Your credit score and credit report are very important parts of your financial wellness. Credit providers use credit scores and the credit report to decide whether to advance any credit to you and at what rate. There are numerous risks to a poor credit score. For that reason, you should regularly monitor your credit score and your credit report, so that you can notice errors and issues as early as possible. What happens if you do find an error?
What happens if I find an Error on my Credit Report?
If you find an error on your credit report, e.g. a late payment, first contact the relevant credit provider to see if there may have been a problem with paying an instalment. Perhaps a debit order bounced because you didn't have enough funds, which then led to a 'late payment' strike on your credit record.
However, if there is a new account on your credit report that you don't recognise, or enquiries have been made against your credit profile that you were not aware of, you should contact the credit bureaus to lodge a dispute.
Lodging a Dispute with a Credit Bureau
Lodging a dispute with a credit bureau is as easy as picking up the phone and engaging with the customer service department of the credit bureau. A consumer can lodge a dispute to query wrong information on a credit report, such as paid up accounts still shown as active or unpaid, debt review status still reflecting on the credit report when all accounts have been paid off and a clearance certificate has been issued. It is well within your rights to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information on your credit report. According to Regulation No. R. 144 of the National Credit Regulator, credit bureaus must comply with the request to remove adverse consumer credit information and information relating to paid-up judgments.
In South Africa there are about three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and XDS. The credit bureaus compile their own credit reports. Here's how to reach them:
- Transunion: 0861 482 482
- Experian: 0861 105 665
- XDS: 011 645 9100
Should you need any assistance with checking your credit information, reach out to Debt Sage to help.