A detailed report that is prepared on the basis of the credit history is called a Credit Report. Credit Reports are used by the Credit Bureaus to analyze a person’s limit for a loan. These reports include information like the house address, bank name, contact details, and credit history.
The report contains well-organized information to avoid any confusion. The Credit Report Data is mainly classified under three different categories, mentioned below, for easy access:
- Your Personal Details like address, contact number, etc.
- Information on Tradelines, which is the collection of credit details of the particular customer.
- Information on whether the person was involved in any mischievous act with the bank.
It’s about time that you learn more about the different facets of the Credit Report. So, here we present you with the necessary details on Credit Report for you to understand it better!
Benefits of a Credit Report
Insurers and Creditors check the respective person’s credit report before giving him/her a loan. They also take permission from Credit Bureaus to take a copy of the credit report, which is a paid agreement between the insurer and the Credit Bureau. The Credit Bureau earns money by giving a copy of the report to the creditor or insurer.
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are some of the popular Credit Bureaus. And according to the Act for Fair Credit – Credit Bureaus are to give away one report every year for free. Jobless or people involved in social works should also be given a free report.
- To improve your score by monitoring it daily.
- Check if any suspicious activities are happening through your card, and handle the situation immediately if any such activity is noticed.
- Calculate your credit history and generate a report based on your credit history.
- Delinquency or public records are displayed along with other details of the report.
Maintaining a good credit score will lead to good credit history, on the basis of which you will eventually get a loan of a higher amount in the future. The chances of your application getting approved will also get higher. Therefore, it is recommended to keep an eye on your credit report and score to work on it accordingly.
Generation of a Credit Report
Once the loan-taker repays the loan, a report is generated. The duration taken to repay the loan will increase your credit score. So, if you pay the whole amount within the given time, you create a good history & also a good score. Thus, you have a good report. As a result of which, your chances of getting a loan gets higher on your next application for a loan.
Choosing a Credit Report Monitoring Service Provider
Monitoring the Credit Report is important in order to ensure that everything is working normally. This can save you from all those frauds that happen with your account, viz. Card debit theft, social security number theft, et al. And hence, regular monitoring is recommended.
The increase in demand for credit scores encourages people to maintain a good credit report. The increased demand for the same has also led to an increase in the number of credit report monitoring service providers.
Each service provider has its fair share of business tactics and offers to attract customers. Some of these service providers are paid, and some work free of cost. You can also request such credit reports and check them manually by yourself. But, while selecting a service provider, make sure that you pick the one who’s going to provide you with safety and regular monitoring based on the popular three Credit Bureaus.
Best Monitoring Services
Identity Guard
Guard is one of the best monitoring service providers. It detects any unusual activity in your account and helps you keep track of your credit score and credit history. They have premium plans for families, which is $23.33 per month. And for an individual, the minimum premium plan is $16.67 per month. They monitor your report with all the three bureaus to inculcate the changes needed. Your social security number is cross-checked with all big collections of data stored in huge servers.
If you can’t afford big plans, you can purchase their monthly plans to get a score every month, but the report will not be monitored by the three-bureaus. You can keep your family details private using the family plan. They have 3 categories under the family plan that is Value, Premiere, and Total, and for each, it is priced at $10.00, $23.33, and $20, respectively, per month.
Privacy Guard
Guard is similar to Identity Guard and monitors credit reports with all three bureaus. You enroll in their only credit protection premium plan, which costs around $19.99 per month or can avail of their total plan along with credit protection, which is around $24.99 per month. Similarly, they provide only the Identity Protection Premium Plan, which costs $9.99 per month or can avail complete protection at $24.99 per month.
Their total plan will have a track of things like public and dark web scanning, social security number monitoring, driver’s license and passport monitoring, bank account monitoring, debit and credit card monitoring, monthly triple- bureau credit score tracking, 24/7 triple- bureau daily credit monitoring., et al. So, the total protection plan covers the entire monitoring of your credit report.
LifeLock
LifeLock provides you with a complete identity of your credit report in the times when identity and information theft are one of the major issues.
