When you look at a credit report online at one of the many “free” websites, do you think you are seeing all the information found in your lender’s credit report? Are the credit reports the same or are they different? If they are different, what information is missing from those free online credit reports? To let you know, the credit reports found online are vastly different than the ones lenders use. A credit report found online is called a “consumer credit report” while a “lender’s credit report” is one used by lenders. You need to know the differences. Knowing what is in your lender’s credit report gives you accurate and real time information. The free consumer online credit reports give you a partial glimpse of your lender’s credit report – it does not give you the same information found in your lender’s credit reports. The more important question is; where can you get access to your lender’s credit report and review it?

No one wants to have a late payment show up on his / her credit report. Nevertheless, it happens. Due dates or recent charges are easily forgotten and before you know it, a 30-day late payment appears on your credit report. Your FICO® credit scores suddenly decline and you are left wondering, “Following a late payment, why does one FICO score for one consumer drop a lot more than another consumer's FICO score.”