Financial experts always recommend reading the credit report and checking the credit score regularly. By doing that, you can get a detailed insight of your credit habits, scan it for any errors, and make wise decisions accordingly.
You can check your Experian credit score absolutely for free online. But the key is to know the signs that indicate that it’s time to check your credit score and go through your credit report. Here are the three signs you must look for:
1. Not Checked for Around a Year?
You must get a free credit report from your credit bureau once a year. This means that even credit bureaus recommend that you must check your credit report at least once every year. If you have not done it yet and it’s been around a year, then it’s time to do it now.
You don’t need to wait for any other signs. Go get your report and go through it. Review it and take the next action depending on your findings. In your credit report, you will find several things that you must check:
- Your name and address
- Your employer’s name
- Revolving accounts
- Installment loans
- History of open and closed accounts
- Payment history
- Recent loan applications
- Collection accounts
- Public records
Also Read: Got Errors in Your CIBIL Report? Here’s How to Rectify Them to Improve Your Score
2. You are Planning to Make Significant Change
If you are making a significant change in your personal or financial life, then you must request your credit report and go through it. These changes may include the following:
- Home Upgrade: If you are planning to renovate your house and applying for a personal loan for home renovation, then you must check your credit report first. Since the lender would want to check your credit report, you must ensure beforehand that the information given in it is accurate and gives a positive reflection of your creditworthiness.
- New Loan: If you are applying for a new loan, whether personal, or business, it’s important to go through your credit report first. The details mentioned in your credit report will determine whether you will get your loan approval or not and how much interest rate you will have to pay.
- New Job: Your credit report reflects information about your employment history. So, if you recently changed your job, you must check your credit report to see if your details have correctly updated
- Marriage: If your marriage is about to end, you must check your credit report to identify all joint accounts, joint loans, and other financial obligations you need to distribute between the two. Doing this will help in making a clean break and separate the finances.
3. Noticed Suspicious Activity?
If you sense any suspicious activity in your finances, it may negatively impact your credit, personal finances, and identity. Therefore, if you notice anything suspicious, checking your credit report is worth it. These are some of such activities:
- Errors in the Bank Statements: It is possible that your credit card provider or bank might make simple mistakes. If you notice any such errors in your bank statement, you must look at your credit report and have it corrected. Such wrong entries may reduce your credit score and impact your creditworthiness.
- Missing Credit Card Bills: If you are not receiving any credit card bills or bank statements through mail, then someone might be trying to change your address or interfering with your financial details. A thief might be stealing mails from your mailbox to get access to your financial information.Going through your credit report will ensure that no accounts are being operational in your name and no existing accounts are being routed to another address.
- Collection Activities: If you are receiving collection letters or calls for your past due accounts, it may be a sign that someone is trying to get new credit in your name. It might be deliberate from a thief or confusion from the collector’s part, you need to stop such collection activities to secure your identity.
What You Can Do If You Notice a Discrepancy in Your Credit Report
If you pinpoint mistakes in your credit report, you must fix them immediately. Mistakes are common and can be easily corrected. Approach your credit bureau and dispute any incorrect or outdated items in your report. The bureau usually takes around a month’s time to inspect and respond.
So, whether you are making a major change in your finances or you notice suspicious activities regarding your accounts, the first step would be to check your credit score. If it has declined substantially without any obvious reason, then you must request your credit report and go through it. Due to this reason, keeping a check on your credit score is a must.
Clix Capital provides you a free online tool that you can use to Whether you are planning to apply for our business loan, or personal loan, it’s important to check your credit score to determine your eligibility. Clix Capital requires a score of at least 630 to accept your personal loan application and business must have a CMR score of up to 6, & your CIBIL score needs to be 700 or above to avail business loans. So, in that condition, this credit score checker tool comes of great help.
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