The world is full of all kinds of juicy information about you. Who cares? Who is it that actually wants to see that information? The organizations that care about your history vary, but most likely they are:

• Potential lenders

• Potential employers

• Current lenders and employers who want an update

• Potential landlords

• Insurance companies

Asking Around

These organizations want to know a little bit more about you. If you live in a town with more than 100 people, there is probably no way for the lenders to know everything about everybody. Furthermore, many lenders are not based where you live; for instance, you might borrow from a bank in another state. Therefore, it is impossible for the lenders to judge you as a borrower without asking around.

The way they ask around is to check your history. For lenders, the most important thing is your credit history. For employers, it may be an employment history and credit history. Likewise, landlords might want to know your credit history along with other public information about you. Finally, insurance companies check your claims history and credit-based scores that tell them if you will be profitable. These organizations rely on others to help them figure out who you are and if they want to do any business with you.

Give and Take

Some information users are also information providers. Your lenders, for example, are both. They ask around to find out if you are going to be a good customer. At the same time, they report an inquiry to let others know that you are applying for credit. After you open an account and start using their money, they continually report on the account and monitor your credit use elsewhere by making periodic inquiries.

Some information users are only users. Employers and landlords, for example, do not typically report information on you to the credit-reporting companies. Even some utility companies and cell phone providers do not report your payment history to anybody as long as you pay as agreed. However, if you make late payments or skip town without settling up, they will be sure to spread the word, either to the credit-reporting companies or through a collection agency.