Credit history and reports are of immense importance especially for any financial organization. The credit history or credit reports are the record of a persons or a company’s past financial transactions like repaying and borrowing. This also includes the necessary information about the bankruptcy and late payments. There is a term which it is used as a synonym for the concept of the credit history or some times for the concept of credit score. It is used to find out the authenticity of the person or institution whose credit history and reports are being scrutinized.
Basics:
The process starts with the filling up of the application form for credit which is available in the banks. These application forms are also available with the credit card companies or other financial stores. The information thus provided by the concerned person is then forwarded to a credit bureau. This information is forwarded with the constant and current updates regarding the status of the credit accounts of the concerned person. The information also includes the personal information updates such as information related to the change in address or any other changes in the information furnished in the application form. This information is accounted from the time when the person last applied for any sort of credit.
Working:
The information thus collected by the credit bureau is actually then used by the lenders such as the credit card companies. This is actually utilized by the financial entities to assure the credit worthiness of the concerned applicant or the entity. It means that the lender organization makes sure about the willingness of the concerned person or entities to repay a state of indebtedness. This information is helpful for a company in making decisions about whether the credit should be extended or not and also the terms of the credit. Nowadays the process of credit history and credit reporting has become even more important as most of the financial companies are now adopting a policy of risk based pricing. The report is important because it is actually the sole element which is used to choose the annual percentage rate.
Understanding of the credit history and reports:
In the United States of America there is actually a law that makes it mandatory for a person to receive his or her credit report for no charge at all. There is also a provision for an official and free site. The site is annualcreditreport.com. There are three bureaus for the purpose and all the three bureaus are to provide atleast one free report. These free reports should be provided every twelve months. One may also request for all the three reports at the same time or one can spread out the request over a time span of 12 months. The mentioned site is managed by the three concerned bureaus and the service is free and available online. The time required for the process is also very less. It usually takes about 5 minutes to get a print out of the credit report or credit history report.