Security Number is suspect, i.e.; might
never have been issued, might have been issued to a person
who has been reported deceased, or is a Social Security Number
known to have been previously misused. This information is
important in that those who are trying to cheat you will almost
never use their real Social Security Number.
While all of an individual's
background information is not on a credit report (criminal
records, for instance), there is always enough to "raise
a red flag" and indicate that further investigation is
necessary. Therefore, the credit report should be the foundation
from which any background check begins.
Download Sample Stuff:
In Detail
Merchant Trade Lines
These include
all regular credit lines, such as department store cards,
auto loans, mortgages, bank loans and credit cards. If there
is any history of late payment, or if the trade line was included
in the bankruptcy, charged off, or put into repossession,
the listing will be considered negative by most credit grantors.
Collection/Derogatory/Delinquint
Accounts
When an account
cannot be collected, it is referred for collection, i.e.;
given to a bill collector. Once this happens, it will appear
on your credit history whether paid or not. Obviously, the
ramifications are more serious if the account remains unpaid.
Any collection item, whether paid or not, is considered negative
by all credit grantors.
Civil Court Records
Civil Court
records include bankruptcies, judgments, liens, divorce, satisfied
judgments, and satisfied liens. All court records, including
satisfactions, will probably be considered negative by most
credit grantors.
Inquiries
When a potential
credit grantor orders your credit report, that inquiry is
noted with an entry in your credit file listing the entity
that requested the report and the date thereof. This does
not affect most credit applicants. Only when the number of
inquiries becomes excessive do credit managers take a dim
view of them.
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