Call it credit phobia. About 14 percent of adults don't check their credit reports due to fear of what they'll find, according to a recent online survey of more than 500 consumers by WalletHub. Younger consumers are more likely to harbor that aversion, as are women. "It can be fear of the unknown," said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub. "Or it could be because it will reinforce what you already know — that you already are in a lot of debt or delinquent on accounts. That's a pretty common reason." Yet avoiding looking at your credit report — which generally includes information on current and past debts — comes with a major risk: If there are errors on it, your credit score might be lower than it should be. And that means when you go to apply for your next loan or credit card, you could pay more in interest than you would without the mistake.

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"When your score is mistakenly lower, it means you're not getting the best deals," Gonzalez said. Generally speaking, the higher your credit score, the lower the interest rate you can qualify for on a variety of consumer debt, including mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. Credit scores fall on a range of about 300 to 850, with scores above 700 considered good or excellent. Someone with a fair credit score that falls between 580 and 669 will pay about $45,000 more in interest over their lifetime on loans and credit cards versus a consumer with very good credit score of 740 or higher, according to recent research from LendingTree. Regardless of where your score falls, spotting a mistake on your credit report could boost your number fairly quickly. About 20 percent of reports have an error on them, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission.