Different Types of Credit Reports Law Office of Matthew A. Dunaway Attorneys Birmingham Alabama

Different Types of Credit Reports

Posted by: Matthew Dunaway
March 10, 2008
Topic: Credit Reports

Credit reports can be of diverse types and every credit report provider seems to adopt an unusual layout style. To get a good grip on the entire credit report system, one must first have a good idea about the many types of credit reports and the information provided by them. Though it is quite tough to decipher the information provided in the reports, once you become accustomed to reading the different reports, you can begin to decipher the reports. Following are the different types of credit reports:

Consumer Reports

A consumer report is all about a consumer's own credit history. Such a record can be offered by any local credit bureau in U.S. You can place your order from any of these bureaus. A credit report can be ordered at any time of the year and for any reason. While you ask for such a report, there is usually a fee associated with ordering the report.

The consumer credit report usually includes your name, address, SSN and at times, your date of birth. It might contain all the account numbers in your name and any joint account you have. The credit report usually also has the date the accounts were opened, the credit balance, the credit limit, the type of account (revolving, installment, mortgage), and the entire payment history.

Annual Credit Report

The annual credit is a report that is offered by the three major credit reporting agencies. The annual credit report comprises information related to the credit history of a consumer's residing in U.S.A. Every consumer in U.S.A. has the right to get a free copy of the report. You are entitled to the report once every 12 months.

Business Credit Report

Unlike a consumer credit report, a business credit report holds the credit information of a company or a business. There can be a single bureau credit report along with a consumer's financial history. It is usually created from the reports provided by one of the three big credit bureaus namely, Experian, Equifax or TransUnion. There may even be a three bureau credit report formed by a compilation of reports sent from all the three big credit bureaus.

Both the three bureau credit reports and the single credit report offer the following data:

Individual identification information, which includes your name, previous address, phone number, date of birth, present and previous place of work and social security number.

Your credit history containing information about the bills you pay at retail stores, mortgage firms, finance companies and banks.

Any kind of public records that contain information such as court judgments, lax liens or bankruptcies. These can be used to question your creditworthiness.

Inquiries containing a list of firms who have requested to look at your credit report and credit score, as well as any credit grantor who has already viewed your report.

Thus, a credit report summarizes your financial history with most (if not all) of the important financial information.

If you have questions about either consumer credit reports or business credit reports, please feel free to contact me.