Each of their credit reports looks a little bit different. Your credit report will have many codes on it. You will get a glossary with the report defining such coded terms as "DLA" (Date Last Activity) and "OPD" (Orderly Payment of Debt). It's important to study it and determine exactly what the report is saying.

It may surprise you to see the level of activity on your report. For example, car dealers may have made inquiries of you when you were shopping around for your Honda last spring. And the department store whose offer of a 10% discount for a card application had to check you out, too. Indeed, sometimes a creditor will turn down a person for "excessive inquiries," on the assumption that she has been recently applying for a lot of credit and been turned down.

To see what typical credit reports look like, and tips on how to read them, click here. (pdf 667kb)