Five facts about your credit.Things you should know to keep your credit rating healthy. 1 You have three credit reports. Each of the three national credit bureaus--Equifax, www.equifax  This article is subject to manipulation attempts by the described entity using multiple user names. Please be critical of edits and discussion page entries.Equifax, Inc. .com; Experian, www.experian.com; and TransUnion, www.transunion.com--independently collects and maintains consumer financial records. The information on each credit report can be significantly different, though. Since you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. which bureau a lender will use, it's important to check all three at least once a year. 2 It's safe to check your credit. Contrary to popular rumors For other uses, see Rumor (disambiguation). Rumors is a farcical play by Neil Simon. At its start, several affluent couples gather in the posh suburban residence of a couple for a dinner party celebrating their tenth anniversary. , checking your own credit data will not harm your credit score. The rating drops only when a lender or creditor An individual to whom an obligation is owed because he or she has given something of value in exchange. One who may legally demand and receive money, either through the fulfillment of a contract or due to injury sustained as a result of another's Negligence checks your credit for an application. You can safely monitor your own credit reports as often as you like. 3 Negative information expires after 7 to 10 years. Late payments and bankruptcy bankruptcy, in law, settlement of the liabilities of a person or organization wholly or partially unable to meet financial obligations. The purposes are to distribute, through a court-appointed receiver, the bankrupt's assets equitably among creditors and, in most filings remain on your credit report for the full 7 to 10 years, even if you repay a debt or make changes to an account. Positive records, such as closed accounts that never were paid late, can stay on a report even longer. 4 Keeping active is key. One of the most important things consumers can do to keep their credit healthy is to use it. Use at least one credit card each month and pay all bills on time to consistently add new positive information to your credit report. If you allow cards to go dormant Latent; inactive; silent. That which is dormant is not used, asserted, or enforced. A dormant partner is a member of a partnership who has a financial interest yet is silent, in that he or she takes no control over the business. or close too many accounts, this positive reporting slows down and your credit score could drop. The longer you keep up stable credit activity, the better your score will be. 5 Good credit is up to you. Creditors and credit reporting agencies work diligently dil·i·gent adj. Marked by persevering, painstaking effort. See Synonyms at busy. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin d to maintain accurate records, but with millions of updates made each day, mistakes can happen. Only you can identify and report certain kinds of inaccuracies, including creditor errors and signs of identity theft. Review your credit reports regularly to check that the information is accurate and file disputes when you need to make corrections. Source: TrueCredit, www.truecredit.com, a provider of consumer credit management services. |
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