The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-09-12
By MARC J. PARSONS NEA Staff COYreSpOndent


 Don't look now but your credit is showing.
 Even your best friends don't al- ways know you as well as your local credit bureau. And what the credit bureau doesn't know already, 1t can find out in very short time if it gets a legitimate request for the in- formation.
 In the files of the nations 1400 associated credit bureaus is infor- nation on 50,000,000 people. Only established businesses dealing in credit have access to this informa- tion and then only for the pur- pose of establishing credit should such request be made to them.
 Most credit requests are for strade clearances." These cover data already on file about any given person. Chances are that should you request credit and there is no information filed under your name, t win be assumed that your credit & good and the request will be granted.
 But any information filed there will be forwarded to the merchant from whom you request credit. This will include, if available, all charge accounts you already have and necord of your usual payments-30 days, 60 days, 90 days or unSatisfac- tory. If any judgments have been rendered against you for non-pay- ment of bills records of these will be there. And if any newspapers have carried stories that in any way might reflect on your credit, these Aaso will probably be there.
 In large metropolitan centers such as New York, credit informa- tion is teletyped to the stores mak- ing the request so that after you have asked to open 8 charge &C., count and even before you can Se- lect that new dress or suit, the in formation necessary to make credit rating is in the hands of the credit manager of the store.
 In smaller centers, credit rating requests usually are te4ephoned to the credit bureaus.
 If the information in the trade clearance isn't sufficient for credit IIl<1IIdkCN PO AtcbhC d 0CS1oAOAL nv SeNA3 ask for a special report" On such requests the credit bureaus do a thorough job of checking up on you.
 Specially trained reporters will make a check of your landlord, neighbors. grocery stores where you usually trade, neighborhood drug stores, your employer and anyone else that might know about you in Q general way. They'll try to size up the type of home you have and how you care for it, how much rent you pay, how long you have lived there. Sometimes, in special cases, they'll go back as long as 10 years an your life, although five usually is long enough. They'll try to find out about your earnings if possible, and perhaps even your hobbies. CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS
 Such reports are considered very confidential, and there has been no known case in the history of the credit bureaus of misuse of such 1n- formation.
 You need not fear going into strange city and asking for credit. It may take little longer for your request to be filled. If you live in Morning Sun, Ia, and want to open an account in Pittsburgh, Pa., just give the Pittsburgh bureau enough time to check the Morning Sun bureau and the chances are youll ret the new charge account.
 Retail stores in general are most Interested in how you pay your pills at other stores. Finance companies are more concerned with law suits in which you may have been in volved. and for them, most credit bureaus maintain comprehensive file of every known law suit.
 Here are a few simple rules that will almost automatically assure you of a good credit rating:
 1. Pay all your bills promptly when due, including charge ac- counts, instalments, bank notes, rent and utility bills.
 2. Keep your personal bank &C., count in good order.
 3. Don't return an abnormal amount of merchandise after you have charged it.
 4. Don't hide any pertinent i1- formation from stores where you are seeking credit.
 Follow these rules and watch your