If you’ve fallen behind in your payments, that information is probably being reported in your credit record.

What is a credit record? And why should you care?

Whenever you apply for a loan or a charge card, and many times when you apply for an apartment or a job, someone will check your credit record to see if you have a history of paying your bills on time. Your credit record shows all of the loans and credit accounts you’ve had for the past seven years, and records every late payment. Bankruptcy is included as part of your credit record for ten years, as are other legal judgments against you. When you apply for a job that pays more than $75,000 or for a loan or life insurance policy of more than $150,000, there’s no time restriction on your record—the employer, lender, or insurer can get a report on your credit history for your entire life. So a bad credit record can keep you from getting a loan, an apartment, or a job for a very long time.

A good credit record can make you look impressive to a potential employer or lender. A bad credit record can make you look irresponsible and untrustworthy. If you’ve been denied credit or insurance or been turned down for a job within the last 60 days because of something on your credit record, you can request a free copy to check for accuracy. (The company that turned you down for a loan, insurance, or a job is required to give you the name, address, and telephone number of the bureau that supplied the information.) If you haven’t had any problems, you can request a copy of your record for a low fee. Residents of some states are entitled to a free report once a year.

The three largest credit bureaus supply most credit reports. If you’ve had credit problems in the past few years, it’s a good idea to request a report of your record from each of them. Call or visit their Web sites to get ordering instructions.

When you get your reports, look them over carefully. If there’s anything you don’t understand, call the credit bureau for an explanation. The reports include a lot of information and you may need some help interpreting them the first time you see them. Federal law requires that the bureaus make this help available to you. If you find a mistake in any of the reports, you have the right to dispute it and try to have it corrected. Ask the credit bureau for a dispute form or send a letter with the correction you are suggesting. Attach copies of any supporting documentation (not original documents). Clearly identify each item in the report that you think is mistaken and explain why you think it is wrong. The bureau will respond in writing in about four weeks. It is the credit bureau’s responsibility to prove that the information is correct, not yours to prove that it is wrong. If the bureau investigates and finds that a mistake has been made on your record, the bureau will correct it. You can then ask the bureau to send a corrected version to anyone who has received your report within the past six months—and to any employer who requested a copy of your report as part of a job application process in the past two years. You can also ask the bureau to identify the source of the mistaken information, and you should send a letter explaining the mistake to that source, too.

If you’re having problems with debt and have fallen behind on payments to any of your creditors, it’s probably not mistakes on your credit record that will be your problem. It will be the detailed evidence of your late and missed payments. The only remedy for this is to improve your payment record, starting now.

You are entitled to insert a statement of up to 100 words in your credit record explaining any late payment or credit problems. You might use this right to explain a stretch of money problems that were the result of a job loss, illness, divorce, or some other setback. You might also use it to explain that a particular bill wasn’t paid because service wasn’t completed or the merchandise was defective. You might also use the statement to explain that you recognized a debt problem at a certain date, and have committed yourself since then to improving your credit record. If the credit record shows an end to late-payment problems at that time, this statement and the evidence of your commitment to solving your debt problems will go a long way toward repairing your record.