It is a common knowledge that credit bureaus keep lots of information, but not everyone knows exactly what information they keep.
It’s as complete a record as they can get of your financial history, and they usually try to keep it for a minimum of seven years, and often longer.
Here are some of the things they keep on record:
- Legal Records: Lawsuits, Tax Liens, Bankruptcy.
- Personal Information: Full name, Social Security Number, your date of birth, anywhere you have ever lived, anywhere you have ever worked, your spouse, and any phone numbers that have ever been in your name.
- Credit History: Any loans or other credit accounts complete with detailed information about your payment history. Have you ever been late on a payment? How late was it? Did you ever have anything sent to collections? How many times have you applied for credit? It’s ALL there.
The short form is if it ever appeared on any public record or application form it will show up in your credit report.
That’s just one of the reasons you should check it regularly. I recommend you check it every three months, but if you can’t manage that, at least check it every six months.
Leave it any longer and you might be setting yourself up for a financial catastrophe.
We recommend www.identityiqreport.com. At only $19 they’re half the price of Experian or Transunion.
