What is «credit history»?

The credit history is a credit file on separately taken person or the company.

The credit history can be looked in the special report which make and update credit bureaus.

From a credit history it is possible to receive the following information:

1) Quantity and the size of the current and extinguished credits;
2) History of repayment of credits (timeliness of payment, delay, non-payment);
3) The size of current debts;
4) The general extent of credit history;
5) Record about bankruptcy;
6) The list of the companies which did inquiry about your name.

For what the credit history is necessary?

For banks, the condition of credit history of the person, allows to estimate a measure of financial risk at одалживании to it of money. I.e., the credit history forms a trust measure to the borrower. Easier to lend to the person about whom it is known that it borrowing and in time returns, than to about what it is not known anything.

In this connection, for people (and the companies) having good credit history, there was a possibility to obtain the loan in bank under more low interest, than for people with bad credit reputation.

Absence of credit history

Complicates process of reception of credit cards and other kinds of a loan; At reception of the credit, a condition of its granting more expensive, than for the person, at which good credit history; At purchase or real estate rent, the owner can change the decision on the size of the deposit in the big party.

Who collects the information on a credit history?

It is collected by credit bureaus. They do credit reports and update the information in them. The greatest and most popular credit bureaus in the USA are:

Experian. 701 Experian Parkway, Allen, Texas, 75013
Equifax Inc. P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, Georgia, 30374-0123
TransUnion. P.O. Box 97328, Jackson, MS 39288-7328

It is necessary to notice that banks and other credit institutions periodically (usually, once a month) send reports to credit bureaus with the information on changes on accounts of their clients.

For mess elimination, in the USA there is a system of full identification of people, by assignment to each person of individual number of social insurance — Social Security Number. Without such number, the credit history is difficult for identifying with the certain person since each of us can have namesakes.

According to the federal law of the USA, each person living in territory of the USA and having Social Security Number has the right of once a year — free of charge to receive the credit report from three credit agencies listed above.

To issue the demand for the annual report on a credit history — it is free, it is possible on a site: Federal Trade Commission — Protecting Americas Consumers