The Top Credit Report Services of 2014

Keeping track of your finances should be a priority and when it comes to employing a companies' services to give you the information that you need, you'll want to be sure that they're an organization that you can trust. At Top Consumer Rankings, we get to know the latest and greatest credit report companies on the market and offer you a free credit report service comparison tool so that you can find the company that's right for you. We'll rank and rate each company based on our Score Rating criteria and you can trust that all opinions expressed are our own. All that we receive in return is a small bonus from advertising if you choose one of the companies that we've featured.

Disclaimer: By providing you with free information on the products and services that you can expect from our featured credit report companies, we'll receive a small commission if you choose to use our link to refer you to the seller's site. We won't ever allow this to influence any of the information that we provide and you can expect to see the best of these companies displayed higher, in order to bring you the best offers and deals to go hand in hand with relevant information about the company.

If you're hoping to obtain credit either now or in the near future, then you'll understand how important it is to obtain a credit report. These reports will be used alongside your credit score to evaluate how worthy you are to receive their financial credit. By getting to know your credit report, you'll be able to understand how your financial situation may look to a creditor. With this hindsight, you can modify, alter and put new measures in to effect to better improve your financial standing and increase your chances of receiving credit.

Finding the Best Credit Report Agency

Here's a few valid points to bear in mind when you're looking for the right credit agency:

• Your free credit reports may be subject to a report count. This means that you'll be limited on the number of free reports you can receive.
• Check that your type of report will be the same type as your creditor will be viewing. If a company offers a single type of report, then this may limit you.
• Paid services are often a better alternative to free services as they will include a much broader range of features, which can be particularly useful if you want a collection of reports from different report systems.
• Always be wary of websites that offer free credit reports with no catches. These can often be scams that intend to trap and exploit your personal information.

Why it's so Important to Check Your Credit Report and Credit Score

You are entitled to know the history of your credit reports in the same way as a creditor, so here are a few reasons why knowing your report may be beneficial to you:

• You may want to evaluate whether all of the information within your report is accurate. For example; your bank may have stated a late payment, but you may know otherwise and with the evidence, you could dispute this statement and improve your credit standing if successful.
• Knowing your credit score will help you to understand how viable you are to receive credit in the future.
• You can check on the documented presence of past court judgements, bankruptcies and foreclosures; all of which should only be present for a specific amount of time, allowing you to plan your credit requests more efficiently.
• You will be able to check for cases of identity theft and credit card fraud by evaluating your credit report.

Credit Reports

In simple terms, a credit report is a document that contains valid information about your credit history. It will include a breakdown of every source of credit that you've received in the past, from bank loans to mobile phone contracts and everything in between. A credit report will also track the method and rate at which you paid, including information on late repayments. Any potential lender or creditor will refer to your credit report to gain a better understanding on whether or not you will be reliable when it comes to repaying the money lent to you. If your credit report is unsatisfactory, they may refuse you credit outright, or increase your interest rate for repayments.

Credit Scoring

Once your credit report has been evaluated, you will be assigned a credit score. This number represents how reliable you may be when it comes to repayments, or your 'creditworthiness'. The number is calculated by scoring specific variables within your credit history; the higher your credit score, the lower your interest rate and potential to obtain credit will be.

The Difference Between Credit Reports and Credit Scores

Although they may sound similar, they actually provide different information to a potential creditor. Your credit report will contain detailed information on your credit history including payments that you made on time or late, as well as information on previous queries about your credit history. A credit score on the other hand will typically provide a creditor with a brief overview of how creditworthy you are as an individual.

FICO Credit Score

If you live in the United States, you'll find that FICO is the most commonly used credit scoring system available. Your FICO credit score is calculated by evaluating these five variables:

• The amount of money that you owe that is yet to be repaid.
• The types of credit that you have obtained in the past.
• Any new credit that you have obtained.
• The length of your credit history.
• Your payment history, which will account for 35% of your overall FICO credit score.

Your FICO score will indicate one of the following results:

• Under 640 - 640 or less is considered a very low score and you may struggle to obtain credit. You may also be expected to pay higher interest rates if you do obtain credit.
• 641 to 680 - This is a reasonable score, although you may still have to pay a higher than average rate of interest.
• 681 to 720 - This is a good credit score and you'll be exposed to a decent amount of credit options with attractive interest rates included.
• Over 721 - This score is considered excellent and you'll find that creditors will want you as a customer. You shouldn't have any difficulty obtaining credit and a good interest rate.

Vantage3 Credit Scoring

Another popular credit scoring system in the United States is Vantage3. Several large companies such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion use this system and the results depend on the following six variables:

• Your credit utilization/ consumption. This refers to the amount of credit that you use when compared to the amount of credit that you have available.
• Recent credit obtained.
• Your credit balances (outstanding and present).
• Credit available to you.
• The depth of your credit.
• Your payment history.

Although there is a further variable than FICO, the scoring results for Vantage3 may be interpreted in much the same way as with FICO scores.