Understanding Your Credit Report.

Published by White Jacobs & Associates. General educational information only — not personalized financial, credit, legal, or tax advice.

How Credit Reports Work

Credit reports are compiled by consumer reporting agencies from information reported by lenders, collection agencies, courts, and other data furnishers. The exact information included — and how it's organized — can vary from one reporting agency to another, which is one reason a report can look different depending on where it's pulled from.

What Information Credit Reports Commonly Contain

• Account history
• Payment status
• Credit limits
• Balances
• Public-record information, where applicable
• Collection accounts
• Recent credit inquiries

What May Affect a Credit Score

Credit scoring models generally consider factors such as:

• Payment history
• Credit utilization (balances relative to available credit)
• Length of credit history
• Types of accounts (account mix)
• Recent applications or inquiries

Scoring models and their weighting differ by provider, and no single action guarantees a particular score change.

How to Obtain Your Reports

Consumers can request their own credit reports directly. AnnualCreditReport.com is the federally authorized website for free credit reports. White Jacobs & Associates is not affiliated with the federal government, AnnualCreditReport.com, or any credit bureau.

How to Review Your Reports

When reviewing a credit report, consider checking:

• Your name, address, and other personal information for accuracy
• Account information, dates, and balances for accuracy and completeness
• Payment status on each account
• Any unfamiliar accounts or inquiries

This guide does not promise removals, corrections, deletions, disputes, score increases, or any particular result. Consumers may contact credit bureaus or furnishers directly with questions about their own reports.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring Any Financial-Service Provider

• What services are actually being provided?
• What are the total fees?
• When are fees charged?
• What credentials or licenses does the provider have?
• What risks should I understand?
• What is the cancellation policy?
• Are there actions I can take myself?
• Are any results being guaranteed?

About the Publisher

This educational resource is published by White Jacobs & Associates to help consumers better understand credit reports, credit-scoring factors, and publicly available consumer resources. White Jacobs & Associates is a private company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of any government agency, credit bureau, nonprofit credit counseling organization, or law firm.

White Jacobs & Associates
200 Chisholm Place, Suite 250
Plano, Texas 75075
(972) 231-0452 · info@whitejacobs.org