Credit Policy for businesses and how to extend credit and manage credit risk

Some business owners want to pull credit reports on customers as well as check their references when they apply for credit.  Many of them don’t know if it is worthwhile to pull a credit report, especially since there is a fee involved. 

 Here are the things you will find on a credit report. You can use this information to help you decide if you want to incur the added expense of pulling credit reports when checking credit.

1. Personal and financial information.
1. Name, address, past addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, current and past employers.
2. A list of companies that have extended credit to this person.
1. Credit cards
2. Charge cards
3. Car loans
4. Mortgages
5. Student loans
6. Home equity loans
3. Details on payment history, if they paid on time and if not, how late.

Each credit reporting bureau will have different information on a consumer but it should have some information that is quite similar.  The purpose of the credit bureaus is to supply creditors with timely and reliable financial information about individual consumers.