Challenges to accessing finance
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      1. Funding Info
      2. Understanding funding
      3. Challenges to accessing finance

      Understanding your Credit Report

      Understanding your credit report can help you manage your finances better.

      Your Credit Report is a detailed record of your personal and Credit history, including payments and account balances. It also includes your credit Score and personal information.

      Understanding it can help you manage your finances better.

      • Identifying Information: This section includes your name, identity number, and contact details, but it doesn't affect your Credit Score. Updates come from information you provide to lenders.
      • Accounts and Payment Behaviour: This part shows how you have repaid your debts in recent years. Lenders report on each account you've had with them.
      • Adverse Information: This section lists accounts that you have failed to repay, notices, judgments, debt collections and debt restructuring.
      • Notices: Legal actions against you after failing to repay debts.
      • Judgments: Court orders compelling you to pay your debts.
      • Debt Collections: Accounts handed over to debt recovery agencies.
      • Debt Restructuring: Details of debt restructuring.

      Understand the language.

      Words like ‘default’ and ‘judgment’ may sneak their way into your life, understanding what they mean is a start.

      • Default – If you’ve missed a payment for over 3 – 6 months, then action is taken against you because you have avoided (or defaulted) on your payment promise. A default stays on your Credit report for one year or until you bring the account up to date. The good news is, that this status is removed once the Credit provider gives confirmation that the money has been paid back.
      • Judgment – This is more serious. If you fail to answer reminder letters, you don’t stick to payment arrangements, or you have fallen behind, a Credit provider can act against you by applying for a court judgment. A court judgment stays on your Credit report for five years or until it is paid in full.

      Free Reports and Dispute Process:

      If your Credit report has errors, you can dispute them with Credit Bureaus for free, which takes up to 20 business days. The Bureau will contact you for more details and investigate disputes with lenders or financial services providers.

      You can get unlimited free Credit reports and information at Up, powered by Experian.

      Up is a simple web-based app developed by Experian that allows individuals, including business owners, to view their personal profile data as hosted by the bureau. This data covers historical credit repayment behaviour as well as a range of other personal information (address data, contact information, historical employment and recent foot-printing enquiries). Furthermore, Up provides a range of learning material in the form of articles and videos, and includes a nifty budgeting tool, allowing for monthly budget planning and access to historical budgets.

      Up is available to free of charge – register here to access your personal information and even receive alerts on changes to your bureau profile data as and when it happens.