Credit Repair Terms Defined
When navigating the murky waters of credit repair, it is easy to become lost. The world of credit repair has its own language and its own terms, and they can often be confusing. Following are some common credit repair terms that you may come across when attempting to repair your credit:
Credit bureau – A credit bureau, otherwise known as a consumer reporting agency (CRA), is an organization that collects information – both financial and personal – on consumers from various sources. Credit bureaus then use this consumer credit information to create reports that are in turn used to determine a person’s credit history and, ultimately, credit score. There are three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experion and TransUnion. When working on credit repair, it is important to obtain a credit report from each of the three credit bureaus, rather than relying on the information from just one credit bureau.
Credit history- This is a history of all aspects of a consumer’s credit, or, in other words, a history of your financial information. It includes everything from your debt payments and whether they have been on time or not to the credit cards you have had opened in your name, whether they are currently active or have been closed.
Credit report- A credit report compiles your credit history as well as some personal information such as former addresses and aliases into one document. Credit reports are compiled by the three credit bureaus, and they include your history of credit payments, outstanding debt and open lines of credit, among other information. Credit reports are essential to credit report – careful examination of credit reports is the first step in credit repair.
Credit risk score- Otherwise known as your credit score or FICO score, your credit risk score is a numerical figure that is created based on the information found on your credit report. Credit risk scores are created from a mathematical calculation based on your credit report information. Each credit bureau uses a slightly different formula, so your credit risk score will most likely be different from each credit bureau. Your credit risk score is used by potential lenders to determine your lending risk; it essentially ranks you, giving a mathematical value to your credit worthiness. A good credit risk score is considered to be 700 or above.
Credit worthiness- Lenders estimate your credit worthiness based on your credit risk score and the information provided on your credit report. Credit worthiness is an estimation by lenders of whether or not you are deemed a good risk for a loan.
It is possible to repair your credit on your own. However, considering the many credit repair terms as well as the various procedures necessary to achieve credit repair, many people choose to work with a credit repair company to repair their credit.