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Credit Report Basics

What is a good credit score?

Credit scores can range from 300 to 850 with the majority falling in the 600's and 700's. There is no specific standard for a "good" score but in today's world, a score above 700 is looked at favorably. Generally, a score below 600 signals a potential risk to a lender.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

What's included in my credit report?

Details about your financial behavior and identification information about you are contained in your personal credit report. This consumer-friendly report is sometimes called a credit file or a credit history. Obtaining a copy of your credit report makes it easy for you to understand the information a lender, financial institution, potential employers, landlord, etc., would be seeing if they review your credit history. Typical consumer credit reports include four types of information:

1. Personal information can include your name, current and previous addresses, telephone number, reported variations of your Social Security number, date of birth and current and previous employers.
2. Public record information in some states may also include overdue child support. Bankruptcy information can remain on your credit report up to 10 years; unpaid tax liens can remain for up to 15 years; other public record information can remain up to seven years.
3. Credit information includes specific account information, such as the date opened, credit limit or loan amount, balance and monthly payment and payment pattern. The report also states whether anyone besides you (a joint account holder or cosigner, for example) is responsible for paying the account. Active positive credit information may remain on your report indefinitely, while most negative information remains up to seven years.
4. Requests by others to view your credit history will show you who has received information from your credit report and who was given your name during the recent past, as allowed by law. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit grantors with a permissible purpose may inquire about your credit information without your prior consent. This section includes the date of the inquiry and how long the inquiry will remain on your report.

On your personal credit report ordered directly from NationalCreditReport.com™, information about those companies, individuals and institutions who inquired about your credit history and credit score for the purposes of extending a pre-approved credit offer are included in your report. These inquiries are not revealed to creditors and do not impact your ability to obtain credit.

Your credit report does not contain data about race, religious preference, medical history, personal lifestyle, political preference, friends, criminal record or any other information unrelated to credit.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

What are the details of the free credit report and free credit Score offer?

Our FREE Credit Report and FREE Credit Score offers include one FREE Experian™ Credit Report and one FREE Experian™ Credit Score.This offer also includes a FREE 7-day trial in our Safeguard Credit Monitoring™ Service. Upon ordering the FREE credit report and credit score product, your credit card will be authorized to spend $14.95 which will be charged to your credit card at the conclusion of the FREE 7- day trial.

You must notify us by phone at 1-888-887-4287 during the 7-day Monitoring trial if you do not want to continue your Safeguard Credit Monitoring™ membership past the FREE 7-day trial period. Otherwise, your card will be charged $14.95 per month for each month that you continue your membership in this important credit monitoring service. There is no obligation and you may cancel at any time. Your FREE Credit Report and FREE Credit Score is yours to keep.

Credit reporting agencies (Experian™, Equifax™, and TransUnion™) are required by law to give you a copy of your credit report upon request at no charge once every 12 months. To receive a copy of your credit report under this law visit www.annualcreditreport.com. This may not include your credit score which may be offered for a nominal fee. Get your credit score and your credit report for FREE today from www.NationalCreditReport.com™. NationalCreditReport.com™ is not affiliated with the annual free credit report program.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

How can I correct inaccurate information found in my credit report?

Before you can demand your legal rights, you must thoroughly know your legal rights. These are contained in the four sections of the Consumer Protection Act. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is primarily concerned with credit reporting agencies and credit reports. The intent of the FCRA is two-fold:

1. To protect you against credit abuses.
2. To provide you with the legal tools to repair and improve your credit.

How do I delete negative history and other information from your credit report?

Deleting negative history on a credit report, if inaccurate, is possible.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects you against credit abuse that might result from an unfair summary of your credit history. The FCRA grants you certain rights as a credit consumer. These basic rights are the key to eliminating negative marks in your credit report and to reestablishing good credit. Your rights as a credit consumer include:

• The accuracy of your credit report can be challenged.
• The credit reporting agencies must verify any information challenged. Any person or company - whether a legitimate creditor or not - can include negative information on your credit report without your consent or knowledge - and without the need to first prove it is true.
• Any information that cannot be verified must promptly be deleted from the credit reporting agency files.
• If the original creditor verifies the information within the time limit, the negative marks must remain in your file. While you cannot erase bad credit reports if the information is verified, there are steps you can take to improve your credit history and score.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

Correcting Your Credit

After verifying information in your credit report, you can now begin to take steps to repair your credit based on the following suggestions:

• Identify the negative marks on your credit report.
• Review Your Account Profile
• Try again later.
• Talk to the creditor directly.
• You receive a preliminary response from the creditor.
• Challenge the Negative or Non-Rated Remarks
• Communicate all requests in writing.
• Wait 30 days for a reply.
• The credit reporting agency should ultimately respond in one of three ways:
• The credit entries are changed.
• The creditor verifies the disputed item, so it stays on your credit record.
• You then have other options:
• "Positive" means good credit; you pay on time.
• "Negative" means serious credit problems. Perhaps you have defaulted on a major debt or filed bankruptcy.
• "Non-rated" means a few late payments.

