Credit Center: Reasons to Check Your Credit Report!

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Why you need to check your credit regularly...

Ideally, your credit report is an accurate, up-to-date reflection of your credit history. However, since we don't live in an perfect world, there's many reasons your credit report could contain errors or inaccuracies that may prevent you from receiving the credit you deserve.

Here's 5 REASONS to regularly review your credit report:

1.) Inaccuracies & Mixed Credit Files: Credit reports may include inaccuracies that can harm your credit rating. Many of these errors can be the result of clerical mistakes or computer glitches. Whether the inaccuracies relate to payments not credited, late payments, or data mixed in from the credit file of someone else with a name similar to yours, you should have these inaccuracies corrected as soon as possible.

2.) Tracking & Payments: The fastest way to get lenders and creditors to be your "best friend" is to make those payments on time - every time. But what if a payment is lost in the mail or mistakenly recorded as "late"? This has a negative impact on your credit, and creditors don't take it lightly. If you call your creditor and explain, they might adjust the info. But without your credit report you won't be able to spot these mistakes.

3.) Identity Theft: This crime can do extensive damage before consumers are even aware of it. If you only check your credit report for one reason-- this is the reason! With very little information, a thief can open accounts in your name and run up large balances, leaving you to deal with the disastrous damage done to your good credit and name. The best way to catch a thief who is using your name is to get a copy of your credit report and look for accounts you haven't opened.

4.) Credit Inquiries: Who's been looking at your credit? A potential creditor, employer, landlord, hospital, insurance company, credit union, etc., often inquire about a person's credit before exchanging services for a fee. Be aware that too many inquiries could have a negative impact on your credit. For this reason, too many inquiries can actually make getting credit more difficult. And if you didn't authorize someone to look at your credit report and they did, they may have broken the law.

5.) Credit Fraud - Unauthorized Charges: Credit fraud involves the theft of your credit card or account number to make charges to your account. Though consumers are protected financially from this abuse, creditors may take note of all this activity and decide to raise your interest rates or refuse to grant you a loan. Checking your credit report will help you monitor activity on all accounts that you haven't been using, or may have closed recently.

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5 Reasons to Check Your Credit