How to read an Equifax Credit Report

Equifax credit reports include details of all kinds of accounts with their negative and positive standing. Free credit reports (under the Fair Credit reporting act) are issued every 12 months, as per the customer’s requests. That makes approximately 3 to 4 reports a year

Some terms used in the report are not comprehendible and a layman would need information about the various keys and codes.

• How to read credit reports (Personal Information Section)

Some of the information in the different organizations (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) is common. This includes the personal information like the individuals name, social security number, birth date, variation of names, death report information, change in address (past/present) and the details previous/current employers.

• How to read credit reports (Summary of Credit Accounts section)

All information about the different credit accounts is divided into two sections, namely
a) The information displayed to companies, which could impact the credit score: - potential creditors ascertain the individual’s eligibility to a credit. If red flags are they seen in the free credit report they denote risk and are a major concern, as it affects the credit score.

b) The information that is neither displayed to companies nor does it impact the credit score: - Enlisting name of the company, date of request and type of inquiry, it does not affect the credit score negatively as credit lines pre-approved by existing creditors are mentioned.

• How to read credit reports (Creditor information section)

Accounts sent for collection with their details such as the name of creditor, date reported, account number, type of creditor, delinquency dates and the current situation of the account is included under this section.

• How to read credit reports (Public Records section)

Public records, county court records, liens, bankruptcies and judgments made by the federal court are listed here. These records indicate, case, type, amount in default and other relevant information.

Equifax credit reports need to be read and accordingly answered before submission. It is always advised to keep a copy of your free credit report, to avoid mistakes in the original. Moreover, the customer should keep a tab on the developments in the report and work towards improving it.