Understanding Your Credit Report

The components of a credit report can be broken into four categories:

1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Name, Social Security number, address, date of birth and employment information.
2. Credit Accounts: Credit card, auto loan, mortgage, etc., with specific information such as dates, amounts, a payment history and more.
3. Credit Inquiries: Authorized check-ins from lenders, employers, etc.
4. Public Records and Collections: Declaration of bankruptcy or overdue debt that has been sent to collections. 

Commonly Asked Questions

What are inquiries?

An entry that shows when a legally authorized person or organization accesses your report:

• Hard inquiry: A lender checks your credit in response to an application for a new line of credit. This may lower your score and remain on the report for two years.

• Soft inquiry: Someone runs a credit check that is unrelated to lending money or extending a line. This has no negative effects.

What should I do when I find credit report errors? 

Send a letter to the bureau that generated the report explaining the error.

Contact your local consumer protection law firm for help. 

How can I access my report and how often?

You can request a free report from Experian at any time.

Visit annualcreditreport.com to request one free report from each of the three major reporting agencies every 12 months.

Infographic created by Stein Saks, experts in legally defending against credit reporting errors