YOUR CREDIT REPORT
This fact sheet is for information only. It is recommended that you
get legal advice about your situation.
CASE STUDY
Jin had a personal loan with a credit union. Jin was upset to
receive a default notice on his loan as he had been making his
required loan repayments. Jin went down to the credit union
and discovered that due to a processing error, his payments
had not been credited to his personal loan for three months.
The credit union fixed the problem, adjusted the interest
charged and apologised to Jin. Jin paid the personal loan out
about a year later.
FACT SHEET
Jin then decided to get a home loan and his application was
rejected because of his credit record. Jin got a copy of his
credit record and found a listing from his credit union from 2
years ago stating he was over 60 days in default on his now
repaid personal loan.
WHAT IS A CREDIT REPORT?
CALL THE
CREDIT & DEBT
HOTLINE ON
1800 007 007
Your credit report is a record containing some information about
your dealings with credit providers. The report is held by a credit
reporting agency and accessed by credit providers with your
consent to find out about your credit history.
Credit reports were established as a way of warning credit
providers about borrowers who had not reliably repaid their past
loans. There is more than one credit reporting agency but the
largest dealing with loans for personal purposes (rather than for
business) is Veda Advantage.
Credit providers regularly use credit reporting agencies to assess
whether they should give you a loan. For this reason, it is important
that the information on your credit report is accurate.
Credit providers are any business where payment is deferred
for more than 7 days. Examples are finance companies,
telecommunication companies, some utilities and even video stores.
Fact sheets are information
only and should not be relied
upon as legal advice. This
information only applies to
NSW.
WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE RECORDED ON YOUR
CREDIT REPORT?
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Your personal details including your name, address (and past
addresses), sex, and driver’s licence number;
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Records of credit applications made by you in the past 5 years;
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All rights reserved.
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HARDSHIP
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REPORT
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Records of some of your current loans;
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Accounts where you have been in default over 60 days.
NOTE: The credit provider cannot list the account as overdue until it has
sent you a letter advising you of the default and asking you to fix it
FACT SHEET
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Where the account was listed as being over 60 days in default and
that default was fixed, your credit report will also list the date the
default was fixed. The listing does not fall off just because you have
paid it;
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Court judgments;
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Dishonoured cheques where the amount is over $100 and the
cheque was presented twice;
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“Clearout Listings” (called a serious credit infringement) This is
where the credit provider has tried to locate you unsuccessfully and
reasonably believes that you have decided not to pay the debt;
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Bankruptcy orders.
HOW LONG DO THE ABOVE LISTINGS BY CREDIT PROVIDERS
STAY ON MY FILE?
Credit applications, overdue accounts (over 60 days) and court judgments
are held on your file for 5 years from the date of listing. Bankruptcies
or serious credit infringements stay on your file for 7 years from the
date of listing. You should also note that information about who has
been bankrupt is recorded on the National Personal Insolvency Index
permanently.
YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE PRIVACY ACT
You have rights under the Privacy Act in relation to your credit report.
They are:
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You can get a copy of your personal credit report at any time for free
(see How to get a copy of your credit report below for details);
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You can request incorrect information be amended or a dispute
noted on your file;
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You can expect that your credit report cannot be looked at by anyone
other than credit providers, potential credit providers and Veda
Advantage staff;
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You can expect to be told by the credit provider if a loan is refused
because of listings on your credit record;
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The credit provider must seek your consent to:
a. View your credit report; and
b. Give information to a credit reporting agency, if required.
These consents are almost always contained in the application form.
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YOUR CREDIT
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HOW TO GET A COPY OF YOUR CREDIT REPORT
A copy of your credit report can be obtained for free by writing to Veda
Advantage. A letter you can use to do this is Sample Letters: Request for
a Copy of your Credit Report . Your report should be received within 10
working days of Veda Advantage receiving your request. For more urgent
requests contact Veda Advantage (See Getting Help) – Fees apply for
urgent access to your credit report.
You should note that it is likely that your current contact details will be
able to be obtained by any previous lender when they are supplied to
Veda Advantage.
FACT SHEET
WHAT DO I DO IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH MY CREDIT
REPORT?
STEP 1
Get a copy of your credit record. If the information in your credit record is
wrong or misleading you can make a complaint.
STEP 2
Write to the credit provider and raise your dispute. You need to give
reasons as to why the listing is misleading or wrong.
STEP 3
If the credit provider is in an external dispute resolution scheme (ask the
credit provider if they are or ring us) you should refer the complaint to the
external dispute resolution scheme.
STEP 4
If the credit provider is not in an external dispute resolution scheme you
should make a complaint to Veda Advantage.
Some examples:
1. You do not owe the debt listed. For example, someone used your
stolen ID and obtained a loan. Write giving details of what happened
and a copy of your report to the police.
2. The loan was not overdue for 60 days or you were not notified of the
default. For example, you missed one payment on your loan but you
were never 60 days in default. In this case you would send copies of
your account statements as evidence.
3.
The amount of the debt listed is incorrect. Write giving evidence (for
example, account statements or copies of letters from the lender)
and reasons why the amount is wrong.
4. It has been over 5 years since the overdue listing was made. State
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that the listing was made over 5 years ago and should now be
deleted.
5. No dealings with the lender listed.
6. The same overdue account has been listed twice. For example, your
account was listed as overdue. You went overseas and had forgotten
about the debt. A debt collector is now pursuing the debt and the
default has been listed again.
FACT SHEET
7. You were listed as a “clearout” and you were easily contactable.
For example, you separated from your partner in a joint loan and
forgot to notify the lender of your new address. You were always
listed in the phone book. In this case you would argue that it was
unreasonable to list you as a “clearout”.
Insist on a reply in writing to your dispute.
STEP 5
If you do not receive a satisfactory response to your complaint you can
make a written complaint to the Federal Privacy Commissioner Phone:
1300 363 992 or visit www.privacy.gov.au. If you have suffered a financial
loss due to an incorrect credit report you should include this in your
complaint to the Privacy Commissioner. Remember you only have 12
months from the date you became aware of the inaccurate listing to file
your complaint with the Federal Privacy Commissioner.
NEED SOME MORE HELP?
See Fact Sheet: Getting Help for a list of additional resources.
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