They have three types of plans – LifeLock Standards, LifeLock Advantage, LifeLock Ultimate Plus, where the LifeLock Ultimate comes with a combined benefit of both the other plans viz. Standards and Advantage, along with other added features. It provides Identity & Social Security Number Alerts; Credit Monitoring is based on three bureaus, Bank/Credit Card activities, and unusual activities in your account are reported through alerts.
TransUnion Credit Monitoring
Get your card monitored using the TransUnion monitoring service. They offer complete protection for your card. If the information breachers steal your information and create a new account in your name using social security number, then it will be spotted and informed to you.
You can take their special premium plans, which are $19.95 per month. They have a $1 million identity theft protection scheme along with that; they have a team of specialists to provide 24*7 customer service. You can get a TransUnion credit score and report every day. They also come with the feature of locking and unlocking your report from TransUnion or any other bureau. This is one of the simplest and direct monitoring systems.
MyFICO
MyFICO is very popular for its identity theft protection. Their premium plans provide complete protection to your card and services; it comes with $1 million identity theft insurance. It can restore your identity in case of theft and also protect you if you lose your wallet.
They have three categories in their premium plan, i.e., Fico Basic, Fico Advanced, and Fico Premier. Fico Basic, at a basic cost of $19.95, gives you a credit score and credit report along with identity theft protection. This is best for someone to start monitoring their cards. Also, to note in a basic plan, you are provided with only an Experian report and not based on all three bureaus.
Read More: Check FICO For Free Score And Improve Your Credit Score
If you want a report based on all the three bureaus, then Fico Advance is the one for you. It starts at $29.95 per month, provides 24*7 identity restoration, $1 million identity theft insurance, Fico Scores, identity monitoring, and Score and Credit monitoring. The only drawback of this plan is that it gives updates only every 3 months.
Fico Premier is the combination of Fico Basic and Fico Advance. It provides updates every month. The plan starts at $39.95 per month; it covers all three bureaus and provides identity protection along with 24*7 identity restoration.
Money Tips
Just as their name, they provide money tips and tricks to their customers, along with each of their premium plans. They have different plans based on people’s needs and budgets but have made sure to include money tips in every plan.
They have three popular categories of plans, and they are categorized as Essential, Premium, and Elite. Essential is a pro basic plan that provides the customer with the TransUnion credit score as well as a credit report, along with a detailed instruction to handle the ‘Identity Theft’; and that too all this for FREE. This is the best plan for anyone who wants their credit report and score from TransUnion for free.
Their Premium plan includes all the features of the Essential Plan along with some extra benefits, viz, monitoring your social security number, postage services, and court record. They also have $1 million identity theft insurance for its premium users. The whole starts at $11.95 per month.
The Elite Plan is the costliest one amongst all the three-available plans of Money Tips. But it also comes loaded with all the advantageous features needed for monitoring your financial life. Taking this plan is the best way of updating your financial management.
Along with the benefits of the Essential & Premium plans, this one comes with several other great services like providing $1 million insurance if your family becomes a victim of identity theft. They also provide 24*7 fraud alerts if they notice any suspicious activity over your bank account, investment accounts, credit cards, mortgage, or any car loans. They take care of the complete financial part of your life on your behalf and hence shunning away that extra stress from your life.
Closing Thoughts
There are several other services available online, but the ones mentioned here are a few of the best ones. TransUnion Credit Monitoring is one of the best card monitoring services, and you can choose any one service to protect your card from identity theft.
Some cards only provide credit card protection; others protect identity theft only. But it is recommended to wisely choose the one with maximum benefits. Still, have some queries regarding this entire Credit Reports monitoring & it’s service providers? Feel free to reach out to us here. Or got some suggestions to make? Well, we’re all ears for that too!
Read More:
10 Must-Watch Movies For Finance Professionals
Top 16 Investing Quotes Of All Time
Keep up the good piece of work, I read few articles on this internet site and I believe that your website is interesting and has got bands of good info. Keep writing!
I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. very helpful blog and keep posting!