Check your own credit report for free
Did you know that you can request your own credit report for free?
How is this you ask? The information contained in the report is your personal information, therefore you can request access to it. However, this will take up to 20 working days so if you’re in a rush you may choose to pay a fee to speed up the process.
The Privacy Commissioner and Citizens Advice Bureaux have more information on what you need to know about credit reporting.
What’s the benefit in requesting your own credit report?
It gives you a complete file of all the credit information on you. You may not be aware of an outstanding speeding or parking fine that you never received because it was sent to the wrong address. Or an agency may have incorrect information about you. By having a heads up, you are in a position to do something about it before you apply for lending. In turn, this will help to avoid disappointment of having your loan application declined.
It is important to note that every time a company (brokers, lenders, utilities, etc) performs a credit check on you, this lowers your credit score so you need to consider this if you are planning on applying to a number of financiers. Applying for your own credit report will not affect your credit score.
Who are the companies that provide credit reporting?
In New Zealand there are three reporting companies:
How easy is it to request my own credit report?
It’s really easy. Equifax and Centrix require a form of ID such as your driver licence and to enter your employer and your address for the past three years. Illion requires a little bit more work, such as setting up a login account, and uploading two forms ID (driver licence/passport) or one form of ID and a utility or rates bill (must be less that 2 megabytes). The upside is that for the extra effort, your credit report wait time is reduced.
What if the information within my credit report is incorrect?
All agencies are required by law to hold correct information. If the information within the credit report is incorrect and you have notified them, they are required to investigate.
The Privacy Commissioner recommends that the best way to find out if your report contains inaccuracies is to regularly request a copy of your credit report from the credit reporters to make sure your information is right.
Learn more at Privacy Commissioner – Credit Reporting Privacy Code.