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Everything you wanted to know or not....about credit scores

what's in your score

how to read your score

how to improve your score

A credit report usually consists of five sections: (1) I.D. section; (2) Credit History section; (3) Collection Accounts section; (4) Public Record section; and (5) Inquiry section.

Most of these section should be easy to read with the exception of two: your credit account information and inquiry sections. This is because the credit bureaus use alphanumeric coding to classify and report types of accounts and payment history. Once you understand the key, it is easy to read these sections of your credit file.

Beside each credit account in your file will be a letter designating your relationship to that account. Below are the keys indicating what these letters mean:


J =		Joint
I =		Individual
U =		Undesignated
A =		Authorized User
T =		Terminated
M =		Maker
C =		Co-maker or C0-signor
B =		On behalf of another person
S =		Shared

In addition to the above coding, you will also find alphanumeric coding used to record the type of account and your payment history. Below is the key indicating what these letters and numbers mean:


O =		Open (entire balance due each month
R =		Revolving (amount due can change each month
I =		Installment (fixed amount due each month)

0 =		Approved, but account is too new to rate or not yet used
1 =		Paid as agreed
2 =		30 or more days past due
3 =		60 or more days past due
4 =		90 or more days past due
5 =		120 or more days past due or is a collection account
7 =		Making regular payments under a wage earner plan
8 =		Repossession
9 =		Charged off account
		(numbering code may vary among agencies)

So, based on the above, you can quickly go down the relevant column in your credit file and determine if you have an excellent payment history: O1, R1 or I1. Of course, you don't want to find anything that ends in 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 or 9.

The Colleciton Account section will list any accounts referred to collection agencies in the last seven years. The name of the collection agency will be listed along with the amount you owe and, in some cases, their contact information.

In the Public Records section you'll find a listing of public record items (obtained from local, state and federal courts) that reflect your history of meeting financial obligations. These include:

*	Bankruptcy records	*	Tax Liens
*	Judgmetns	*	Collection accounts
*	Overdue child support (in some states)

The inquiry section of your credit report includes records of businesses that have checked your credit in the last two years for the purpose of an application. At that time a"hard inquiry" is listed on your credit report, too many and it can harm your credit score.

Each hard inquiry record lists the creditor's name, the date of the request and the credit bureau that processed the request. Hard inquiries are only recorded on the credit file maintained by the agency that processed the request.

Checking your own credit data or subscribing to a credit monitoring service does not cause a hard inquiry to be recorded and will not damage your credit score.

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