Credit Reports
How report pulls work and why the three bureaus disagree.
- How often should I check my credit report?
Review the report date when comparing credit information. In CreditRefresh, opening Home can start a results check when one is due, and Refresh may reuse recent reports instead of obtaining a new report immediately.
1 min read - How often does my credit report update in CreditRefresh?
CreditRefresh does not fetch a fresh report on an unconditional 30-day timer. Opening Home can start a results check when one is due, and Refresh can reuse recent report data.
1 min read - How does the Score & history page work?
CreditRefresh's Home score cards show VantageScore 3.0 for each bureau with available score data. Compare the score model, bureau and report date when another service shows a different number.
1 min read - What are monitoring alerts in CreditRefresh?
Monitoring & alerts shows a feed of changes your credit monitoring provider detects, like new inquiries, new accounts, and other changes across the bureaus. Seeing "No alerts right now" is normal and just means nothing new has been reported. Alerts never automatically start a dispute; you decide what to do. Monitoring runs through Refresh Monitoring, the provider behind your credit data.
2 min read - Will my credit score go up after a dispute deletes an item?
It depends on what was deleted and what else is in your credit file. No dispute service can guarantee a specific score change. Deleting a collection or an incorrect late payment often helps, but occasionally a deletion barely moves the score or can even lower it, and each bureau rescores its own file independently.
3 min read - How do student loans show up on my credit report?
Each student loan disbursement can appear as its own tradeline, so seeing many student loan entries is normal and not automatically an error. Federal and private loans report similarly but have different default timelines, deferment and forbearance should never show as late, and federal loan rehabilitation can remove a default notation while earlier late payments remain.
4 min read - What is a mixed credit file?
A mixed credit file happens when another person's accounts, addresses, or other information end up on your credit report, usually because of a similar name, Social Security number, or address. It is treated as a serious error because it links you to debt and payment history that are not yours. Fixing it means disputing the specific information that does not belong to you.
3 min read - What is a tradeline on a credit report?
A tradeline is a single account listed on your credit report, such as a credit card, auto loan, or mortgage. Each tradeline shows details like the date opened, balance, limit or original loan amount, payment history, and current status. Closed accounts stay on your report as tradelines and keep affecting your credit history.
3 min read - How do I read my credit report?
Every credit report has the same core sections: personal information, account history (your tradelines), collections, public records, and inquiries. Errors can hide in any of them, and the FTC found that 1 in 5 credit reports contain errors. Knowing the sections makes reviewing CreditRefresh's drafted letters easier, because you'll recognize what each letter points at.
4 min read - Can hard inquiries be removed from my credit report?
Only inquiries that shouldn't be there are removable: ones you never authorized, duplicates, or pulls from companies you have no relationship with. Those are disputable under the FCRA. Legitimate hard inquiries from applications you made stay for up to two years, and no dispute removes them early. An unrecognized inquiry is also worth treating as a possible identity theft signal.
3 min read - How does becoming an authorized user affect your credit?
When you are added as an authorized user on someone's credit card, that account's history can appear on your report: its age, limit, and payment record, good or bad. A long, clean, low-utilization account can help your file; a maxed-out or delinquent one imports its problems. You aren't liable for the debt, and after removal most bureaus drop the tradeline.
3 min read - How does closing a credit card affect your credit?
Closing a card removes its limit from your available credit, which raises your overall utilization if you carry balances anywhere, and that effect is immediate. The account doesn't vanish: a closed account in good standing keeps reporting and aging for years, so the age effect arrives much later. Closing is sometimes right anyway; do it with the utilization math in view.
3 min read - Credit report vs credit score: what's the difference?
A credit report is the record: your accounts, balances, payment history, inquiries, and public records, compiled by each bureau. A credit score is a number calculated from that record by a scoring model like FICO or VantageScore. The report is the input, the score is the output, which is why fixing report errors is the mechanism behind score repair: models can only score what the file says.
2 min read - FICO vs VantageScore: what's the difference?
