How to Read a Credit Card Report

The credit report contains information about the financial actions and it is very important to review the credit report at least once in a year to know about all the spending history. Understanding report can be very confusing when one read it for the first time. Once obtaining the report, it is important to know how to read (personal) (credit) report. Here is the information contained in a credit report.

Personal Information: This part of the report includes name, address, and place of employment, which is used to identify the individuals. Sometimes, previous place of employment and addresses might also be included.

Credit Summary: The credit summary part lists balance, total number, current account, and delinquent accounts. Credit summary includes account types like real estate accounts, revolving accounts, installment accounts, collection accounts, and other accounts.  This section also summarizes the number of accounts open, closed, and number of inquires made against the credit in the past two years.

Account History: The account history includes credit accounts and payment details. Each account contains creditor name, account number, account type, responsibility, monthly payment, date opened, date reported, balance, credit limit, high balance, past due, remarks, payment status, and payment history.

Public Records: The public records part of the credit report contains bankruptcies, judgments, state, tax liens, country court records, and overdue child support. Based on the type of account, public report may remain in the credit report between 7 to 10 years.

Credit Inquiries:  Credit inquiries contain information about all parties who have accessed the credit report in the past two years.