6 Hidden Values in Your Credit Report

A provision in the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives everyone access to a free report once per year -- be sure to get yours and discover 6 potentially valuable chunks of information:

#1 - a snapshot of your credit profile

While this one may be the most obvious value proposition in your credit report, it also perhaps the most practical.  Businesses and agencies access our credit reports all the time to gather insights into our financial conditions; I once worked a job that ran a credit check on me at least once a year to make sure I wasn't under significant financial pressures.  When viewing your own report, take a minute to consider the information from the perspective of a potential employer or loan underwriter -- does anything stand out as particularly troubling?

#2 - a quick test for identity theft

The three different reporting agencies that participate in this program all represent the data in their own way, but each report will summarize open lines of credit as well as offer details specific to each line.  If you are concerned with the possibility of being a victim of identity theft, these reports should be a shortcut to finding evidence of such theft.  Accounts that are listed as "delinquent" or as having "issues" may represent lines of credit opened in your name by someone else.  Just skimming through the report may also reveal loans that you do not recognize -- a sign that something is likely amiss.

#3 - a jog for the memory

This one surprised me: your credit report includes data about your current and previous addresses, phone numbers, and employers.  For some of us who have moved around a bit, this reference may be a useful reminder of the particulars of those pieces of history (seriously, can you remember all of the phone numbers used in your adult life?)

#4 - loan specific info

Similar to number 3 above, your credit report can also be useful in remembering specifics of important loans that may be a little old now.  For instance, did you open that car loan in 2002 or 2003?  What did you pay for it back then?

On my own report, I was excited to find the actual Fannie Mae account number for my mortgage -- perhaps a random bit of trivia for most people, but if you get really interested in the life of your particular loan, this info is crucial.

#5 - drags on your credit

People with a long history of credit may find accounts on their report that have been long unused, maybe a department store card or a credit line opened to buy furniture that no longer carry a balance but represent a claim on their overall credit capacity.  In these cases, people may wish to formally close those unused accounts to "free up" credit for other uses, and to prevent future fraud on those unnecessary credit lines.

#6 - insights on your rights

The fine print following my data on one report included this information on our rights as consumers:

"You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report.  Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-567-8688 (888-5OPTOUT)."