Credit Report

Credit history or credit report is, in many countries, a record of an individual's or company's past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term "credit reputation" can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score.

When a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank, store or credit card company, their information is forwarded to a credit bureau, along with constant updates on the status of their creidit accounts, address or any other changes you may have made since the last time they applied for any credit.

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individual's or entity's credit worthiness oniline; that is, determining an individual's or entity's means and willingness to repay an indebtedness. This helps determine whether to extend credit, and on what terms. With the adoption of risk based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the APR ( annual percentage rate).

How your credit rating is determined.

A credit rating will be determined differently between different countries, but the general concepts are similar, and may include:
Payment record - a record of bills being paid over due will negatively affect the credit rating.

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that clients are not living beyond their means. Experts estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15 percent of your after tax income.

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in clients home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability. Sometimes having a respected profession can improve a credit rating, online information.

Re-Aging - Through re-aging, a credit history olione is re-written and you are given a fresh start on that particular account. This can dramatically improve the credit score onilne. In 2000 the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts for delinquent borrowers.

Credit inquiries – An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file onlin. There are several kinds of notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the creidit score. Soft pulls don't affect the credit score and are characteristic of the following onlne examples:

A credit bureau may sell your contact information to an advertiser purchasing a list of people with similar characteristics, like homeowners with excellent cerdit. A creditor can check your credit periodically and so note your file will no adverse effect to your credti history. Or, a credit counseling agency, with your permission, can pull your credit report online with no adverse action. Each of the preceding examples are commonly referred to as a "soft" credit pull

See also:
Adverse Credit History
Credit card
Credit rating agency
Credit reference agency
Credit score
Identity theft

• Debt
• Unclaimed Money
• Structured Settlement
• Credit Report
• Creditworthiness
• What is a Loan
• Annual Percentage Rate
• Origination Fee
• Point in a Mortgage
• Bankruptcy
• Debt Consolidation

• Burdened with Debt
• Reducing Credit Card Debt

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Credit Report".