— Shelton Humphrey @ 2:17 am — 
December 2, 2010Regularly reviewing the credit report is an essential step in maintaining and building good credit. Fortunately, every resident of the United States is entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These agencies provide credit reports that are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and are the same agencies used by prospective lenders and employers to examine applicants’ credit scores.
Information contained on a credit report includes credit repayment history, previous residency information, past legal issues, and other facts that are indicative of a person’s financial stability. Ensur
All this credit stuff can get pretty complicated.
But two things you should have a handle on are credit reports and credit scores. Each are important in their own right, and both are necessary to assess your overall standing as a consumer.
While the pair certainly overlap, they are two entirely different things.
Credit Reports
A credit report contains a wealth of information about you, including basics like your name, address, social security number, and employment history.
Additionally, your credit report will list your credit history, with information on the types of accounts you’ve got open, how long they’ve been established, what their associated balances are, and if they’re current or derogatory (collections, charge-offs).
Any recent credit inquiries will also show up on a credit report so creditors can determine if you’ve been shopping around for new credit.
While all this information can be very helpful to both consumers and creditors, both parties seem to be most interested in credit scores.
Credit Scores
A credit score is simply a three-digit number between 300-850 (credit score range) for Fico scores, and slightly higher for VantageScore.
Generally, a credit report will contain three credit scores, one for each of the main credit bureaus. These c