Experian is one the three main national bureaus that collect and provide credit information on consumers. In order to view your credit report from Experian you can either get your free from www.annualcreditreports.com which is provided to you according to the FCRA federal law, or you can buy it directly from the website of experience which is www.Experian.com.
The formats that an Experian credit report follows is something like this.
The Experian credit report will list your name, report number and the date when the report was generated. There is a section called “Potentially Negative Items” which will explain certain entries in your credit report which may be affecting your credit score negatively. Significant debts such as bankruptcies, tax liens and civil judgments will be listed here.
The next section is called “credit items” and this lists current accounts as well as “collection” accounts which accounts that have been charged off by the creditor.
“Accounts in Good Standing” is the section that will list all your accounts that are either current in the present day or had a current status throughout during the time that they were functional. A closed accounts that was never late with stay on your credit report for period of 10 years. This is done so that a consumer can benefit from a hell the account as long as possible.
Not all accounts even though they are current will reflect favorably on the Experian credit report. A closed accounts has the potential bringing down a credit score specially it was settled while open accounts, can increase your debt to income ratio even though they are current.
Next is to follow is a section called “Requests for Credit History”. This section will consist of two subsections. One section will show the requests for your credit report made from other creditors and lenders based on your credit applications while another will list soft Inquiries is that have been made due to you requesting your own credit report or other soft Inquiries such as for preapproved offers, landlords, employs etc. This section will also list contact information of the people who have requested your credit report in the past.
If you find any error on your Experian credit report you have the right to dispute it by writing a dispute to the Experian credit bureau or following instructions on your online credit report to file a dispute online. Including all forms of documents to prove your claim helps to settle the dispute quickly and in your favor. If you cannot get a dispute settled in your favor and get information removed or updated as you wish you can still include a personal statement as to the dispute which will be visible to all future lenders that you had disputed the information and are not in agreement with the information listed on your Experian credit report.
It is also important to check the section which lists your personal information to make sure that your name is that right with the collect social security number etc. All of this information has the potential of doing damage to your credit if wrongly reported. It could result in a mix-up of accounts or confusion with the lender when you apply for credit.