You can expect your credit report to show this information for each credit account:

• Name of creditor
• The type of account
• Terms
• Amount of the original debt or credit limit
• Balance outstanding on the most recent report
• Whether payments were made late during the reporting period

Other points of interest:

• Credit reports are seldom complete.
• Some card issuers don't report to credit bureaus out of respect for customers' privacy.
• Many gas credit cards report only delinquent accounts.Most credit grantors are primarily interested in the last 12- or 24-month reporting period.
• Many credit bureaus routinely delete older information from their files.
• Bankruptcy can stay on a credit record for up to 10 years and debts that a creditor writes-off as "uncollectible" can remain for seven years.

No. Credit bureaus only report your credit information -- they don’t decide whether you get credit. Only the company that orders the credit report can do that. Credit bureaus collect information from banks and other creditors, store it in a database, and provide the information when you apply for a new credit card or loan. The credit bureau doesn’t even track the decision a potential creditor makes.

If you’re trying to build a good credit history, don’t forget to take credit where credit is due. The Fair Credit Report Act allows you to add information to your report when the absence of any information could lead to the denial of requested credit. They may charge a small fee.

If your credit history has little to show your creditworthiness yet, consider adding unreported repaid debts, utility payments, and rent payments. Send a certified letter to the bureau asking that it contact the creditor and ask for approval to list the account.

There are numerous types of credit report problems that would cause a lender to reject your application for a loan. Such problems include: missing a credit card payment, defaulting on a prior loan, filing for bankruptcy in the past seven years, or not paying your taxes. Other black marks on a credit report include a judgment filed against you (perhaps for non-payment of spousal or child support) or any collection activity.

Many people are concerned about having too many inquiries on their credit report. This is not without cause as many applications are rejected because the applicant has too many inquiries.  By general rule, "too many" is defined as more than 6-8 inquiries on your report during the pat 90 days.

Credit bureaus have told creditors that if a person has more than this on their report it usually means that they are bouncing around looking for credit which generally indicates that they are either desperate or careless.  (Their system makes no account for the fact that you just be shopping.)

If you have more than 6-8 inquiries on your credit reports you have two options. The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that no inquiry can stay for longer than 1 year.  So, if they are showing older than that you can have them removed.  Secondly, you can remove duplicate inquiries, as well.

 
A good rule of thumb is that if you are going to do the kind of shopping that requires filling out applications you should request copies of your credit reports from the credit bureaus first and then take them with you to the car dealer, mortgage broker, or finance person.  Make them tell you whether or not based on the reports you are showing them you will be accepted or rejected.  This avoids lots of inquiries gathering on your reports.

If you had credit cards in the past and couldn't pay for some reason or another you almost certainly have some "charge offs" listed on your credit reports.  A charge off simply means that the bureau wrote the debt off to profit and loss (charged it off).  The problem is that now it's showing on your credit report as an R9 rating (that's a bad thing).

Some people make the mistake of going to Consumer Credit Counseling for help and end up worse off than before.  They end up worse off because all CCCS is as a wolf in sheep's clothing.   A collection agent that is actually smart enough to get you to come to them!  That's right, they collect the money from you and get a FEE regardless of the fact that they advertise as a "FREE" service.  They also get a fee from the creditors which is why they sit you down like the grand inquisitor and ask you about every nickel you make or have.  They then use that info to decide for you how much you WILL pay everyone. 

They do not, however, guarantee that once you pay that your credit will be restored to a positive rating again.  That's because the creditors leave the negative marks on your reports and even update the date of last transaction so that is stays longer.  What a deal?!

Bottom Line:  There is never a good reason to use CCC services.  If you need help learnign how to manage your money, try the Self-Help Resources, or visit a non-profit entity like James Dobson's Focus on the Family. 

If you have considered filing a bankruptcy and feel that it is the only way out of your financial woes you may be making a huge mistake. 

Ask yourself this question:  Do I have any real-estate or assets that would be protected by the filing of a bankruptcy? If the answer is "yes" then you should consider it.  If you do not know the answer then you should talk to an attorney.

Remember, however, that attorneys rarely know how the credit system works so their advice could end up hurting your credit profile. If the lawyer says that you do have assets or property that would be protected that's another matter.  (You may find it interesting to know that bankruptcies are not reported to the credit bureaus by the federal court system.  They are reported by the creditors involved in the case.)

For the most part, people file bankruptcy because they can't take the pressure and harassment anymore and figure that they can get a secured card after if they need a credit card.  The problem with bankruptcy is that unless you have property or assets to protect it is the equivalent of using a nuclear weapon to kill an ant.

 
If you are wondering whether or not a bankruptcy can be removed from a credit report, the answer is "yes".  It doesn't matter whether it was a chapter 7, 11, or 13.  However, it does in some cases matter when it was filed with respect to the time it will take for you to remove it from your credit file.

This is one of our favorite subjects because somehow people are under the impression that even though at some point they were late they brought the account current and that should make everything OK.  Not so. 

Lenders interpret late payments as meaning that either you are lazy in paying your bills or not very good at managing your money.  In turn, they will usually charge you more in the way of down payments, interest and fees.  You don't want to leave these on your credit report.  Even if the late payments were due to circumstances beyond your control, the credit bureaus will leave them on your reports. 

Late payments are defined as payments that are "posted" after 30 days from the original due date.  It does not matter whether or not your check got lost in the mail, whether you were a victim of a crime, or whether you were just too lazy to make a payment.  If you were 30 days late making a payment, it will have a negative impact on your credit.

If a company or a person wins a court battle against you and wins, you will have a judgment against you that could turn into a serious credit problem.  A judgment is simply when someone sues you and wins. 

A judgment against you usually means that you will a notation on your credit report regarding the lawsuit.  Contrary to what you may believe, judgments are not reported by the courts to the credit bureaus.  Rather, they are reported to the credit authorities by either the plaintiff or their attorney.  The credit bureaus do not download every single court case in America every day.  They rely on the different creditors to report that information.  So when you dispute a judgment you are not battling the court you are battling the credit bureau and plaintiff involved.

A judgment like any other issue can be removed from a credit report legally and without an attorney.  Like any other type of account it must be reported in accordance with the law.  The fact that you owed someone money is one issue.  Whether or not it was reported to the credit bureaus in accordance with the law is another issue.  The credit issue and the debt issue are separate and apart from each other in so far as your credit report is concerned.

If you have been through a divorce or severed a business partnership you may experience some damage to your credit files if your ex-partner or ex-spouse has financial troubles.  In the event that this happens, depending on the level of damage, you will need much more than the divorce decree or court order to show the credit bureaus that the debt is not yours.

If the original creditor reports the debt as yours that is all the credit bureau is concerned with.  Their only responsibility is to confirm with the creditor.  Once that is done, even if the creditor reports incorrectly, the credit bureau is off the hook.

You need a strategy to deal with the creditor and force them to remove the negative mark from your file. The law does provide some protection but you need to know how to handle the situation in such a way that you succeed with all three major bureaus.  Professional Credit Restoration Experts can usually help.

Bottom Line:  A divorce decree does not absolve you of debt that one or both of you in the marriage may have incurred.  If you get divorced, may sure it's clearly spelled out in the final recorded judgment which debts you each are responsible for handling.

If you kept separate credit cards and loans in your individual names, the divorce shouldn’t affect your credit much.  If credit was granted partly on the strength of your spouse’s income, you might have to reapply, based on your own income and debt.  In the meantime, the lender can’t revoke your credit unless you stop paying your bills on time. 

Credit bureaus use the following rating codes in used in credit reports.  They will assist you in the process of understanding your overall credit rating and what credit report items you should consider disputing with the credit bureaus.

Numerical Rating

• R0 Too new to rate. Approved but not used
• R1 Pays within 30 days of billing or as agreed
• R2 Pays in more than 30 days, but less than 60 or when next payment is due
• R3 Pays in more than 60 days, but less than 90 or when two payments are due
• R4 Pays in more than 90 days, but less than 120 or when two payments are due
• R5 Account is at least 120 days past due but is not yet rated R9
• R6 No rating exists
• R7 Paid through a consolidation order, consumer proposal or credit counseling debt management program
• R8 Repossession
• R9 Charged off, or placed for collection or bankruptcy
  

Your debt ratio is the amount of money you must pay on a monthly basis to support your accrued debt as compared to your total monthly income.  It’s a critical number if you plan to make any major purchases, such as a home or car, since lenders check your debt ratio to ensure you’re capable of repaying the loan.  

For example, mortgage lenders generally won’t approve your loan if your mortgage payment would exceed 28% of your gross income (before taxes are withheld).  Your total payments -- including all other debts -- should not exceed 36% to qualify for a mortgage.    Mortgage lenders usually consider items like credit card bills, student loans and car loans to calculate detb ratios.  They do not add in the cost of food, utilities or income taxes that you might pay.

A+ or Excellent:

 
Usually signifies no significant (60 days or more) late payments on any type of credit payments in prior 3 years. People with A+ credit typically can receive slightly better rates on certain loan types.  Jumbo mortgage lenders frequently give a rate concession to extremely creditworthy borrowers.  Examples of A+ credit include a middle, or average credit score of 680 or better; in some cases a score of 720 is the cutoff for better rates.

A or Good:

 
Usually signifies no significant (60 days or more) late payments on a mortgage loan in prior two years and only isolated minor lates on credit payments in previous two years.  People with A credit typically can receive slighlty below "market" rates on all loan types, including government loans.  Examples of A credit include a middle, or average credit score of 620 to 680 or better; in most cases a score of 620 is the cutoff for better rates from major institutional loan buyers such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Bankruptcies must be cleared and discharged for 4 years to qualify as having "good" credit.

B or Fair:

 
Usually signifies some significant (60 days or more) late payments on a mortgage loan in prior 2 years and widespread minor lates on credit payments in prior 3 years.  People with B credit typically will receive slightly higher rates on all loan types, except government loans (FHA and VA) which will not rely solely on credit scoring.  Examples of B credit include a middle, or average credit score of 580 to 619 or worse; in most cases a score of 580 is the cutoff for APPROVAL from major institutional loan buyers such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bankruptcies must be cleared and discharged for 2 years to qualify as having "FAIR" credit.

C or Poor:

 
Usually signifies MANY significant (60 days or more) late payments on a mortgage loan in prior 2 years and widespread MAJOR (60-90 DAYS) lates on credit payments in prior 3 years.  People with C credit typically will receive higher rates and higher required equity or down payment on all loan types, except government loans(FHA and VA) which will not relay solely on credit scoring.  Examples of "C" credit include a middle, or average credit score of 520 to 580 or worse; in most cases a score of 520 is the cutoff for APPROVAL from PORTFOLIO loan buyers who loans are equity driven.  Bankruptcies must be discharged at the time of loan application to qualify as having "Poor" credit.  Current charge offs, bad debts and judgements sometimes need not always be paid off to get a mortgage.  The penalty is a reduced pool of lenders, high rates, and stiff prepayment penalties if you refinance within 3 years.

An R7 can stay on a credit report for 7 years, depending on the creditor. This category (R7) is infrequently used, but if it shows up it is typically assigned to a garnishment. The impact on the score is the same as any new collection or charge off. If the account is currently in collection, there should be little difference in point loss between the current status and the new status.