Mortgage

A credit report is your financial report card. It tells lenders what credit accounts you have open and how often you are able to pay your bills on time.

There are 3 national agencies that track how consumers pay bills. If you have credit cards, a car loan, a mortgage or any other type of product or service on credit, your payment activity has generally been tracked by these agencies.

While some product or service companies will report late or non-payment of bills to just 1 agency, some report to all 3. Any reported late or non-payments will affect a person's credit history.