How Quickly Are Items Placed on My Credit Report?
July 12th, 2009, Written By: Kerri Randall
When you know that you have negative information due to appear on your credit report, like a late payment or loan default, you may wonder how quickly it will actually be placed there.
Some people insist that creditors are required to report to the credit bureaus once a month. But it’s also possible that if you have no significant activity, positive or negative, the information on your credit report may not change during that time. So in some cases, the frequency depends upon your creditor and your level of activity.
Other creditors may update the bureaus daily, regardless of activity. For this reason, it’s possible for your credit report and even your score to alter slightly during a loan application process. You should constantly monitor and be in control of your activity at all times. If a lender, particularly a mortgage lender, rechecks your credit right before final approval or closing (which is highly likely in the current economy) and your score has changed due to newly-reported information, you could suddenly be denied.
Some creditors may wait until the last possible minute to report positive information, such as resolving a debt, but they’ll be quick to report anything negative. The lower your score is pushed, the more they’ll be justified in charging you for interest.
There is some information you can’t prevent from hitting your credit report, like a bankruptcy or being sent to collections. But if it’s a simple item like a late payment, some lenders will grant you leeway your first time. If it’s good information you want reported, simply call and ask. Your creditor is not required to report to all of the bureaus or even agree to your request, but sometimes they can be persuaded. There may be a fee involved, but if adding the information could significantly raise your score, it might be worth it. It’s your credit report; you just need to take control.
Categories: Credit Score Information
