BY Zalutsky & Pinski, Ltd
Check Your Numbers
In between million dollar commercials, there will be a football game played today. For those of us entered in a pool at work or our favorite hangout, we’ll be keeping an eye on every change in score. While these scores can be profitable, they are far less important than your credit score. The exact formula for determining your credit score is unknown. However, factors including credit history, credit usage, and recent activity all play a part in determining how current and potential creditors see you. This number will impact your ability to get a credit card, a student loan, a car loan, or even rent an apartment. This score is even used to calculate how much you pay for car insurance. Like it or not to most of your creditors, now and in the future, you are nothing more than just a number.
That’s why making sure your score is accurate is so important. In the coming weeks, we will talk about good and bad scores and how to get the former and ditch the latter. For now, the focus should be on the present and whether or not your credit report is accurate. Credit reports often contain errors. Some are merely mistakes while others are signs that you’ve been the victim of identity theft. For example, John Doe’s credit report says he is past due with the gas company even though he just moved out on his own for the first time last week. Now this could be the gas company mistaking John for his father who is also named John. However, John could also have had his identity stolen and unwittingly allowed another to use and abuse his credit. Many people don’t realize they are the victim of fraud until they see their credit report.
So before you even look at your score, make sure what’s being reported about you is true. If you discover errors, you can file a dispute with credit reporting agency or contact the creditor directly. For further information on report errors contact the credit bureau or give us a call 312-767-0111.
Enjoy the game today. We’ll talk about the score that really counts again next week!
