To Your Credit

Understanding your credit report is no easy task. The three credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, are private businesses that hold our financial histories in their hands. Every credit card, missed/late payment, home mortgage, and car loan are catalogued on our credit reports, along with our social security numbers, driver's license numbers, and personal data histories. You cannot opt out. This information is sold to lenders who are wanting to know how reliable you are in repaying debt.

Some terms to know:

Credit bureaus: One key point to understanding credit bureaus is to realize that you are not the consumer when it comes to these agencies: you, or more accurately your data, are the product. Historically, the bureaus have had control of how we can access, review, and control our own information.

The public became more aware of the power of these private businesses after the 2017 Equifax breach, in which the data of over 140 million Americans was hacked. Since then, consumers have (a little) more say in how their credit reports are shared.

Credit score: Your record of reliability is represented by your credit score, which is a result of a number of factors found in your reports. The higher your score, the better credit terms available to you.

Credit report: You have the right to a free credit report (not credit score) from each of the three agencies each year. Credit reports do not contain your credit score.

Credit freeze: Freezing your credit is the best way to prevent others from taking out credit in your name (identity fraud). When you freeze your credit, you cannot take out a loan without “unfreezing” it first, which only you can do with the password you create.

Fraud alert: A fraud alert allows creditors to get a copy of your credit report as long as they verify your identity. For example, the business must call you to verify whether you are the person making the credit request. There are various levels of fraud alerts, depending on your circumstances.

Finally, know that there are many other private businesses that seek to profit from our collective anxiety over identity theft and credit reports in general. While these are not necessarily scams, they are often products that duplicate what could be acquired for free. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns regarding your credit report.

Author Info: Beatitudes Campus

At the foundation of beatitudes campus is the vision of Church of the Beatitudes pastors and congregation members to create a better alternative for older adults than the nursing homes of the early 1960s. The type of community they imagined was the first of its kind in Arizona. Beatitudes Campus is proud to continue the legacy of our founders, by being a leader in the field of aging services for over 50 years.