LESS than 300 000 South Africans check their free credit reports annually, and the Credit Ombud says this leaves millions at a disadvantage when applying for credit.
There are 23 million active credit consumers in SA and Credit Ombud Nicky Lala Mohan says consumers are responsible for how their information reflects at the credit bureaus.
“Credit bureaus keep both positive and negative information pertaining to consumers’ credit accounts. When consumers open accounts, the information is sent to the credit bureaus and is reported in the form of a credit report,” said Mohan.
A credit report is a detailed report listing a consumer's credit accounts, when they were opened, account balances, monthly instalments, how consumers were paying the accounts on a monthly basis and any negative listings on overdue or unpaid accounts.
When a consumer makes a payment, skips a payment, pays late or short pays, the information is reported in their credit report. This means account payment behaviour is reflected in the credit report.
This also means all credit-active consumers have a credit report – contrary to the belief that only bad payers do.
Future credit providers will check this credit history to get an idea of how you made your payments.
You can access your credit report for free on www.transunion.co.za; www.experian.co.za; www.xds.co.za or www.compuscan.co.za