Every 12 months you can get a free credit report from Equifax online or one of the other two credit bureaus, Experian or TransUnion. This must be done at your request and resorts under the Fair and Accurate Transaction Act. It is important to take into account that this report do not include your credit scores which you will have to purchase separately. Your personal information came from the credit applications you had completed in the past. This usually includes your name, identity number, date of birth, current as well as recent addresses and current and previous employers. Your credit history contains all the detailed information about credit accounts opened in your name and if you were an authorized user for example the credit card of your spouse. These details are from creditors with which you have an account. This will include the date when you opened the account, your credit limit or the amount of the loan, term of payment, balance as well as details which will show if you have paid it on time. Inactive or closed accounts will remain on your report for 7 to 11 years from the date of their last activity which will depend on the manner in which you’ve paid them.

It is important to keep in mind that when you want to get a free credit report from Equifax online these type of agencies record all inquiries whenever it should happen that your report is revealed to any other creditor or party. These parties are usually a service provider, lender, insurer or landlord and these inquiries will stay on your report for about two years. All matters of public record which are obtained from government sources like courts of law which include bankruptcies, liens and even child support which is overdue may appear on your report and can stay on your report for 7 years. Your savings or checking accounts, charged-off debts, bankruptcies older than 10 years as well as debts placed for collection older than 7 years, ethnicity, gender, political affiliation, religion, criminal records or medical history does not appear on your report. It is a fact tht your credit score is obtained by the information on your report, but does not form part of your file. You can request this report by visiting their website, phoning them or write them and the details are available online. Any negative information in this report are obtained from others who granted you credit and which is reported to this credit bureau as well as details in your public information or from collection agencies.

Anyone who has an established business relationship with this bureau or who has a permissible purpose according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act may get a copy of your report. This purpose includes: insurance, employment, to consider a loan application or to offer credit as well as collection of debt. The groups, individuals or companies that may have such a purpose include: insurance companies, landlords, potential lenders, employers or potential employers (you must give written consent), companies who with your permission monitor your credit activity, which includes signs of identity theft, local or state child support agencies, collection agencies, institutions considering an application for a government benefit or license as well as others who have a business relationship with the bureau with your written permission to get a copy of your report. Your file can also be given to any third party who pursues you to the requirements of any legal procedure or a court order. When all this information is taken into account you can see how important is to keep track of your credit history. Your credit score is calculated on details contained in your file and is usually established by using the following: amounts owed, your payment history, new credit, length of your credit record as well as type of credit used. However there are different models that can be used to calculate your score all based on the information in your file. Obtaining a free credit report from Equifax online as well as any other details which will affect your file is now readily available via the Internet.