What is a consumer credit report?

A consumer credit report is a factual record of an individual's credit payment history as reported by their creditors. It is provided for a purpose permitted by law, primarily to credit grantors. Its main purpose is to help a lender quickly and objectively decide whether to grant you credit.

If you are one of the more than 200 million people in the United States with a credit card account, car loan, student loan, or home mortgage, then information about you probably is stored on a consumer credit databse.

Most of the information in your consumer credit report comes directly from the companies which you do business with.