What Types of Entries Appear On Your Credit Report?
If you have never taken a look at your credit report before, you might be surprised to learn just how many different things are actually recorded in the report. If you thought that it was just a page of information about debts you have and haven't paid - think again. Your report is much more complex than that.
In this article we will take a look at credit reports on the whole, to see exactly what you might expect to find included on your report if you request a copy of it in the future. Remember though, everyone is in a different financial position - so you may or may not see all of the things listed below on yours.
Common Entries to Credit Reports
Interestingly, defaults and unpaid debts are actually not the most common entry on to credit reports. They are arguably the most important type of entry - but certainly not the most frequent.
Instead, consider the following things:
- Credit application notes.
A credit application note will be an entry on your credit report which lets other financial institutions know that you have applied for credit elsewhere. This is why you should not perform bulk credit applications at the same time.
Too many of these entries might make lenders nervous about your need / desire for credit. It might actually change you "want" around to look as if you are desperate to access more capital or money.
- On time payments.
Thankfully, one thing about loans and outstanding balances is that people actually do pay off more loans than they default on. This is a good thing, and when it comes to your credit report - it is an entry which you want to have recurring often.
If you've ever wondered what the best way is to improve your credit report and credit score - it is to have multiple "on time payment" entries sitting in the transaction list of the report.
Different Weighting To Different Entries
Not all entries on a credit report are given the same amount of importance. To illustrate, it would be logical for us to assume that a defaulted payment would be more negative or worse than a simple "credit application note" saying that you had applied for a loan.
Hence - when looking at your credit report, think about the implications of each entry, and how each individual factor could be improved.