Your creditors and credit card companies provide the data in your credit report. This information includes a list of all of your credit accounts, both active and inactive, as well as any most recent account closures. The top credit rating agencies in India use the information in your credit report as a starting point to calculate your credit score, a three-digit number that represents your creditworthiness in the form of CIBIL score range. To do this, you must obtain a copy of your credit report and frequently check it.
The following are the key reasons to make it a routine to request a copy of your credit report every month:
Keeps you aware
Credit scores are taken into account by lenders and the top credit rating agencies in India when determining whether or not a consumer is creditworthy. Therefore, regularly checking your credit score will enable you to take the necessary steps to either maintain or improve it. Additionally, it will give you a precise evaluation of your creditworthiness. As a result, you won’t be turned down for credit cards or loans in the future. Also if needed you will atleast find out ways on how to increase CIBIL score if its on the lower side.
Verify for clerical errors
Credit bureaus will compile your credit report using the data provided by your lender and/or the business that issued your credit card. Your credit report might contain inaccurate information if the lender or credit bureau entered this data incorrectly. These facts might lower your credit score to the below 700 mark on CIBIL score range, which would make it more difficult for you to get credit cards and loans in the future.
You must obtain a copy of your credit report and carefully check it for any errors to determine whether this information is false.
Find instances of identity theft
The fraudulent use of another person’s personal information to conduct financial transactions in that person’s name is known as identity theft. The identity thieves can apply for a credit card or loan in another person’s name using information they fraudulently obtained. By routinely obtaining a copy of your credit report, you might be able to identify any unauthorised credit transactions or inquiries in your name. Your credit report contains a comprehensive list of all transactions and credit-related inquiries.
Try not to throw too many queries
Upon hearing that loans and credit cards help to build/improve score, many people want to quickly know how to increase CIBIL score. Thus they end up submitting many loan or card applications. Thats wrong.
When you apply for a loan or credit card, the lender or credit card issuer will want to see a copy of your credit bureau report so they can review your loan application. This happens each time you apply for a loan or a credit card. The lender makes these “hard inquiries” when requesting credit reports. Your credit score will be reduced by a few points for each of these hard inquiries, thus pushing the three digit number on the lower end of the 300-900 usual CIBIL score range.
Check your credit report with the best credit rating companies in India before submitting a loan application. You can use this to determine your loan eligibility based on your credit score. You can properly set up your loan applications and take the necessary steps to maintain or raise your credit score by using the information provided.
Considerations to make before fetching a credit report
There are currently four major credit rating companies in India, and each one has a unique method for determining creditworthiness. As a result, each of these bureaus will report a different credit score for the same person. Therefore, you should at least once a year ask for a copy of your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus, so that you can also take steps on how to increase CIBIL score if and when needed.
You can also get a free copy of your credit report and regular updates to that report by going to online financial marketplaces. Additionally, these markets inform you of all the various loans and credit cards you are eligible for based on your credit score. You will be informed of any changes to your credit score through their monthly updates, which can help you develop the necessary financial discipline to increase or maintain your credit score.
What information in my credit report requires close examination?
Be sure to pay close attention to the following important items as you read your credit report:
Checking the veracity of credit reports
Both hard and soft inquiries are noted by the credit bureaus on a credit report. If you find an unauthorised hard inquiry on your credit report, you should report it to the credit bureau so that it can be fixed. Keep in mind that persistent inquiries from strangers may be an indication of identity theft. information about a credit account
Your credit report contains a list of all of your open and recently closed loans and credit cards.
Verify that the report contains all accounts and the corresponding payments and that no new or additional accounts have been added.
Details about credit repayment
If loans were repaid on time or not, it will be evident from the borrower’s repayment history, which can be found on a credit report. Lenders carefully review this data to determine how borrowers have paid in the past and will pay in the future. If any of this data is incorrect, you must therefore get in touch with your lender and the bureau to make the necessary adjustments.
Information about identity
Your credit report contains information that can be used to identify you, including your name, PAN, mobile number, mailing address, and other details. Check to see if each word is pronounced properly.
Credit utilisation ratio
This much of your credit limit has been used. Customers who haven’t used more than 30% of their available credit frequently receive loans from lenders. The perception that people who use up more than 30% of their available credit are credit hoarders who are more likely to default on future loans is the cause of this.