Once you have a copy of your credit report, it can be extremely confusing.  What do all of those numbers and code phrases actually mean?  Also, you need to obtain copies of all three reports, because the information can be different on them.

Credit reports are typically divided into four sections; identifying information, credit history, public records and inquiries.  The indentifying information is just the data that defines you- be sure that your name, address and everything else has been recorded correctly.

Credit History- This section of your credit report contains each account you’ve ever had, including the name of the creditor, account number, the date the account was opened, the type of credit (installment or revolving), and whether the account is yours alone or held jointly with another person.

Account data will also include the total amount of the credit, the highest balance on the card (ever) and how much you still owe on the account. It will normally indicate whether it has fixed monthly payments or a minimum monthly amount, and will indicate whether the account is open, inactive, paid, closed, settled, or some other status.

Creditors especially like the section that indicates how you’ve been making payments on the account.  Experion spells it out in plain english, “Never been late”, or “typically pays 30 days late”.  Other reporting institutions may use codes like “internal collections” or “charge off”.  When reports use codes, there will be a table someplace on the report that helps you decipher what the codes mean.

Public Records- you want to have nothing in this section on your credit report!  If there is something here, it means you’ve had some financial issues at some point, including bankruptcies, judgements or tax liens.  This section will lower your score faster than any data anyplace else on your credit report.

Inquiries-  This is the section that shows a list of creditors and lenders who have accessed your credit report.  It’s actually divided into two different sections, the “hard” inquiries- which are things you’ve initiated yourself by applying for credit; and “soft” inquiries, which are from companies who are mailing out pre-approved offers.  Soft inquiries cannot be taken into consideration when your credit score is created.

As you are viewing your credit reports, watch for anything that may be an error.  You want to dispute it as soon as you see it and try to get it corrected.  Since more life events are taking the credit report/score into consideration (applying for a new job, your car insurance, getting credit), it’s important that the information on your report be as accurate as possible.

How to Read Your Credit Report was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Upon further investigation and agonizing phone conversations with company representatives, I was finally able to understand what had happened. When I moved out of my apartment two years earlier, my former roommate had managed to acquire phone service using her name and my social security number. To this day I do not know how she was able to get the number or be able to use it with her name at the phone company. I spent weeks writing letters and sending faxes to the phone company, disputing the bill. I had to prove over and over that I had not lived in that apartment in over two years. During that time, I was not able to have a phone connected in my apartment. Additionally, my credit report was negatively affected. If you find that your identity has been stolen, be sure to file a credit report dispute with the three major credit bureaus. It’s very important to make sure to fix credit reports otherwise when you try to apply for a credit card, car loan, or home loan, you might get unfairly turned done.  

The phone company could not answer as to how the roommate had gotten away with the fraud for so long. They could admit that the number and the name did not match up but went no further. Eventually, all of the charges were erased from my record and I was allowed service once again. However, nothing ever happened to the roommate. There was no prosecution for fraud and she was never even held responsible for the phone bill because the phone company did not have her social security number.

I know now how important it is to keep my credit report in check, especially because college kids use their social security numbers for everything. I was a lot younger and less financially educated at age 18. While having one obscene phone bill is small beans compared to what other victims have gone through, it is still a smack in the face and was definitely a wake up call for me.

Many people try to use bad credit repair services to clean up their stolen identities, however that’s not what you should do. Instead you should file a police report and get those items removed permanently.

Thieving My Identity was created by and is property of American Consumer News.