This section lists your credit accounts, commonly referred to as ‘tradelines’, you have opened with lenders. Each of your accounts are reported by the lenders themselves. Additionally, every account in your credit history is given a ‘credit rating’.
A credit rating is an evaluation, by the lender who provided you the credit, of your ability to repay the debt. Ratings range from 1-9 (with 1 representing all payments made on time and 9 representing bills that were never paid). Ratings are also given one of four letters to classify their payment type:
- “I” stands for installment, meaning fixed payments over a certain period.
- “O” is for “open,” meaning you have “opened” credit (a loan or line of credit).
- “R” stands for revolving, meaning payments are contingent on the account balance (i.e. a credit card).
- “M” stands for mortgage loan.
Beyond credit ratings, other information found within this section includes the date you opened the account, the account limit or amount, payment history, account balance and the type of accounts (for example, account types include mortgages, line of credits and/or credit cards).
It’s important to note that some lenders may report to only one, or neither, of the credit reporting agencies and it’s possible for certain accounts to be missing from your credit report.