What is & isn't in your credit report and how's it factor in your score
Information "in" your credit report/score:
Identity Information (personal identifiable info) - Doesn't factor in your score
This includes things like your name (possibly even nick-names), address (current and old addresses), date of birth, social security number, and employment information (current and past employment companies). This sort of information comes from information you provide on applications when you apply for a loan. The creditor/lender then posts that information into your credit file. However, this sort of information does not impact your score either positively or negatively.
Trade Lines (credit accounts – usually positive accounts) - Does factor in your score
This is also known as credit accounts. Creditors/lenders can report each account you have, as well as post your payments (paid on time, late, missed payments, etc...). This includes all accounts (credit card(s), auto loan, personal loans, mortgage, etc). Creditors/lenders may also report the date your account was opened or the date it was closed, they may also report the loan amount, balance or credit limits. It's important to note, creditors/lenders have the right to report this information or not report it at all, they may report this info to some reporting agencies but not all of them. The only thing they have to do (if they report), is report the information accurately, but they do not have to report anything at all.
Credit Inquiries (hard & soft pulls on your credit file) - Can factor in your score
Each time you apply for a loan, you give your consent to the creditor/lender to pull your credit file/report, when they do this, it's an inquiry. All credit inquiries remain in your credit file for 2 years from the date the creditor/lender did the inquiry. There are different types of inquiries; one type is “voluntary” or “hard pulls” - this is when you voluntarily give your consent to a creditor/lender to pull your credit file for the purpose of obtaining credit. The other type is “involuntary” or "promotional" inquiries - this is when you did not give consent to a full review of your credit file/report. Instead, a creditor/lender will do a “soft pull” on your credit report for the purpose of sending you “pre-approvals” in the mail. Lastly, "consumer initiated inquiries" - This is when you pull your own credit file/report soley to review the content within it. When you pull your own credit file/report, you will see a list of both the “hard pulls” and “soft pulls.” Only hard pulls have an affect on your score and having multiple “hard pulls” can have a large negative impact on your score. However, soft pulls (no matter how many) will not have a negative impact on your score.
Public Record and Collection Accounts (negative accounts) - Does factor in your score
This is the negative information obtained by the credit reporting agencies. It's public records and includes: law suits, wage garnishments/attachments, liens against property, bankruptcies, judgments, and foreclosures. Some of this information is given to the credit reporting agencies by the negative account holder (collection agencies) and some of it obtained by the credit reporting agencies collecting these public records through state, county and federal courts. These types of accounts usually remain in your credit file for 7 years, but depending on the type of account, it could remain in your credit file beyond 7 years.
This includes things like your name (possibly even nick-names), address (current and old addresses), date of birth, social security number, and employment information (current and past employment companies). This sort of information comes from information you provide on applications when you apply for a loan. The creditor/lender then posts that information into your credit file. However, this sort of information does not impact your score either positively or negatively.
Trade Lines (credit accounts – usually positive accounts) - Does factor in your score
This is also known as credit accounts. Creditors/lenders can report each account you have, as well as post your payments (paid on time, late, missed payments, etc...). This includes all accounts (credit card(s), auto loan, personal loans, mortgage, etc). Creditors/lenders may also report the date your account was opened or the date it was closed, they may also report the loan amount, balance or credit limits. It's important to note, creditors/lenders have the right to report this information or not report it at all, they may report this info to some reporting agencies but not all of them. The only thing they have to do (if they report), is report the information accurately, but they do not have to report anything at all.
Credit Inquiries (hard & soft pulls on your credit file) - Can factor in your score
Each time you apply for a loan, you give your consent to the creditor/lender to pull your credit file/report, when they do this, it's an inquiry. All credit inquiries remain in your credit file for 2 years from the date the creditor/lender did the inquiry. There are different types of inquiries; one type is “voluntary” or “hard pulls” - this is when you voluntarily give your consent to a creditor/lender to pull your credit file for the purpose of obtaining credit. The other type is “involuntary” or "promotional" inquiries - this is when you did not give consent to a full review of your credit file/report. Instead, a creditor/lender will do a “soft pull” on your credit report for the purpose of sending you “pre-approvals” in the mail. Lastly, "consumer initiated inquiries" - This is when you pull your own credit file/report soley to review the content within it. When you pull your own credit file/report, you will see a list of both the “hard pulls” and “soft pulls.” Only hard pulls have an affect on your score and having multiple “hard pulls” can have a large negative impact on your score. However, soft pulls (no matter how many) will not have a negative impact on your score.
Public Record and Collection Accounts (negative accounts) - Does factor in your score
This is the negative information obtained by the credit reporting agencies. It's public records and includes: law suits, wage garnishments/attachments, liens against property, bankruptcies, judgments, and foreclosures. Some of this information is given to the credit reporting agencies by the negative account holder (collection agencies) and some of it obtained by the credit reporting agencies collecting these public records through state, county and federal courts. These types of accounts usually remain in your credit file for 7 years, but depending on the type of account, it could remain in your credit file beyond 7 years.
Information "not in" your credit report/score:
As far as what's not used when calculating your score - this can be broken down rather easily: Anything that is not predictive of future performance/repayment is not factored in your score.
Both your scores and credit reports does not use or hold certain information. This includes things like your race/color, religion, or sexual orientation. Federal law(s) prohibits this, plus, public assistance information, or if you exercised any consumer rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Any information that could be considered as something that a creditor/lender could be biased on (one way or the other) is not listed. This insures when a creditor/lender reviews your credit file, only your credit performance is taken into consideration and nothing further (although things like employment history and salary may be used in determining approvals and/or terms). Your score is unbiased on all social issues and only considers your past credit performances to predict a likely future performance plus identifiable information is held in your credit file. As far as your score, the only info used in determining your score is the information regarding your credit accounts (both positive and negative accounts) as well as hard pull inquiries. There are multiple things taken into account for each account, (age of account, utilization, payment history, balance and much more), when factoring your score. The exact formula used is a well kept, trade secret, but we do know what is and isn't in your report/score.
Both your scores and credit reports does not use or hold certain information. This includes things like your race/color, religion, or sexual orientation. Federal law(s) prohibits this, plus, public assistance information, or if you exercised any consumer rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Any information that could be considered as something that a creditor/lender could be biased on (one way or the other) is not listed. This insures when a creditor/lender reviews your credit file, only your credit performance is taken into consideration and nothing further (although things like employment history and salary may be used in determining approvals and/or terms). Your score is unbiased on all social issues and only considers your past credit performances to predict a likely future performance plus identifiable information is held in your credit file. As far as your score, the only info used in determining your score is the information regarding your credit accounts (both positive and negative accounts) as well as hard pull inquiries. There are multiple things taken into account for each account, (age of account, utilization, payment history, balance and much more), when factoring your score. The exact formula used is a well kept, trade secret, but we do know what is and isn't in your report/score.
You can read more about how your score is calculated in our Credit Facts tab.
Want more info on what credit reporting agencies can & can't report or credit laws regarding consumer protection? Check out our Credit Laws! If you would like to know what's in your credit report or find out your credit scores visit our Credit Reports page listed under our Credit Guide.
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