credit report - Credit Reports

Credit reports are, quite simply, electronic records of your credit activities. These activities can range from borrowing money to buy a car to applying for a loan or credit card or missing payments on loans you have taken. The report is generated so that potential lenders can see how you use credit and how much of it you have available. According to Trans Union, one of the major credit bureaus, there are four major areas of content in credit reports : 1.) Identifying information, including your name, phone number, address, Social Security number and date of birth; 2.) Credit history, including payment history, including any late payments, to banks, credit card companies, retailers and other lenders; 3.) Public records, including bankruptcy filings or liens. The fourth item is inquiries about your credit, which occur when you apply for a loan or credit card. A credit report also shows any current credit that you have. This includes amounts owed, amounts available, like on a credit card or other form of revolving credit and payment amounts on installment loans. Do you know what is on your credit report? You can find out by visiting www.credit-report-credit-score.com and requesting your free copy. Whether a lender is evaluating your loan request or a card company is considering whether to give you a credit card, you can be sure that the information on your credit report will influence its decision. Unfortunately, some of us mismanage credit and pay the price. We get negative information remains on a credit report that hurts our chances of getting additional credit for years. That is why it is so important to periodically check your credit report for accuracy. ------------------------- Note: This article may be freely reproduced as long as the authors bio paragraph at the bottom of this article is included, the article is published "as is" (unedited) and all URL's are made active hyperlinks with no syntax changes. ------------------------- About The Author This article was written by Beth Pardue who has over 10 years of experience in the financial industry assisting clients with assorted financial needs. To learn more about credit reports or to get a free credit report online please visit: http://www.credit-report-credit-score.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beth_Pardue credit report - Help - I've Lost My Credit Card Theft and loss are what we all have to contend with. It can happen anywhere, anytime. Wallets and purses are the easiest to pick and walk away. Most people carry everything in a wallet, all identification, cash, cards, etc. To tackle the problem of loss or theft of credit cards, most companies have a credit card policy in place. Get some information on this and a theft shouldn't be too stressful. The first thing to do is to report the theft to the company as soon as possible. A toll free number is always available for reporting loss. You can also report the loss online. Federal laws state that you are liable only for the first fifty dollars on fraudulent charges made. Report the loss fast and that gets waived as well. However, it would make sense to check as some companies are not offering this right now. Once the card is lost or stolen ensure that you are aware of all the charges run up on the card. The ones which are not yours should be reported immediately. Keep a record of the date of the complaint and send a copy of the report to the billing errors address too. Don't include your payment in the same letter. On a debit card the rules are a bit different. Report the loss immediately and the consequent use will be paid by the issuing authority but wait a bit and you end up paying five hundred dollars of any fraudulent charges incurred on the card. The liability can be absolved by reporting the loss, reviewing your bills, checking up on transactions you know are not yours and informing the bank as well, following up with a certified letter about the loss. You should protect yourself against theft by keeping the pin numbers recorded in some place safe so in case of loss you have the number to give the card company who can then hot list it. Use unique pin numbers and not obvious ones like your birthday or phone number. These are just a few points to note but they will go a long way in helping you out of a tricky situation.