Show What role does a Credit Report play in the provision of credit? How do lenders use my Credit Report?When you apply for credit, your Credit Report can be an important piece of information. Credit providers may use it, along with the information on your application form and their own lending criteria, to help them get a clear picture of your credit commitments and how likely you are to be able to make repayments on future credit. Credit providers can include banks, financial institutions, phone and utility (electricity, gas and water) companies. Your Credit Report may be considered as part of the information that can be used to determine whether you are approved for a particular credit card, loan, mortgage or service, and on what terms. What should I do if I've been rejected for a loan?If you have been denied credit it is best not to apply for credit again until you find out why. There are a number of factors that may result in an application for credit being refused including:
If you have been declined credit and the information on your Credit Report was a factor, the lender, phone or utility company will give you details of the credit reporting body they used. If it was Equifax, the first step in understanding why your Equifax Credit Report has contributed to you being declined credit, is to obtain a free copy of your Equifax Credit Report. If you have been declined credit you are entitled obtain a free credit report if you apply within 90 days of being declined and provide evidence that a credit provider has declined your application for credit. By getting a copy of your Equifax Credit Report you can better understand what information may have contributed to your application refusal. It is important to check your Equifax Credit Report regularly to ensure it is accurate. You may also consider subscription plans from Equifax that provide additional features such as Credit Alerts and Credit Scores that can help you manage your credit profile. Learn more: CreditSmart helps explain what to do when you can’t get a loan. Why was I declined credit?There are a number of reasons why a credit provider may reject an application for credit. Each credit provider has their own lending criteria and these are the basis for their credit decisions. Your loan may have been rejected because:
Make sure you obtain a free copy of your Equifax Credit Report or you may consider subscription plans that include Credit Alerts and Credit Scores that can help you manage your credit profile. If you've been denied credit, it's important to understand why. Obtaining a copy of your credit report is one of the steps to take in understanding your credit profile. Here are some tips to consider. 1. Find out whyWhen you apply for credit either with a phone or utility company or a loan with a bank or finance company, they generally assess both the information on your application as well as information on your credit report against their own lending policies to make a decision on whether they will give you credit. As part of completing your application, you will have given a lender, phone or utility company permission to view your credit report held by a credit reporting body such as Equifax, Australia’s largest consumer credit reporting agency. There are a number of factors that may result in an application for credit being refused including:
If you have been declined credit and the information on your credit report was a factor, the lender, phone or utility company will give you details of the credit reporting body they used. If it was Equifax, the first step in understanding why your credit report has contributed to you being declined credit, is to obtain a copy of your credit report. It’s important to know that Equifax does not decide who should get credit, however, the information we provide may form part of some lenders’ decision making. What Equifax can do is to help you understand the information on your credit report. What is a credit report? Your credit report holds information relating to your credit history. If you’ve ever applied for credit or a loan it is likely you will have credit information held by a credit reporting body like Equifax. Credit can come in many forms. Along with credit cards, personal loans and mortgages, credit also includes mobile phone, electricity and gas contracts as well as store and rental finance. Your credit report helps lenders, phone and utility companies get a clear picture of your credit worthiness. It helps them understand your current credit commitments and how likely you are to be able to make repayments on future loans. Your credit report includes information such as:
Getting a copy of your Equifax credit report as well as your Equifax Score (or credit rating) can help you understand where you stand when it comes to applying for credit. It is important to check your credit report regularly to ensure it is accurate and by knowing your Equifax Score you can manage your credit profile and improve it over time. What is an Equifax Credit Score? Your Equifax Score is a credit rating between 0-1200 that lenders can look at when deciding whether to accept your application for a loan or credit. Generally, the higher your score, the better as it indicates a lower risk. Your Equifax Score is calculated using the information on your credit report at a certain point in time and can be used by lenders to assess your application for a loan. Your Equifax Score is dynamic and changes as information is added to or deleted from your credit report. Your Equifax Score is also a great tool in helping you understand the information on your credit report. If you’ve ever looked at your credit report, you’ll know that it can contain lots of unfamiliar information that can be difficult to understand. When you obtain your Equifax Score as part of one of our annual subscription plans, not only do you find out your credit rating, but you’ll also learn what information on your credit report is contributing to your credit rating, good and bad. We call this information ‘contributing factors’. This is really helpful to know as there are some things you can do to improve your Equifax Score credit rating if required. 2. Get your credit reportIf you have been declined credit you are entitled obtain a free credit report if you apply within 90 days of being declined and provide evidence that a credit provider has declined your application for credit. You can order your free report below. The free service provides a credit
report only and does not include your Equifax Score (credit rating) or Equifax Score contributing factors which summarise the major items impacting your credit rating. Get your free Equifax credit report or consider a monthly subsciption package that includes credit alerts and credit scores You will need to have the following information handy:
Only you may request a copy of your own credit report. For security purposes, prior to receiving your credit report you will be asked to verify your identity. 3. Improve your credit report to get credit in the futureThere are two things you can do to help improve your credit profile:
Correcting your credit report Equifax takes reasonable steps to ensure that your credit report is accurate. However, as we rely on information provided by a number of different sources, errors can occur. It’s important that you check your report and let us know if there are any administrative errors such as an incorrect date of birth, or a misspelling of your name or street address. You should also check that the credit information listed on your credit report, such as an overdue debt or enquiry is accurate. If there are inaccuracies on your credit report, it’s important that you have them corrected. You can do this for free. Visit our Corrections Portal for more information. What’s more, if you think you’ve been the victim of identity theft and your details have been used fraudulently check out our tips on what to do if you think your identity has been stolen. Be careful of ‘credit repair’ style organisations If you are finding it difficult to get credit, think twice before paying for the services of a company that claims they can “repair” your credit report/history. Some companies claim to be able to remove negative information from your credit report and charge you to do so. This can often cost over $1,000. If you have inaccurate information on your credit report you can lodge a correction request with the relevant credit provider or credit reporting body and they will investigate for free and correct the information if it is inaccurate. You should also note that Equifax will not remove information from credit reports unless that information is erroneous. The fact that information is inaccurate or wrong does not mean it must be deleted. If it can be corrected, it will be corrected rather than deleted. If there is information on your credit report that needs correcting please visit our Corrections Portal. Tips to help you improve your credit profile Equifax has some simple steps to help you keep your credit report healthy and to help improve your Equifax Score:
Need more information? ASIC MoneySmart has more information about loan rejection. What affects your ability to obtain credit?The 5 Main Factors That Impact Your Credit Score. Payment history.. Amount of debt, also known as your credit utilization ratio.. Age of credit accounts or history.. Mix of credit accounts.. New credit inquiries.. What does it mean when you can't get a credit score?Having “no score” simply means you don't have any number tied to your credit profile. You can be absent from the scoring model if you've never had a credit card or loan, or if you haven't used credit in a long time. It's also possible that your new line of credit hasn't been reported yet.
What you should do if you are declined credit?There are three steps you can take if you have been declined credit:. Find out why. ... . Get your Equifax credit report. ... . Improve your credit report to get credit in the future.. Does a rejected loan application affect credit score?Getting rejected for a loan does not necessarily impact your credit score. But the actions that you take after your application gets rejected can definitely impact your credit score. For instance, you may get anxious after your application rejection and start applying for loans that you aren't even eligible for.
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