What Is So Special About A Credit Report?In the modern world, credit reports are incredibly important. It is hard to imagine just how much of our lives are influenced by them and how much impact a poor credit file will have. For example, in most of the western world, we now need a good credit score to get a mobile telephone contract. If we suddenly appear to have a gambling or debt problem, we might lose our job, or have our overdraft cancelled or be refused insurance. In fact, there are many things for which a credit score will be taken such as opening a bank account, buying a new television or sofa on interest free credit, a store card, some insurance products and on and on. The high cost of a low credit score In short, it can be quite difficult for a person with a bad score to access many of the services that we now take for granted. This can mean that even though a cheaper option may exist elsewhere for a very similar product, the individual must continue to pay extra because of the state of their finances. This situation is most pronounced for people that need to borrow money because of debt problems and a poor credit score. There are large industries now providing legal financing for bankrupts and those with bad debt histories - at astonishingly high interest rates. Then of course, there are illegal money lenders who lend to (prey on?) those with the least ability to afford the exorbitant rates they charge, enforcing their loans with intimidation and violence. Guard your reputation It makes a certain amount of sense for employers to access the details of their staff, especially if the staff deal with financial matters. However, many large companies have taken to checking up on their key employees every 90 days or so. To many people, this seems to be overkill. Intrusion anyone? On top of this, many employers now routinely check up on the social media profiles of their staff, making it clear just how important it is to be aware of our personal reputation. This is one reason why this information is so important to an identity thief. Once a fraudster knows enough to be able to impersonate other people and apply for things in alternative identities, they literally have the keys to a goldmine, or many goldmines! Of course, their aim is to find people with a good credit history and the capacity to borrow more. By finding these people and making applications for more credit and store cards, higher limits and additional loans, they are able to bank their large illegal profits. In the UK, there are two main credit referencing agencies, they are Equifax and Experian . In the USA, there are three, the same as in the UK and the third being TransUnion . The following pages will explore the subject of credit reports in some depth:
|