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Free Credit Report Online

March 22nd, 2006

Are the ads for free credit reports real?

We have all seen the ads, free credit report online, but is there really such a thing? Well as Mom and Dad used to say if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. Well that goes for free credit report online it is a bit too good to be true. What the free credit report online companies are doing is signing you up for credit monitoring. And if you do not cancel within the stated period, usually thirty days you will be charged on monthly fee to monitor your free credit report online.

Many consumers look at the landing page when the click on a free credit report online ad, and believe they are signing up for a completely free credit report online. Unfortunately for them that is not true, they are being billed every month for the credit monitoring, which if undetected can ad up to a small fortune. Credit monitoring in itself is a great tool, as long as you know you are signing up for it. I recommend it to everyone. It is the best way to keep a check on your credit, and to protect against identity theft. You can also ad on a credit score so you can track your credit score.
As with anything, buyers beware with free credit report online offers. If it looks to good to be true it probably is. We at Credit Report Coach have a free credit report online, but we make it clear that you are signing up for our credit protection.

Credit Report Rating

March 14th, 2006
 
credithistory.jpgFor your average consumer credit report rating has gone extinct. Easy to read credit reports and credit scores have almost made the need for consumers to understand the system obsolete. For those of you who are still like DOS or Linux here is your guide to reading the credit report rating.
There are four main parts to the credit report: personal profile, credit history, public records and inquires. Check each section carefully for any errors. Mark any errors you find.
Your credit history will show you an itemized list of your current and past accounts, and there balances. There will be columns listing the creditor, a column for the nature of the account, Joint, Individual, Undesignated, Authorized User, Terminated, Maker, Co-signer or Shared. Then there will be a column showing the date opened, payment history, and date of last activity. The credit report will also list high credit limit, or maximum allowed to borrow, and last but not least the terms indicating the number of installments left to pay.

Every item listed in your history will have a credit report rating assigned to it.

Every piece of credit history information in your credit file is assigned a rating by the credit grantor. The most common ratings are “R” ratings. These are known as North American Standard Account Ratings and are the most frequently used. The “R” indicates that the item being described involves revolving credit. If you always pay on time, it will be coded an R1. If an amount was written off because you never paid it back, it is coded R9. The R ratings are a coding system that translates “on time”, “one month late”, “two months late”, etc., into two-digit codes

Credit Report Rating

R0 Too new to rate; approved but not used

R1 Pays within 30 days of billing, or pays as agreed

R2 Pays in more than 30 days but less than 60 or one payment past due

R3 Pays in more than 60 days but less than 90 or two payments past due

R4 Pays in more than 90 days but less than 120 or three or more payments past due

R5 Account is at least 120 days past due but is not yet rated R9

R6 No rating exists

R7 Paid through a consolidation order, consumer proposal or credit counseling debt management program

R8 Repossession

R9 Bad debt or placed for collection or bankruptcy

Based on the above scale the lender would give you a credit report rating, and decide to grant or deny credit. The reality is that there are much more advanced methods of credit report rating, now known as credit scores. Read this article to become more familiar with credit scores. When a lender refers to your credit report rating now days, they are referring to your credit score.