Can knowing what's in my credit report, knowing my credit score and monitoring my credit really help me protect myself?

Yes. Help protect yourself from credit fraud and identity theft and do what many consumers like you do every day, be credit wise! Know what's on your credit report, know your credit score and use credit monitoring.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

What is Credit Monitoring?

Credit Monitoring is the quickest and easiest way to proactively monitor your credit file for new activity, account changes, credit fraud and identity theft.If and when these changes or inquiries are made into your credit file you will be notified via email within 24 hours.These email alerts will be the first indication of a legitimate credit inquiry, credit discrepancy, and inaccuracies in your credit file or fraudulent activity within your credit file.Credit Monitoring, when used consistently, is the first line of defense and a great source of protection against serious credit inaccuracies, credit fraud and identity theft.

Why do I need Credit Monitoring?

Credit Monitoring alerts, when delivered within 24 hours of any change, will be the first indication of a discrepancy, inaccuracies or fraudulent activity on your credit. It is the quickest and easiest way to proactively monitor your credit file.Credit Monitoring does not affect your credit or credit score.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

What is credit fraud?

Credit fraud is when someone opens an account in your name and uses the credit established in this account to buy a house, buy a car, buy other goods in services, in your name without your knowledge and without the intention of every paying it back.

Credit Fraud and Identity Theft Stats

In a country where consumers owe more than $1 trillion on their credit cards, estimates of $2 billion to $3 billion in credit card fraud losses may not seem all that terrible. That comes out to just two to three one-thousandths of one percent. But it is terrible to victims of fraud. Though they may be protected financially, they are forced to endure major inconvenience. Additionally, we all pay for the costs of fraud in the form of higher prices, higher interest rates and increased inconvenience.

Some types of identity theft and credit fraud include:

• Identity theft - the unauthorized use of personal identification information to commit fraud or other crimes
• Identity assumption - long-term victimization of identification information
• Fraud spree - unauthorized charges on existing accounts
• Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

Stats about Identity Theft

According to the Federal Trade Commission

• Arizona is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by California and Florida.

• Credit card fraud (20%) was the most common form of reported identity theft followed by government documents/benefits fraud (15%), employment fraud (15%), and phone or utilities fraud (13%) in 2008.

How do I avoid identity theft?

With instances of credit fraud continuing to rise at an alarming rate, it is important that consumers are aware that they can monitor their credit reports and credit files. Identity theft and credit fraud occur everyday - Identity Theft has been the fastest growing crime in America for over fifteen years.

Help protect yourself from credit fraud and identity theft and do what many consumers like you do every day, be credit wise!Know what's on your credit report, know your credit score and use credit monitoring.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

How can Safeguard Credit Monitoring™ help me Avoid Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft and/or Credit Fraud?

Safeguard Credit Monitoring™ is a credit monitoring program that monitors changes to individual consumer credit files. Safeguard Credit Monitoring™ alerts you by e-mail when potentially fraudulent items, or other critical changes, have been made to your credit report (like the opening of a fraudulent credit card). These e-mails will be sent to you daily when or if any changes occur. If no activity takes place, an e-mail will be sent every 30 days with an "all-clear" note.These notifications can help you from becoming a victim of identity theft because they will alert you to any changes and inquiries to your credit file within a twenty-four hour time period.Having knowledge of these changes within a short time period after they occur gives you the opportunity to contact the lender and report it as fraud.  Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

What are the benefits of your Safeguard Credit Monitoring™?

• "Daily" monitoring of your credit to inform you of changes to your credit report.
• See who's been looking at your credit report
• Access to the Membership Center to view credit alerts and order additional reports throughout the year.
• Toll-free support from our credit-trained customer care specialists
• Exclusive dispute tips
• Routinely check for accurate and inaccurate information in your credit file
• Verify newly opened accounts
• Watch for several indicators of possible credit fraud

What are some of the changes that may appear in my credit alerts?

• A new inquiry
• A new address
• A new employment record
• A new trade line
• The payment status of a trade line changes (i.e. the account is delinquent or a delinquent account improves)
• A new public record
• A new bankruptcy
• Click here to get your free Experian Credit score and report from NationalCreditReport.com.

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