Did you know that credit reporting agencies are about to get greater access to your information?
While the Australian government says this will facilitate better assessment of consumer credit risk by creating greater transparency, the upshot is that the laws previously restricting what could be recorded are being eased.
Within this year, your credit provider will be expected to report on what type of credit facilities have been opened, your credit limits, and two entire years of repayment history.
This means your credit report will show if you have missed or been late with any repayments.
Under previous arrangements, a credit reporting agency could only include the following information in a credit file:
- payment on a credit contract at least 60 days overdue
- a cheque for $100 or more that has been dishonoured twice
- a bankruptcy order made against the individual
- whether a credit provider considers that the individual has committed ”a serious credit infringement”
- the individual’s current credit provider status, and
- details of recent credit inquiries.
The new scheme will allow credit reporting agencies to add the following information:
- the date a credit account was opened
- the type of each current credit account (mortgage, credit card, personal loan and so on)
- the date a credit account was closed
- the current limit of each open credit account, and
- repayment performance history for the previous two years.
The government expects that the move to a comprehensive credit reporting system would decrease the number of Australians who are financially over-committed and suffering from debt-related stress.
What’s on your file?
You still have a right to access your credit files and, with these changes taking place, it’s a good time to check your files and make sure there are no incorrect entries that could make it harder for you to get credit in future.
You will need to contact each of the credit reporting agencies to obtain a copy of your credit reports, which are generally required to be given free of charge. You will be asked to provide information to enable them to properly identify you.
This could include:
- your full name
- your address
- your date of birth
- your previous address
- your driver’s licence number.
The main credit reporting agencies in Australia are:
Veda Advantage
- Mail: Veda Advantage Public Access PO Box 964 North Sydney NSW 2059
- Phone: 1300 762 207 (or +61 2 92787900)
- Fax: 02 9278 7333
- Website: http://www.mycreditfile.com.au
- Email:assist.au@vedaadvantage.com
Dun & Bradstreet
- Mail: Public Access Centre Dun & Bradstreet (Australia) P/L PO Box 7405 St Kilda Road VIC 3004
- Phone: 1300 734 806
- Fax: 03 9828 3447
- Website: http://www.dnbcreditreport.com.au
- Email: PACAustral@dnb.com.au
Tasmanian Collection Service (for people living in Tasmania)
- Mail: GPO Box 814H Hobart TAS 7001
- Phone: 03 6213 5555
- Fax: 03 6234 2988
- Website: http://www.tascol.com.au/reports.htm
- Email: enquiries@tascol.com.au
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