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There are a lot of things that will appear on your credit report. For example, 35% of your credit report is based on your “credit history,” or how well you’ve handled credit. If you’ve missed payments, had a judgment against you or a debt moved to a collection agency, this would be on your report. However, there are a number of things that won’t appear on your report – for better or for worse.
Your income
While you might think the amount of money you earn would have an effect on your credit report, it never includes your income. The reason for this is because income is not thought to be a measure of how creditworthy you are. The difference is that your credit scores and credit reports are designed to let a creditor know if you’re likely to make a payment not whether you have the financial ability to make a payment. In addition your salary, there are other income sources that won’t show up such as unemployment benefits, child support, alimony and public assistance.
Job loss
If you become unemployed, this will not be on your credit report, either. You might tell individual creditors such as your mortgage comapny that you’ve lost your job but this won’t be reported to the credit bureaus. However, employment information could be there but this will vary dependent on which credit report your lender requests – from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.
Merging lives
Despite what many people think, if you get married this does not mean that there will be a joint credit report for the both of you. If someone requests your credit report, the lender will see only your credit history, along with your accounts and debts where your name shows up. This doesn’t matter whether you’re married or not. However, some of your obligations may show up. For example, if you are a cosigner or a joint account holder, this information might be in your report. But your credit report won’t show the names of those people on the other accounts.
A criminal record
If you were arrested for some minor infraction as a teenager, relax. This won’t be on your credit report. The fact is the three credit bureaus simply do not include criminal information on their credit reports with three exceptions. If you had a financial problem that involves the courts such as a lien or judgment, this will be on your report. Child support payments can show up. If you get a ticket or fine and it goes to collection, your report will probably show the final collection activity.
Your medical history
A piece of legislation was passed a few years ago called the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It bars companies from adding information to your report that would jeopardize your medical privacy. This means that as a rule medical debts will not appear on your report – unless they go to collection.
“Unusual” loans
If you’ve taken out an “unusual” loan such as pawning an item, getting a one of those payday loans or signing for a car title loan, this won’t be on your credit report. Of course, if you default on one of these types of loans and your lender hires a collection agency, this will likely show up on your credit report. Another item that won’t be on your report is reloadable debit cards. The reason for is because they are not credit. Another “lender” that is usually not found on credit reports is information from utility providers.
