Check your Credit Report

When you apply for credit, the lender checks with a credit bureau to learn about your credit history. The credit bureau gives the lender a report about your bill payment history, current unpaid bills, available credit, property liens, lawsuits, and other related information. Credit bureaus try to give accurate information but they can make mistakes.

When you’re having trouble getting credit, the first thing you should do is check the accuracy of your credit report. If you’re turned down for credit, you should receive a letter with the name of the credit bureau that provided the negative credit report. You’re entitled to a free report if you’ve been turned down for credit within the last 60 days. Otherwise, you’ll pay a small fee (about $8) for your report.

When you get your credit report, check for mistakes. Common mistakes include information about someone with a similar name, information for an ex-spouse’s account that your name was never on, or a closed account shown open. If there are any errors, write the credit bureau. State the error and ask for an investigation. The credit bureau legally has 30 days to investigate and correct the information. The credit bureau can’t remove negative information if it’s correct. Generally, negative information stays on a credit report for seven years. Bankruptcy information stays on a report for ten years.

Your credit report contains:

Identifying information - name, address, Social Security number;
Current employment information - position, income, length of employment;
Credit history - payment records, how much and how often you’ve borrowed;
Public record information - bankruptcy, civil suits, tax liens.