Q45h: How will requesting a copy of your own credit report affect your credit score?

Demographic and experience categories Positive No effect Negative Do not know
All respondents 21.0 ( 1.1) 50.0 ( 1.5) 10.3 ( 0.9) 18.7 ( 1.1)
AGE GROUP        
18 to 24 20.4 ( 3.9) 51.0 ( 5.1) 8.9 ( 2.7) 19.7 ( 4.3)
25 to 34 16.2 ( 2.5) 47.2 ( 3.6) 17.6 ( 2.9) 18.9 ( 2.7)
35 to 44 18.6 ( 2.4) 57.7 ( 3.3) 11.2 ( 2.1) 12.5 ( 2.1)
45 to 54 25.6 ( 2.8) 47.7 ( 3.3) 7.8 ( 1.7) 19.0 ( 2.5)
55 to 64 20.0 ( 2.8) 55.5 ( 3.7) 6.0 ( 1.7) 18.6 ( 2.9)
65 and older 27.7 ( 2.8) 42.2 ( 3.3) 6.8 ( 1.7) 23.3 ( 2.7)
INCOME        
Less than $25000 27.8 ( 2.0) 34.8 ( 2.2) 12.0 ( 1.6) 25.4 ( 1.9)
$25000 to $49999 21.9 ( 2.5) 50.5 ( 3.1) 10.3 ( 1.9) 17.3 ( 2.4)
$50000 to $74999 23.3 ( 2.9) 52.6 ( 3.5) 10.5 ( 2.2) 13.7 ( 2.3)
$75000+ 11.5 ( 1.9) 63.8 ( 3.3) 9.5 ( 2.1) 15.3 ( 2.7)
EDUCATION        
Less than high school 30.9 ( 3.4) 21.6 ( 3.2) 7.4 ( 2.1) 40.1 ( 3.6)
High school 27.6 ( 2.3) 41.8 ( 2.5) 10.2 ( 1.6) 20.4 ( 1.9)
Some post-secondary education 20.3 ( 2.0) 52.7 ( 2.9) 11.2 ( 1.7) 15.7 ( 2.2)
BA or more 11.4 ( 1.6) 65.4 ( 2.7) 10.5 ( 1.8) 12.6 ( 2.0)
ETHNICITY        
White 17.5 ( 1.4) 56.3 ( 1.9) 9.8 ( 1.2) 16.5 ( 1.4)
Black 37.7 ( 3.0) 36.0 ( 2.9) 12.3 ( 2.0) 14.0 ( 2.0)
Hispanic 23.7 ( 2.7) 31.0 ( 2.9) 10.0 ( 2.1) 35.2 ( 2.9)
Other 19.6 ( 4.8) 52.0 ( 6.4) 12.5 ( 4.4) 16.0 ( 4.5)
SEX        
Male 17.9 ( 1.7) 55.3 ( 2.3) 11.6 ( 1.5) 15.2 ( 1.7)
Female 23.9 ( 1.5) 45.4 ( 1.8) 9.1 ( 1.0) 21.6 ( 1.4)
EMPLOYMENT STATUS        
Actively employed (FT or PT) 18.0 ( 1.4) 54.7 ( 2.0) 10.8 ( 1.2) 16.6 ( 1.5)
Student 14.6 ( 5.0) 47.8 ( 8.6) 20.5 ( 7.0) 17.1 ( 5.6)
Not employed (homemaker, retired, unemployed) 26.4 ( 2.0) 42.5 ( 2.4) 8.7 ( 1.3) 22.4 ( 1.8)
Other 26.6 ( 6.1) 43.2 ( 6.4) 6.4 ( 3.1) 23.7 ( 5.1)
GEOGRAPHIC RESIDENCE        
Resident of a free report state (CO, GA, ME, MD, MA, NJ, VT) 21.1 ( 2.6) 57.4 ( 3.0) 7.5 ( 1.6) 14.0 ( 1.9)
Resident of another state 20.9 ( 1.2) 49.0 ( 1.6) 10.7 ( 1.0) 19.4 ( 1.2)
FINANCIAL AND CREDIT REPORT EXPERIENCE        
Obtained a credit report 20.0 ( 1.4) 54.8 ( 1.9) 12.5 ( 1.3) 12.6 ( 1.2)
Did not obtain a credit report 22.2 ( 1.8) 43.5 ( 2.2) 7.1 ( 1.1) 27.1 ( 2.0)
         
Obtained credit score 18.3 ( 1.8) 54.9 ( 2.5) 15.4 ( 1.9) 11.4 ( 1.6)
Did not obtain credit score 22.3 ( 1.4) 47.7 ( 1.8) 7.8 ( 1.0) 22.3 ( 1.4)
         
Disputed information on credit report 19.7 ( 2.4) 56.4 ( 3.3) 12.0 ( 2.2) 11.9 ( 2.1)
Did not dispute credit report information 21.2 ( 1.3) 48.6 ( 1.6) 9.9 ( 1.0) 20.2 ( 1.3)
         
Had an auto or mortgage loan 20.0 ( 1.3) 52.1 ( 1.7) 11.0 ( 1.1) 16.9 ( 1.3)
Did not have an auto or mortgage loan 24.2 ( 2.4) 43.2 ( 3.0) 7.6 ( 1.5) 25.0 ( 2.3)
         
Was a victim of identity theft 31.4 ( 4.0) 35.4 ( 4.2) 17.0 ( 3.5) 16.1 ( 3.1)
Was not a victim of identity theft 19.8 ( 1.2) 51.6 ( 1.5) 9.5 ( 0.9) 19.0 ( 1.2)
         
Obtained credit report due to an adverse action 25.6 ( 4.0) 48.1 ( 5.3) 13.2 ( 3.7) 13.1 ( 3.0)
Did not obtain credit report due to an adverse action 20.6 ( 1.2) 50.2 ( 1.5) 10.0 ( 0.9) 19.2 ( 1.2)

Percent estimates totaling 100% within each demographic and experience category, with standard errors in parentheses
 
GAO-05-411SP Credit Reporting Literacy Survey Data
Full Report: GAO-05-223