Credit reports have a formula that they don’t share with
the public regarding your score so there is no point in
really trying to figure that out at this juncture. We can
analyze what is on your report and what you can do. The
first thing that’s on there is all your personal
information, all addresses you have lived at, names used,
employment history. etc. The second portion is all your
credit information that is up there which is basically who
you owe money to or have owed money to in the past. Third
is the public records information, which will list all
lawsuits and judgments against you, past and present.
Finally it will show inquiries, which is basically who has
checked your credit lately, the reasons can be assumed by
looking at who is doing the checking. For example if it’s
Toyota motor credit it is obvious you are shopping for a
car. The same goes with looking for a mortgage and so on.
I get many calls from clients telling me they do not have a
copy of all their bills with the worry that they will miss
something before filing a bankruptcy. So the first thing I
tell everyone to do is get a copy of their current credit
report which generally will list all creditors with account
numbers and addresses. This isn’t always the case but in
general everything you owe or are delinquent on should be
there. If it’s not, you will have to do your own due
diligence and really backtrack on your own to see what you
owe money on and the reason for why it isn’t showing up.
Sometimes the statute of limitations might have run and the
creditor just charged it off themselves. Sometimes they
just haven’t reported it for whatever reason. In any event
before you start looking to eliminate debt through the
methods listed on this site, I always recommend getting a
copy of your credit report. Everyone is allowed one free
credit report a year, and if you haven’t looked at yours,
then now is the time. I also recommend getting all three
bureaus because some creditors report on one and not on
others. I will provide you with the information on how you
can get a free report below and the addresses and links to
all three bureaus below. If you don’t qualify for the free
annual credit report, you can order your report from the
agencies for a nominal charge.
Each agency gives on
free credit report a year.
Equifax
PO BOX 740241
Atlanta GA 30374
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Transunion
PO BOX 2000
Chester PA 19022-2000
1800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Experian
PO BOX 2104
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Annual credit report
request form will get you all three reports at once for you
to review
Annualcreditreport.com
1-877-322-8228