Credit reporting agencies do not deny or extend credit. They simply collect and store credit data on all consumers or users of credit.
The information on whether or not you have made your payment on time, is sent, normally monthly, from lenders and creditors to credit reporting agencies. Then, upon the request of a credit grantor (a lender or creditor), the information about you is sold to the credit grantor in the form of a credit report.
The credit grantor will review the information and use it to make a determination as to whether or not to grant you credit and if so, at what terms and conditions.
One of the primary elements reviewed by credit grantors is your payment history. Credit reports will provide several pieces of information relating to each of your accounts, both past and present. Some of the information includes things such as: the date the account was opened, the credit line, the highest amount you have ever charged or borrowed, and perhaps most importantly, a two-year history, month by month, indicating if each month’s payment was made on time. If not, the report will show if the payment was 30, 60, 90, 120, or more days late.
