| TowerRat's How to Read Your CR
HOW CREDIT REPORTS SHOULD READ
READING YOUR ON-LINE REPORTS
Start by examining the Summary Information typically provided by on-line credit report.
There are no real estate accounts.
Real Estate Accounts___Experian____TransUnion____Equifax
Count_______________0__________0_____________0
Balance ($)___________0__________0_____________0
Payment ($)__________0__________0_____________0
Current______________0__________0_____________0
Delinquent____________0__________0_____________0
Derogatory___________0__________0_____________0
Unknown ____________0__________0_____________0
There are 4 revolving credit accounts. Two accounts are reported to all three bureaus and two accounts are reported only to Experian. We can also tell that 2 of the accounts are derogatory, most likely, the same two that are reported to all three credit bureaus.
Revolving Accounts___Experian____TransUnion____Equifax
Count_______________4__________3_____________3
Balance ($)__________2480_______2471__________2480
Payment ($)__________0__________0_____________0
Current______________2__________0_____________0
Delinquent____________0__________0_____________0
Derogatory___________0__________0_____________0
Unknown ____________2__________2_____________2
This shows an installment account being reported to EX and EQ.
Installment Accounts __Experian____TransUnion____Equifax
Count_______________1__________0_____________1
Balance ($)__________1816_______0______________1816
Payment ($)__________0__________0_____________0
Current______________0__________0_____________0
Delinquent____________0__________0____________0
Derogatory___________0__________0_____________0
Unknown ____________1__________0_____________1
Other Accounts Experian TransUnion Equifax
Count_______________0__________0_____________0
Balance ($)___________0__________0_____________0
Payment ($)__________0__________0_____________0
Current______________0__________0_____________0
Delinquent____________0__________0_____________0
Derogatory___________0__________0_____________0
Unknown ____________0__________0_____________0
There are a varying number of collection accounts reporting to all three credit bureaus. This is common as many collection agencies report to only one or only two of the three credit reporting agencies. Some collection agencies do report to all three credit reporting agencies.
Collection Accounts__Experian____TransUnion____Equifax
Count_____________3__________4____________2
Balance ($)________1027_______3763__________1047
Payment ($)________0__________0_____________0
Current____________0__________0_____________0
Delinquent_________0__________0_____________0
Derogatory_________2_________4_____________1
Unknown __________1_________0_____________0
Typical On-Line Data
On-line credit reports provide a generic format to display data for all furnishers of credit information
Account Number: Self explanatory
Acct Type: This identifies the character and legal status of the account. Common entries include Revolving, Revolving Account, Revolving Charge Account, Charge Account, Installment, Secured, Secured Loan, Unsecured, Unsecured Loan, Open, Open Account, Open End, Open Ended, Closed, Closed End, Close Ended, Real Property, Mortgage, Factoring Company Account, Factoring Account.
Acct Status: There are only 2 possibilities: Active or Open, Closed or Inactive
Monthly Payment: Self explanatory
Date Open: The date this account was opened. Junk Debt Buyers often (unlawfully) list the purchase date as the Date Open
Balance: Self Explanatory
Terms: Revolving or number of months obligated.
High Balance: The highest balance for Revolving, Open, Open Account, Open End and Open Ended accounts. The starting/opening balance for all other account types
Limit: Use should be limited to Revolving, Open, Open Account, Open End and Open Ended accounts.
Past Due: Self explanatory
Remarks: Self explanatory
Payment Status: Self explanatory
Example One: Correctly reporting revolving account which is currently being used
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Open
Monthly Payment: $30
Date Open: 3/1998
Balance: $1217
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $1833.
Limit: $5500.
Past Due: $0
Remarks: N/A
Payment Status: Current
Example Two: Correctly reporting revolving account which was paid and closed by the consumer
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 5/2001
Balance: $0
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $438.
Limit: $500.
Past Due: $0
Remarks: Account closed at consumer’s request
Payment Status: Current
Example Three: Correctly reporting revolving account which was delinquent, not charged-off, paid and closed by the creditor (note that in this circumstance the creditor reduced the consumer’s credit limit as a result of being delinquent)
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 8/1997
Balance: $0
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $3143.
Limit: $2000.
Past Due: $0
Remarks: Account closed at credit grantor’s request
Payment Status: Current
Example Four: Correctly reporting revolving account which is delinquent, not charged-off, and open (note that in this circumstance the creditor reduced the consumer’s credit limit as a result of being delinquent)
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Open
Monthly Payment: $50
Date Open: 10/2003
Balance: $4796
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $4796
Limit: $2500.
