Credit Reporting

What Credit Reporting means for you?

Credit Reports

Credit is the ability to borrow money or get goods or services with the understanding you’ll pay later. When you borrow money, you usually have to repay it with interest.

Your credit report is a detailed record of your payment history as a borrower. It includes your bill-paying habits and personal details such as your Social Security number and employment history. Lenders (organizations and people you borrow money from) use it to decide whether to lend you money and what interest rate to charge you.

Credit reporting Companies, also known as credit bureaus or consumer reporting agencies, are companies that track borrower credit information and share it with credit card companies, financial organizations, and others that need it. These three credit bureaus report this information based on what current and former lenders report:

  • Equifax
  • TransUnion
  • Experian

The credit bureaus track and store your credit history, including:

  • How promptly you pay your bills.
  • The total amount of debt you owe.
  • How many credit accounts you have.
  • Your oldest credit line, credit card, or loan.
  • Recent requests about your credit.
  • New accounts you’ve opened.
  • Your available credit (based on your credit limit versus debt).
  • Other financial responsibilities such as liens, judgments, and medical and other debts.

Credit Scores

A credit score is a number that helps lenders better understand how likely a borrower is to repay money. Credit scores are created by credit scoring companies, not credit bureaus. Companies use a mathematical formula—called a scoring model—to create your credit score from the information in your credit report. It is important to know that you do not have just one credit score and there are many credit scores available to you as well as to lenders. Any credit score depends on the data used to calculate it, and may differ depending on the scoring model, the source of your credit history, the type of loan product, and even the day when it was calculated.

Your credit score reflects:

  • Your bill-paying habits.
  • How much debt you have.
  • How you handled past financial problems.
  • How many years you’ve been borrowing money.
  • How many recent changes were made to your credit reports.

Credit bureaus also report your credit score. When you apply for new credit, lenders may review your full credit report, but they often make decisions based on your credit score. Employers and insurance companies may also check your credit score. The weight a lender gives to credit scores varies by lender.

Borrowers with higher credit scores are charged lower interest rates than those with lower credit scores. This does not apply to federal student loan rates, which Congress sets.

Submitting a credit reporting dispute

Understanding Credit Reporting

 

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It guides how financial institutions such as Aidvantage give information to the credit bureaus. It sets rules to protect the privacy of information. It also guides what and how information may be reported. One of our most important responsibilities under the law is to make sure the information we report is accurate.

The financial sector relies on fair and accurate credit reporting. When Aidvantage sends information to the credit bureaus, we know that lenders need up-to-date facts on borrowers to make good loan decisions.

Our goal is to report information accurately and with integrity. If you think something in our report is wrong or missing, it’s your right and our responsibility that we examine anything you dispute (think is wrong) on your credit report. To dispute your credit report, you can send the dispute directly to the credit bureau.

To dispute your credit report with Aidvantage, please send supporting paperwork to Aidvantage by postal mail at the address below. In some cases, we may be able to address your dispute or answers questions you may have about how to dispute your credit report with a phone call.

Aidvantage – Federal Student Aid Loan Servicing
Attn: Credit Bureau Management
P.O. Box 300001
Greenville, TX 75403-3001

Be sure to include enough supporting paperwork as proof, and explain the dispute in detail. Include the account number and your name, address, and telephone number. We’ll notify you in writing with the result of our review.

 

Supporting paperwork

  • A copy of the relevant sections of your credit report highlighting the disputed reporting.
  • Canceled checks or bank statements that show loan payments you believe were not applied to your account.
  • School enrollment information related to the loans involved in the reporting dispute.
  • An identity theft report and supporting information if you believe your loan is the result of identity theft. This requires filing a report with your local or state police department of other law enforcement agencies.
  • Any other information you believe supports your dispute.

If you have specific questions about things that affect your credit score, ask the credit bureau you got the score from. Scores are created by the companies that produce them. Aidvantage does not produce credit scores.