FICO and VantageScore are competing scoring model families from different companies. Both currently score 300 to 850 from the same bureau data, but they weight it differently, which is why the same report produces different numbers. Most lender decisions use FICO; most free credit apps show VantageScore. Both compute from your reports, so report accuracy drives both.
3 min read - How does bankruptcy affect your credit report?
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can stay on your report for up to 10 years from the filing date; a Chapter 13 for 7 years. Each included account should report as 'included in bankruptcy' with a zero balance after discharge. The initial impact is heavy but fades, and bankruptcy reporting is error-prone: discharged debts showing balances, wrong dates, dismissed cases shown as discharged.
3 min read - How do late payments affect your credit score?
Creditors generally don't report a payment late until it is 30 days past due; severity then escalates at 60, 90, and 120 days. Payment history is the largest factor in scoring models, so late marks matter, but their weight depends on recency, severity, and frequency, and fades with age. Late payments report for 7 years. A late mark wrong in any detail is disputable.
3 min read - What is length of credit history?
Length of credit history measures how long you have used credit: the age of your oldest account, the average age of all accounts, and the age of specific account types. It is a moderate scoring factor. It rewards patience, which is why keeping old accounts open usually helps and closing your oldest card can eventually shorten your average age. Wrong open dates distort it.
3 min read - What is a derogatory mark?
A derogatory mark is any negative item on your credit report signaling missed obligations: late payments, collections, charge-offs, repossessions, foreclosures, settled accounts, and bankruptcies. Most may report for 7 years (Chapter 7 bankruptcy for 10), and their weight fades with age. Marks that fail accuracy, verifiability, or timing tests are disputable.
3 min read - What is a thin credit file?
A thin credit file is a report with too little history for scoring models to rate reliably, usually few or no open accounts. It is common for young adults, recent immigrants, and long-time cash users. Thin-file consumers can be credit invisible (no score) or score below their reliability. The fixes are additive: secured cards, credit-builder loans, AU status, rent reporting.
3 min read - What is credit mix?
Credit mix is the variety of account types on your report: revolving credit (cards, lines of credit) and installment credit (auto, student, mortgage, personal loans). Scoring models give it modest weight as a signal you can manage different obligations. It is not worth opening accounts to improve. Mix errors, like a card reported as a loan, are disputable.
2 min read - What's a good credit score?
Most credit scores run from 300 to 850. In the common FICO ranges, 800+ is exceptional, 740–799 is very good, 670–739 is good, 580–669 is fair, and below 580 is poor. Lenders generally treat roughly 670 and up as solid, and 740+ usually unlocks the best rates. What counts as 'good' depends on the lender and the score model, but higher always means lower perceived risk.
3 min read - What is credit utilization and how does it affect my score?
Credit utilization is how much of your available revolving credit you're using — your balances divided by your credit limits. It's one of the biggest factors in your score, usually second only to payment history. Lower is better: many lenders look for under 30%, and under 10% is ideal. High utilization can drop your score fast, but it's also one of the quickest things to fix.
3 min read - Why are my three credit scores different?
Your three credit scores differ because the bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — operate independently, receive different data from different creditors, update on different schedules, and feed that data into different scoring models. Gaps of 10 to 50 points are normal. Bigger gaps usually signal that one bureau is missing information or has a reporting error worth disputing.
3 min read - What's the difference between a soft pull and a hard pull?
A soft pull is a credit check that doesn't affect your score and isn't visible to other lenders — covering things like checking your own credit, pre-approval offers, and the pulls CreditRefresh runs on your reports. A hard pull is a credit check tied to a credit application that does affect your score, usually by a small amount, and stays visible to lenders for two years.
3 min read - What factors actually determine my credit score?
The standard FICO credit score is built from five factors: payment history (35%), credit utilization (30%), length of credit history (15%), credit mix (10%), and new credit (10%). Payment history and utilization together account for two-thirds of the score, which is why disputing inaccurate late payments and incorrect balances tends to move scores the most.
4 min read