Information included in a credit report

The information included in your credit report includes your addresses, public records, hard inquiries, collections and accounts.  Your address history generally has no bearing on your credit unless you obtain a new address every few months.  This is basically your contact information and it may include places that you work. Public records generally just include judgments and bankruptcies.  If you have ever been sued, lost and owe someone money this will most likely appear in your credit file.  The credit report does not contain information related to evictions, job losses or things of that nature it is only for money owed.  The most damaging thing that be included is a bankruptcy.  These stay on your credit for 10 years.  Even if you filed bankruptcy and did not see it through it will still stay on your report.  Filing a bankruptcy should always be a last resort. The hard inquiry section just shows places where you have applied for credit in the last two years.  These have little impact on your credit unless you have applied for six or more places for credit in the past few months.  Just be careful when you apply for credit or when any one tries to pull your credit. The account section has the most effect on your credit.  It includes mortgages, car loans, credit cards and any one who has extended you a line of credit.  The account section could have all positive items and thus making your score above 800 or it could be the reason you can not obtain any credit.  Even if one account reports negative it could drastically lower score and make obtaining financing very challenging.  The account section negative marks are generally late payments, charge-off or a repossession for a car.  Make sure you dispute any credit errors or inaccuracies you find here. The collection section only contains derogatory marks.  Collections, paid or unpaid, are never a good thing to have on your credit.  Although they can be the easiest to remove whether through disputes or pay to delete, they still need to given the proper time and energy.