Your credit report contains detailed information about your credit cards and loans. It’s a compilation of information about how you handle debt and is maintained by credit bureaus. The Credit Bureau compiles your credit record based on information provided by your creditor(s).
Credit reports also include a list of businesses that have recently checked your credit history.
A credit report reveals past and present loans, credit cards, mortgages and any other reported debts. It discloses the status of these accounts, whether up-to-date, overdue, paid in full or whether there were any collections. A credit report will register the severity of your overdue accounts.
As a credit-active consumer, it’s important that you check your credit report at least once a year to make sure that the information listed on it is correct. For instance, if you have settled a certain debt, this should reflect on your credit report. Identity theft is also a major problem nowadays and affects more people. By checking your credit report regularly you can ensure that your credit is still intact and that your name hasn’t been fraudulently used.
Credit providers use your credit record to assess how well you’ve handled your debt, so it’s important to ensure that it’s an accurate reflection of your credit history.
Creditors use this report to help decide the likelihood of your repaying the borrowed funds. It makes sense to ensure that your file contains accurate information. Studies have shown that some credit files have an error rate that may be as high as 70%, so you should fix mistakes or remove any incorrect information as soon as you find them.
Here are a number of Companies that provide credit reports:
Credit4Life www.credit4life.co.za
XDS www.xds.co.za
Experian www.experian.co.za
My Credit Check www.mycreditcheck.co.za
Compuscan www.compuscan.co.za
