All About Your Credit Profile

Keeping tabs on what’s happening on your credit profile is possibly the single most important aspect of effectively managing your credit. Gone are the days when you only heard about your credit profile when applying for credit. Access to your credit information is so easy nowadays that there simply would be no excuse for not knowing the status of your credit profile.

Your credit profile contains all the information about how you manage your credit facilities. Payment History, Defaults, Judgments and every inquiry made is listed on your credit profile.

When you apply for credit, the credit provider would typically have a look at your payment history to determine if you’ll be diligent in repaying the loan that you just applied for. If your payment history reflects constant late payments or non-payments, chances are you won’t get the loan.

A Judgment also carries a very heavy weight when considering your credit score. Most credit providers will simply reject your application for credit as soon as they see a judgment listing. Making sure that you deal with your credit providers, especially on arrears accounts, is extremely important if you don’t want a judgment listing. When you are unable to pay your accounts on time, and then leave the arrears to pile up, a judgment will soon grace your credit profile.

Your Credit Score is calculated differently by each credit bureau. The score is calculated based on how you managed your payments and what adverse listings appear on your profile. A Low score means you have a poor credit profile, a high score means your credit profile is good.

A Credit Report is not your Credit Profile. A Credit Report is simply the format in which your credit information is displayed. Every credit bureau’s reporting format looks different. Find the one that makes sense to you. CreditSmart will always be here to help you interpret the information on the credit report.

There are some other interesting things to note about your credit profile.

Firstly, all records on your credit profile have specific maximum retention periods. The National Credit Act prescribes these retention periods. If you have settled a judgment, the credit bureaux must remove the judgment listing immediately. In the past, you would have had to make a rescission application to a court to get the judgment listing removed.

Secondly, if you have ZERO debt, your credit score could also look bad. Not because you have bad financial habits, but simply because there is no data to gauge if you are a good manager of your accounts. Taking out a small loan and making the repayments every month will do your credit score a whole bunch of good.

Lastly, before you apply for any credit, make sure you know how your Credit Profile looks and what your Credit Score is by downloading your Credit Report. Applying for credit and having your application rejected is bad for your credit score. Make sure your score is good so you can be sure of an approval when applying for credit.

CreditSmart can provide you with a credit report and a full analysis of your credit profile. Give us a call today to find out more about the services we offer.