A merged credit report allows a consumer to see their three credit reports in a simple and concise format. There are three reporting bureaus that creditors use to view credit scores. While these bureaus usually have the same information it is possible for them to have differences as well.
When this happens a consumer may see a different credit score between the three bureaus. This can be bad if a creditor relies on the bureau that has the lowest score, and this means that a consumer must know what all three agencies are reporting when they are trying for new credit such as an Ontario automobile loan. A merged credit report is usually as simple to read as an ordinary credit report except it will list data from all three bureaus and which information came from which.
The first item on a credit report is usually the open accounts. The accounts will be listed by type, such as installment loan, revolving balance, credit limit, and the time the account has been open. This section will also show the monthly payments on the account and whether they were met on time. Any current open vehicle financing will show up in this section. Any late payments in this section may have a significant impact on a consumer’s credit score. The total credit utilization will be listed on the credit report and this is another serious factor in determining a consumer’s credit score. Consumers in Ontario should maintain a variety of different types of accounts such as installment loans, automobile loans, mortgages and credit lines to maximize their credit score.
The second item on a credit report is usually the credit inquiries on the account. There are hard inquiries and soft inquiries. Soft inquiries are performed by creditors without permission from the consumer. They are usually just to extend preapproved credit lines. They do not affect the consumer’s credit report. Hard inquiries do affect the consumer’s credit report and they are listed any time the consumer requests a new line of credit. Ontario loans like when buying your first used automobile loans are usually consolidated into a single credit pull regardless of how many credit checks are performed, as long as they are within the same time period. Credit lines like credit cards are usually listed as individual credit pulls. Any hard inquiries that the consumer does not recognize should be questioned.
The third section of a credit report will be any adverse actions against the consumer. This includes any accounts that have been moved to collections, bankruptcies and foreclosures.