Chapter 8 Credit Records and Laws Vocab

Credit History

The complete record of your borrowing and repayment performance.

Credit Bureau

A business that gathers, stores, and sells credit information to other businesses

Subscribers

Businesses that pay a monthly fee to the credit bureau for access to this information

Credit Report

A written statement of a consumers credit history and it is issued by a credit bureau to buisnesses

Credit Freeze

A consumer request that requires the credit bureaus to deny all access to a consumers credit information or files

Creditworthy

Before potential creditors grant credit to you, they must determine if you are credit worthy based off character, capacity, capital, conditions, and collateral

Character

A responsible attitude toward honoring obligation, often judged on evidence in the persons credit history

Capacity

The financial ability to repay a loan with present income

Point System

The credit bureau assigns points based on factor such as amount of current debt, the number of late payments, number and types of open account of income, and so on.

Credit Score

When your points are added up and this score telles potential creditors the likelihood that you will repay debt as agreed

Credit Inquiry

A request byt a business with a "permissible purpose" to check your credit

Rate Shopping

This involves looking around for the best interest rate on an auto or mortgage loan

Credit rating

Another measure of creditworthiness often identified by a letter grade like A, B, C, D.

Billing Statement

An itemized bull showing charges, credits, and payments posted to your account during the billing period

Discrimination

The act of treating people differently based on prejudice rathe than individual merit

Debt Collector

A person or company hired by a creditor to collect the overdue balance on an account