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On this page

• What is on your credit file
• When a credit file is used
• Access to your credit file
• Know what is on your credit file
• How to get a report
• Correcting your credit records

Many people believe that everyone over the age of 18 has a ‘credit rating'. This is not true. Only people who are using credit or have applied for credit in the last seven years will have a credit file. It does not have any score or rating. This file is held by a personal credit reporting agency and is used by credit providers to assess your ability to repay a loan or credit.

What is on your credit file

Information kept by the credit reporting agency includes:

• identifying details such as your name, sex, address, date of birth and driver's licence number
• applications for new accounts or loans
• accounts overdue by more than 60 days where a credit provider has tried to contact you by letter
• previously listed overdue accounts that have been settled or brought up to date
• bankruptcy orders
• defaults and court processes such as claims, summonses and judgments for a limited time

This information does not stay on your file indefinitely. Credit applications and defaults are deleted after five years and serious credit infringements and bankruptcies are removed after seven years from the date of listing.

Note that even when the overdue account has been paid in full, it will remain on record. All overdue account listings remain on file for five years. The fact that an account has become overdue and then been paid, becomes part of your credit history.

Complete details of what is kept on your file can be found on the websites of personal credit reporting agencies such as Veda Advantage or Dun and Bradstreet.

When a credit file is used

When you apply for a loan, open an account with a financial institution, department store or telephone service, the provider will assess whether you will repay the money.

Depending on the type of credit you apply for, this assessment may include:

• Checking your identity
• Consideration of the type and location of your home and your employment history
• Assessing your financial position such as income and committed costs
• Checking your credit history.

Credit providers each have their own lending criteria. They will attach varying degrees of importance to the information you provide them and that contained in your credit file. They will decide whether or not to approve credit based on their assessment of your level of risk for the amount you have requested. Your application may be rejected on the basis of a history of unpaid bills, insufficient income or a combination of reasons. If you are rejected on the basis of your credit record, you must be notified in writing.

Access to your credit file

The Privacy Act restricts the release of information held by credit reporting agencies, what information can be held and for how long it can be held. Details of your credit records can only be released to you, or to a credit provider under your authorisation.

When you apply for loan or credit, the provider will ask you to authorise their access to your credit file. They should also explain how they will use this information.

This information can only be used for that particular application. It is only relevant at the time you apply and for the type of credit you have applied for (eg credit card, mortgage). If you apply again for credit, say a month later, then the credit provider must repeat this process and request another authority to access your credit record.

Each application for credit is recorded on your credit file.

Know what is on your credit file

It is recommended that you periodically check what is contained on your file, as this is a record of your reputation as a borrower. Credit providers rely on this information when deciding whether to lend you money. Checking your report will also alert you if someone else has been using your identity to borrow money or if it contains mistakes.

How to get a report

If requested in writing, credit reporting agencies must provide you a report detailing all records on your file. The credit provider must provide a copy of your file within 10 working days of receiving your written request. Section 33 of the South Australian Fair Trading Act 1987 states that this must be provided free of charge to South Australians. If you require a copy urgently, you can request this online or by fax. However, a fee will be charged for this express service.

Contact a personal credit reporting agency, such as Veda Advantage or Dun and Bradstreet for complete details about how to apply for a copy of your file. These companies are listed in the Yellow Pages and are also accessible on the Internet.

You can request a free credit report by fax or mail: Mail: Veda Advantage Public Access PO Box 964 North Sydney NSW 2059 Phone: 1300 762 207 Fax: (02) 9951 7880 www.mycreditfile.com.au

If you need your report more urgently you can order online for a fee of $27. (Note that if you write a hardcopy letter, then it must be provided free of charge.)


If you are a victim of credit fraud or your purse or wallet has been stolen, you may consider paying a credit reporting agency for a credit alert service. They will monitor your file and notify you each time your file is accessed.

If someone has used your identity details to obtain credit, this is credit fraud and should be reported to the police. Refer to Identity Theft - If it Happens To You

Correcting your credit records

You can correct or update your personal details held on the file by informing the credit reporting agency in writing. However, other records can only be changed when the relevant credit provider notifies the reporting agency.

If you have an overdue account (default) on your record that:

Has been paid but not updated.
Contact the listed credit provider in writing and ask them to notify the credit reporting agency. Your record should be updated within five days of the credit reporting agency receiving this notification.

May be genuine.
Contact the company and ask for a copy of the original account. If it is genuine and you have no grounds for dispute, pay it and ask the company (in writing) to notify the credit reporting agency that it has been paid.

Is not yours (you may not even recall having an account with that company).
Write to the credit provider and request them to investigate the matter. If the credit provider confirms with the credit reporting agency that the account is not yours, it will be removed from your file.

In South Australia, section 34 the Fair Trading Act 1987, specifies the exact process for correction of errors.

1. Write to the credit reporting agency or trader about the inaccuracy or incompleteness of your report.

2. The credit reporting agency or trader must try to verify your claim within a reasonable time and inform you within 30 days of any changes to your report resulting from their investigation.

3. They must also notify this change to each person who requested a copy of your report in the 60 days prior to the alteration or to any person who requested a report and for whom the change is relevant.

4. If either the reporting agency or the trader fails to undertake to update your file, you can appeal to the Magistrates Court. You are also entitled to have your problem handled under the dispute resolution procedures set out in the Credit Reporting Code of Conduct issued by the Federal Privacy Commissioner and, ultimately, to complain to the Federal Privacy Commissioner.

It is important to correct/update your file as your credit reputation could be at risk and may jeopardise any future personal finance or business plans.

If you have a dispute with a credit provider you may wish to seek advice from agencies specific to the type of account:

• The Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman or the Credit Union Dispute Resolution Centre on 1300 780 808
• Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (telephone or internet service providers) on 1800 062 058 or via their website http://www.tio.com.au

Alternatively, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or via their online complaints form.

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