Check your credit rating – it’s free
South Australians are being encouraged to consider their credit rating, as interest rates start creeping
back up.
“Many South Australians aren’t really aware how credit ratings work, or what they need to do to protect
them,” said Australian Central’s Managing Director, Peter Evers.
“But with increasing interest rates applying more pressure to family finances and confidence
surrounding unemployment still unstable, the need to be able to access credit will remain high for
some time. You don’t want to be caught out.”
A person’s credit rating is based on their borrowing history which is collated by credit reporting
agencies. This history is then accessed by lending organisations, like credit unions and banks, to
decide if they want to risk lending a person any money.
Different lenders have different lending criteria so, even though they are looking at the same
information, one organisation might decline finance while another might approve it.
Tips for protecting your credit rating:
Pay your bills on time – it might sound obvious but late payments raise red flags and lenders can’t
tell the difference between bills you couldn’t pay and bills you just might have let slip. If you can’t make
a payment, contact the organisation involved and negotiate a solution.
Check your credit file – credit fraud is becoming an increasing problem across the world and there
might be debts in your file that you are not responsible for.
Under Australian law, companies which provide credit histories must provide you with a copy of your
file – for free – generally within 10 days, although you can pay a fee to speed up the process.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Veda Advantage is Australia's
largest source of credit information with files on more than 13 million individuals.
Don’t rely on direct debits / automatic repayments – mistakes do happen so these need to be
monitored because, at the end of the day, you're the one responsible.
Have your own bill tracking system – that way you can ensure that if bills don't come, you can
query the provider. Once again, you’re responsible for your debts, so find a system that works best for
you.
Taking extra care when moving house – many defaults are a result of not changing your mailing
address and not keeping track of final bills from your previous house. Some companies will only make
basic attempts (if any) to find your new residence.
Stop applying for new debts – your file shows how many times it’s been looked at, and lenders get
uncomfortable if they think you’re constantly applying for credit.
Media contact: PR Coordinator Annie Mitchell on 8305 1297 or 0409 607 705.
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