Credit Assignment
Katelyne Brockman
Part I
1. Annualcreditreport.com allows an individual to pull a free credit report from Equifax, Transunion and
Experian. You can choose to obtain three credit reports from each place at the same time once a year.
Or, you can obtain one report from each site throughout the year. Freecreditreport.com gives you a free
credit report with no credit score for free, but you only have access to the material for thirty days. There
is also an option to buy your report as well as one’s credit score. Listed on freecreditreport.com are the
stipulations for buying your credit report. When you order the one dollar Credit Report and free score
through freecreditreport.com, you will begin your 7-day trial membership. If you don't cancel your
membership within the 7-day trial period, you will be billed $14.99 for each month that you continue
your membership. You may cancel your trial membership anytime within the trial period without
charge.
2. This assignment has prompted my first attempt to view my credit report. Due to my lack of
knowledge and expertise I found that my credit report through Equifax was difficult to comprehend. I
am unsure as to what phrases such as ‘Creditor Classification’, ‘Charge Off Amount’ and ‘Balloon
Payment Amount’ mean but they were left blank on my report. As far as the structure for each item
such as my loans, it was easy to distinct which loan was being displayed in each section. The labels were
displayed consistently throughout the report so that there was no confusion as to which loan was being
displayed.
3. To my understanding, I did not find any errors in my credit report. I have multiple student loans and a
car loan and the amounts owed were listed accurately. According to annualcreditreport.com, if an
individual finds any errors on their report, they have three options to launch an investigation; online, by
phone or by mail. Jeff Madura, the author of the textbook Personal Finance instructs individuals to
identify the specific information that you believe to be incorrect. From there, explain why the
information is incorrect and include copies of any receipts you can use to support your claim. The URL to
initiate a dispute online for Equifax is https://www.ai.equifax.com. The credit bureau that is contacted is
required to investigate your dispute within 30 days. One can check the status or view the results online
as well. They will not remove accurate data unless it is outdated or cannot be verified. If the data
provider or source cannot verify the information that has been listed on the credit report, it will be
removed. Otherwise, the data provider will be instructed to update the information.
Part II
1. The five main factors that go into determining a credit score are payment history, amounts owed,
length of credit history, new credit and types of credit in use. The payment history contains the majority
of the information and will be very detailed. It includes all of your credit account and details about how
you’ve paid such as on time or past due payments. It also indicated your monthly payment status since
the time your account was established. Amounts owed include revolving accounts in which the most
prevalent are credit cards. New credit activity is a potential negative impact. The impact of a new
account is also dependent on the overall content of your credit. Length of credit history includes old
Credit Assignment
Katelyne Brockman
accounts. Those of good standing are an asset to your score. Types of credit in use are reported to be a
ten percent contribution to your score which related to the type of credit which appears on your credit
report. Sticking to mainstream credit cards and avoiding store cards and consumer financing is
recommended.
2. To improve and maintain my credit score, I plan on avoiding any missed payments. I will continue to
make early or on time payments towards my auto loan. I need to limit the amount of excessive debt as
well. An option for improving my credit score is to open a credit card and keep a low balance. Also, pay
back on that credit card on time but limit the use in order to avoid the temptation to add to my debt. If
for any reason I am unable to make my payments on time, call my creditors immediately. Although this
won’t rebuild my credit score immediately, I can begin to manage my credit and pay on time resulting in
an increase in my score over time.
Criteria used
Rating
Annualcreditreport vs. Freecreditreport
6 5
4
3
2
1
0
Quality of discussion on ease of reading report/surprises
6 5
4
3
2
1
0
Quality of discussion on reviewing report/reporting errors
6 5
4
3
2
1
0
Quality of discussion on building a good credit score
6 5
4
3
2
1
0
Points for good grammar, spelling, etc.
6
4
3
2
1
0
Total points
5
/30