Past Due: $50
Remarks: N/A
Payment Status: 30 Day(s) Late
Example Five: Correctly reporting revolving account which is delinquent, not charged-off, and closed
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $50
Date Open: 4/2004
Balance: $1328
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $1328
Limit: $2500.
Past Due: $150
Remarks: Internal Collections Account Closed at Credit Grantor’s request
Payment Status: +120 Day(s) Late
Example Six: Correctly reporting revolving account which is charged-off and unpaid
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 1/2002
Balance: $928
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $482
Limit: $500.
Past Due: $928
Remarks: Bad Debt Placed for Collections Account Closed at Credit Grantor’s request
Payment Status: Charge-off
Example Seven: Correctly reporting revolving account which is charged-off and paid
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 1/2002
Balance: $0
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $482
Limit: $500.
Past Due: $0
Remarks: Account Closed at Credit Grantor’s request
Payment Status: Charge-off Paid
Example Eight: Correctly reporting revolving account which is charged-off and settled. Note that the unsettled amount can be reported as a past due balance. The unsettled balance may be sold to a junk debt buyer for further collection, or if may be declared as imputed income. If so, then the past due amount must be reported as $0. Unsettled amounts $600 or greater usually result in a Form 1099 which must be claimed as imputed income for tax purposes.
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 5/2003
Balance: $0
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $1261
Limit: $2000.
Past Due: $428
Remarks: Account Closed at Credit Grantor’s request
Payment Status: Charge-off Settled or Settled for less than full
Example Nine: Correctly reporting revolving account which is charged-off and sold to a junk debt buyer for further collection.
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 2/1998
Balance: $0
Terms: Revolving.
High Balance: $3329
Limit: $2500.
Past Due: $0
Remarks: Sold/Transferred to another lender
Payment Status: Charge-off
Installment accounts should report nearly the same way except for the fact that the Account Type will say Installment, Closed, Closed End, Closed Ended, Secured, Secured Loan, Unsecured or Unsecured Loan
Example Ten: Correctly reporting collection account. This is paired with Example Six
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Collection.
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 1/2002
Balance: $928
Terms: N/A
High Balance: N/A
Limit: N/A
Past Due: $928
Remarks: N/A
Payment Status: Past Due Unpaid Delinquent (or other similar comments)
Example Eleven: Correctly reporting junk debt buyer account. This is paired with Example Six
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Collection or Open
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 1/2002
Balance: $928
Terms: NA
High Balance: NA
Limit: NA
Past Due: $928
Remarks: Collections Account
Payment Status: Unpaid
Example Twelve: Correctly reporting BK 7. This is paired with Example Six
Account Number: 1234567890123456
Acct Type: Revolving
Acct Status: Closed
Monthly Payment: $0
Date Open: 1/2002
Balance: $0
Terms: NA
High Balance: NA
Limit: NA
Past Due: $0
Remarks: BK Liquidation or BK Chapter 7
Payment Status: Paid as Agreed
Consumer Reports from the credit reporting agencies
The information provided by the big 3 credit reporting agencies varies in style and content. A summary is provided below:
Equifax Consumer Reports
These items will not appear in on-line tri-merge reports (Blue items unique to Equifax). Equifax reports provides a description of the items. Items in red are items which should be carefully scrutinized
Terms Frequency:
Mnths Revd:
Activity Description
Credit Classification
Date Reported
Date of Last Payment
Actual Payment Amount
Scheduled Payment Amount
Date of Last Activity
Date Maj Del 1st Rptd
Charge off Amount
Deferred Pay Start Date
Balloon Pay Amount
Balloon Pay Date
Date Closed
Type of Loan
Whose Account
Experian Credit Reports
These items will not appear in on-line tri-merge reports. Items in red are items which should be carefully scrutinized
Reported Since
Date of Status
Last Reported
Type of Account
Responsibility
Trans Union
TU Reports get an F- for readability. Items infinite credit dot com in red are items which should be carefully scrutinized and do not appear on on-line reports. Items in blue will not appear on tri-merge reports. Reading from Left to Right
Creditor/Account number/Account Type
Status/Loan Type
Updated/Balance/Responsibility
Opened/Most Owed/Credit Limit
Closed/Past Due
Comments
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__________________
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"Be surprised at what people won't do and not at what they do."
Last edited by Qtip; 07-01-2006 at 12:05 PM..
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