10 Most Common Negative Items On Your Credit Report
Negative items on your credit report can stick around for a long time. And your credit history matters. It gives creditors and merchants insight into your financial character. These individuals consider the report to be a complete picture of your finances and responsibility.
This kind of negative information has a strong voice when you’re being evaluated for home loans, interest rates, and more. But what are the most common negative items on a credit report? Keep reading to discover the top 10 and what you should know about these derogatory marks that may affect your credit score.
10 Most Common Negative Items Reported
1. Collections (Medical and General)
Creditors may give up on collecting a debt, but they don’t cease efforts altogether. Your past due account is often turned over to a collection agency. The agency collects a percentage of what’s collected, or they buy the account outright. Paying off the collections will not make the item vanish either. It can hang out on your credit report for longer than you’d like.
2. Charge Offs
Charge offs occur when late payments have accumulated. It’s what leads to the collections discussed above. Typically, after 6 months, a creditor may issue a charge off. It means that they’ve deemed your account a loss rather than a receivable. They’ve given up on collecting the debt themselves.
3. Late Payments – One of the Most Common Negative Items on Your Credit Report
This is one of the most common of the “most common” list. They’re usually reported when you’re 30 days late on a payment. What you may not know is this dark mark lingers. If you miss your December 15th credit card payment and don’t pay until January 30th, that late payment item appears on your report. And it stays there for up to seven years, even if you catch up and pay the past due amount.
4. Hard Inquiries
You’ve maybe heard them referred to as “hard pulls.” These occur when lenders or creditors check your credit history while making a lending decision. They’re common if you’re applying for a mortgage, loan, or credit card. Multiple hard inquiries can peg you as a high-risk customer with limited cash, prepared to accumulate a great deal of debt.
5. Foreclosures
Foreclosures have tremendous effects on credit scores. A string of late home mortgage payments often forces a lender to take action. They use foreclosure as a means of obtaining property and repaying the debt.
6. Bankruptcies
In this particular federal legal process, you declare that you are unable to repay your debts. You may file for bankruptcy and think that all your past due accounts are erased. That’s not true. Those accounts will remain, and each will be connected to the bankruptcy.
7. Repossessions
If you take out a loan on a possession, like a car or a boat, that possession itself becomes collateral. It’s the security for the loan. Repossession is how a lender may regain their lost income due to non-payment. When it occurs, the lender seizes the property, and you’re no longer the owner. You are, however, the owner of the loan you acquired to pay for it. And you will see this reflected on your credit report.
8. Student Loans
Despite popular belief, student loans do appear on your credit report. And they can have a negative impact if you’re missing payments or move into loan default.
9. Incorrect Profile Information
Your credit profile may contain inaccurate information about where you live and how you pay your bills. This can, of course, affect your ability to secure major purchases like a home, insurance, and automobiles. It can even cause issues when applying for a job.
10. Fraudulent Accounts
Unfortunately, even if you guard against identity theft, it can still happen. When someone uses your personal information to commit fraud, the activity appears in your name. A thief may open a new credit card with your personal info. They fail to pay the bills, you see the delinquent account on your report, and your credit score suffers.
WJA Can Help with It All
Every negative item on this list – we’ve been there and helped with that. White, Jacobs & Associates achieves results with an aggressive alternative to traditional credit repair. We employ talented and passionate credit analysts, a research team, and an in-house attorney. All of these resources combine to make us a standout in the industry.
Contact us today for your no-cost consultation. If you’re a good fit for our tailored-to-you program, we’ll let you know. Don’t let these negative items on your credit report haunt you any longer. Let us help you get your buying power back.