How To Read An Equifax Credit Report
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the Nationwide Consumer Reporting organizations (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) to provide you with one free credit report every 12 months per your request. This means that you are entitled to three free credit reports per year, if you deem it necessary. You can stagger the requests or order all of them at the same time.
Each of the National Consumer Credit Reporting bureaus have a unique credit report format, but in essence they provide you with the same information. When you receive your free Equifax credit report use the following guidelines to read your report:
Personal Information
This section will detail your personal information: Name, Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, any former names, death notice information, current address, previous addresses, any other identification numbers that you may have, current employer and previous employers.
You will also find information about any fraud alerts that you may have against your credit report.
Account Information Summary
You'll find a list of all your accounts here. Additional information will include account type, account number, date account was opened, account balance, any past due amount, account status and credit limit.
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