Your credit report tells a story
but sometimes…. it’s the wrong story
It’s Your Credit Report
A credit report is a strange thing.
It is a list of all your credit agreements and obligations.
It tracks what you have been paying and how much you owe. It has details about your employment and even judgments that might have been issued.
But even though it is all about you and has all your info it is collected, it is sold by someone else to other people who want to know about how you repay credit.
It is all about you, but it does not belong to you.
Free Credit Reports
Changes to the laws have made things better. For example, because these companies are keeping data about you and selling it to others, you are able to have a look and make sure the information is correct. In the past you would have to pay to do that, but now they have to give you at least one free report each year.
Bulelwa Ntwalana CEO & Founder of Leadwise Consulting, says: “You need to be able to read and analyse your own credit report. Credit reports are one of the most powerful, yet underutilised tools available to consumers. Many people are overwhelmed and afraid of the system, but the truth is with the right guidance, you can take back control.”
Step one is to go to the credit bureau websites and draw your free report (or ask someone to help you do that).
Cleaning Up Your Credit Report
When you check your credit report, you may see things that worry you.
- Maybe it is an account you don’t remember opening (which can be a warning that someone is pretending to be you).
- Maybe there is an older debt that should no longer be shown (due to prescription).
- Maybe you see a debt review flag that should have been removed when you finished debt review.
- Maybe you see a balance that you feel is totally wrong.
Well, the good news is that you can then lodge a query or complaint with the credit bureaus to have them correct matters. If that’s a bit intimidating, you can ask someone, like a Debt Counsellor, to assist you.
Your Credit Report is a helpful tool in monitoring credit use and in providing potential credit providers with information about your creditworthiness. Use it to your advantage.
Thank you to Bulelwa Ntwalana CEO & Founder of Leadwise Consulting for the help in putting this article together. To find out more about them head over to www.leadwise.co.za
