Tightening credit cycle makes it more important to check your credit report more often.
More than ever, it is important to review and verify the accuracy of your credit report. While it makes sense to review your credit report ahead of a major loan or while re-building your credit, in today’s credit tightening world it’s mandatory. One example, credit card companies are lowering available credit and credit limits on your present credit cards based on intermittent review of your credit file. A mistake on your credit report can be the start of this and could lead to lower scores.
What to verify when reviewing your report? Accuracy. Mistakes are not uncommon, people have similar names and unfamiliar or inaccurate information can be an early warning of identity fraud. Other areas include:
• Personal information is accurate and does not include addresses or employers that are not yours
• Public records reflect correct information
• Account information, including date opened, credit limit, balance and payment histories are correct – especially late payment and charge-off history
• All accounts are yours and closed accounts have no recent history
• Inquiries should be reviewed to see who has recently received your credit report information
If you have excellent credit and use credit sparingly, checking your report for inaccuracies may be only necessary once a year.
If you find a mistake, then you have the right to dispute the information free of charge. You should contact the credit bureau that provided the information and dispute the inaccurate information. You can also contact the creditor and ask that accurate information be provided to the credit bureau.
