Back several years ago, my wife and I both requested copies of our credit reports (get yours at www.annualcreditreport.com). Mine was correct. Hers was not. She and her older brother have the same initials, lived at the same addresses, and obviously have many other data points in common. It wasn’t difficult to get these errors corrected, but it did take some time. Thankfully, I had been employed in a financial services firm and had experience reading the mish-mash of data that’s on a credit report.
How many credit reports contain errors? Estimates range from 25 percent to 75 percent and, though most errors are of no real consequence, there are a few than can hurt your credit score and by default, hurt you in a multitude of ways financially.
Click here and get access to all 3 credit scores at GoFreeCredit.com.
Why should you review your credit report?
To build a better credit score
Your credit report is simply the raw data of who you are, where you’ve lived and worked, where else you’ve applied for credit, and how well you’ve paid your creditors – data that is unedited and unfiltered. Your credit score is that raw data compiled and examined. It’s the explanation of your credit report to people who don’t have time to examine the nitty-gritty details. Both credit scores and credit reports are important to review, so don’t neglect reviewing either.
