UNDERSTANDING YOUR CREDIT REPORT & CREDIT HISTORY
Your credit report is important to you. It reveals the way banks deal with you on a day-to-day basis, and shows how your credit rating has been calculated. It’s always worth getting a hold of your report, particularly if you’ve ever been refused credit, you you want to find out why.
According to the Singapore government-run Money Sense website, your credit report gives you and the banks a snapshot of your credit repayment capability. The report exists to give lenders, credit card issuers and banks a full picture of your financial standing, and help them make decision over whether you should be issued with a credit card, given a loan, or even have your credit limit increased. It takes in such aspects of your credit history as mortgage loans, personal loans, car loans, bank accounts and – of course – credit cards.
This being the case, it’s important that you keep up a good repayment record on any debts that you have. We keep saying that good credit card holders pay of their entire balance every month, and to miss a payment is a mortal sin. Overdue repayments are reflected in your credit report and could negatively affect you when you apply for a new loan.
The good news is that your credit report is not a private document for bank use only. You’re entitled to a copy, which you can obtain from one of the two licensed credit bureaus in Singapore. The two bureaus are Credit Bureau (Singapore) Pte Ltd and DP Credit Bureau Pte Ltd, and you’ll be able to find them through a simple internet search.
What’s in your report? According to Money Sense, the report contains basic personal profile data minus excluding addresses and telephone numbers.
– Records of all credit checks
– Details of credit repayments from the last year
– Records of default records
– Bankruptcy records from the last five years
– Any closed or terminated credit accounts from the last three years
Now’s the time to go through your records with a fine tooth comb. If you find anything that’s wrong, you can write to the credit bureau and raise a dispute with them. Anything that’s been added in error can be removed after an investigation.
It’s important to make sure your credit report is correct, especially if you have a spotless credit history. With a clean credit report, you get the best deals and the lowest credit card interest rates, so it pays to take a look.
Article by Jason Taylor – [email protected]
