Give credit where its due
Despite the interest rate hike and the rising cost of living, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) encourages consumers, in particular the youth who have already signed credit agreements, to continuously pay their monthly accounts on time and in full in order to maintain a good credit bureau record.
Checking credit bureau reports enables consumers to spot any incorrect information and/or fraudulent transactions, thus providing them with an opportunity to remedy the situation.
Forewarned is forearmed
Knowing what is contained in one’s credit report gives consumers an opportunity to improve their credit reports.
All consumer credit information held by credit bureaus must be accurate. Incorrect credit information can adversely affect a consumer’s chances of acquiring credit or a job where a company is considering a candidate for employment in a position that requires honesty in dealing with cash or finances.
Hence, it is very important to dispute.
Forewarned is forearmed
Knowing what is contained in one’s credit report gives consumers an opportunity to improve their credit reports.
All consumer credit information held by credit bureaus must be accurate. Incorrect credit information can adversely affect a consumer’s chances of acquiring credit or a job where a company is considering a candidate for employment in a position that requires honesty in dealing with cash or finances.
Hence, it is very important to dispute.
incorrect information before it affects you adversely.
Your rights
In terms of the National Credit Act, every consumer has a right to challenge the accuracy of their information held by the credit bureaus free of charge. If a consumer has challenged the accuracy of the information, credit bureaus must take reasonable steps to seek evidence in support of the challenged information.
Credit bureaus have 20 business days to do that. Should the credit provider and/or service provider fail to prove the listing within the 20 business days, then the credit bureau must remove the disputed information from the consumer’s credit profile.
Your rights
In terms of the National Credit Act, every consumer has a right to challenge the accuracy of their information held by the credit bureaus free of charge. If a consumer has challenged the accuracy of the information, credit bureaus must take reasonable steps to seek evidence in support of the challenged information.
Credit bureaus have 20 business days to do that. Should the credit provider and/or service provider fail to prove the listing within the 20 business days, then the credit bureau must remove the disputed information from the consumer’s credit profile.
It is very important for consumers to know that inaccurate credit information will stay on the consumer’s credit profile, until rectified or until its retention period finishes.
A retention period relates to the length of time that a credit bureau can retain consumer’s information on their credit report. However, consumers should not waste time disputing accurate credit in-formation, knowing very well that they skipped payments or short paid the account.
Annual checkup
Consumers are entitled to one free credit report once a year as per the National Credit Act.
The National Credit Regulator would like to see more consumers requesting their credit reports from credit bureaus because currently the numbers of those requesting their credit reports are low. According to the Credit Bureau Monitor from the NCR, as at the end of December 2021, credit bureaus held records of 26, 38 million credit active consumers. Out
A retention period relates to the length of time that a credit bureau can retain consumer’s information on their credit report. However, consumers should not waste time disputing accurate credit in-formation, knowing very well that they skipped payments or short paid the account.
Annual checkup
Consumers are entitled to one free credit report once a year as per the National Credit Act.
The National Credit Regulator would like to see more consumers requesting their credit reports from credit bureaus because currently the numbers of those requesting their credit reports are low. According to the Credit Bureau Monitor from the NCR, as at the end of December 2021, credit bureaus held records of 26, 38 million credit active consumers. Out
of this total, only 648 280 credit reports were issued. From this total, 35 919 consumers lodged disputes in respect of the accuracy of information held by the credit bureaus. More disputes were resolved in favour of the complainants.
In order to clarify a lingering perception out there, credit bureaus do not decide whether or not to extend credit to consumers.
Credit bureaus are organisations that specialise in creating consumer credit profiles based on information received from a per-son who supplies goods, services or utilities to consumers, whether for cash or on credit, an organ of state, court, judicial officer and a person providing long term or short term insurance. They keep valuable information about consumers’ recent and past accounts, payment history, defaults, judgments, trace alerts, collections and enquiries.
Contact
Below is a list of credit bureaus and other important contact details. Use one of these websites to request your report:
In order to clarify a lingering perception out there, credit bureaus do not decide whether or not to extend credit to consumers.
Credit bureaus are organisations that specialise in creating consumer credit profiles based on information received from a per-son who supplies goods, services or utilities to consumers, whether for cash or on credit, an organ of state, court, judicial officer and a person providing long term or short term insurance. They keep valuable information about consumers’ recent and past accounts, payment history, defaults, judgments, trace alerts, collections and enquiries.
Contact
Below is a list of credit bureaus and other important contact details. Use one of these websites to request your report:
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Factors that impact your credit score
Payment History
Total Debt Owed
Length of Credit History
New or Recent Credit History
Types of Credit