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Frequently Asked Questions
Can shopping around for credit impact my credit report?
Every time you apply for credit and a credit provider obtains a copy of your report, an enquiry is added to your credit report. This can include any loan, mortgage or utilities applications you may make. Credit providers may take a negative view of a relatively high number of enquiries made in a short space of time, which may in turn affect your ability to obtain credit.
However, the number of enquiries recorded on your credit report is just one piece of information a lender may consider when assessing your application for credit. Lenders look at a variety of information on your application form, if you are existing customer as well as your credit report to assess your application.
Can paying my phone or electricity bill late impact my credit file?
Yes, it can. Under the Privacy Act 1988, an overdue debt can be listed on your consumer credit report when it is overdue by 60 days or more, when the debt is at least $150. Please note that information about whether your have paid your account on time each month or not cannot be listed by a telco or utility provider as they are not a licensed credit providers, unless you are 60 days or more overdue.
Before listing a default, the credit provider must have sent a written notice seeking payment of the overdue debt and a written notice stating that the default may be listed with a credit reporting body.
Once you’ve paid the overdue debt, the credit provider is required to update the listing on your credit report to 'paid' as soon as is practicable.
If the overdue debt is classified as a serious credit infringement, where you have left or appear to have left your last known address, the credit provider must first have listed a default and must have had no contact with you for the preceding 6 months.
The legislation does not place obligations on credit providers with respect to commercial credit defaults which means the obligations relating to consumer defaults and serious credit infringements does not apply to commercial defaults and clearouts.
If I do not pay the minimum balance on my credit card each month will this impact my credit report?
Yes, it can. From 12 March 2014 repayment history information, such as if you make your credit card and loan repayments on time, can be held on your credit report. Whilst one late repayment, depending upon how late it was, followed by making your repayments on time, may not significantly impact your credit worthiness, a number of late payments could be an indication you are in financial stress and may negatively impact your credit report.
What to do if you can’t pay your bills or meet financial repayments?
If you can’t meet your financial commitments, it’s important that you act quickly. Firstly, talk to your credit providers and find out if they’ve got procedures in place to help borrowers experiencing financial hardship. If you talk to them before you default, you may avoid having an overdue debt listed on your credit report.
If you need financial advice or legal counselling, there are a number of free services offered by community organisations, community legal centres and some government agencies that may be of help.
ASIC MoneySmart also provides information about managing debt on their website.
If I am refused credit, will it impact my credit report?
If you’ve been declined for credit by one credit provider and you continue to make a number of applications, the resulting enquiries on your credit report can negatively affect your chances of obtaining credit in the future.
Information on when an account is open and closed can also be held on your credit report. This, together with your repayment history, can help lenders get a clearer picture on your credit obligations and may be taken into account by some lenders in their assessment of a credit application you make, along with other lending criteria.
If you’ve been refused credit, you have a right to obtain your consumer credit information free of charge within 90 days of being declined credit. ASIC MoneySmart also provides information to help if you have been rejected for a loan.
Access to your credit file is governed the Privacy Act 1988 (the Act). This legislation prescribes to whom, and for what purpose, a credit reporting agency can disclose information held in your consumer credit file. The Australian Privacy Principles of the Act governs other types of personal information held by organisations, including Equifax.
In certain circumstances, Equifax can disclose information in your credit information file (consumer credit) to various organisations, such as:
- Credit providers
- Mortgage insurers
- Trade insurers
- Authorised agents acting on your behalf.
In addition to the above, and subject to certain requirements, commercial credit and public-record information can also be disclosed to organisations that deal with commercial credit-related activities and collect commercial credit debts.
If the entire listing is incorrect, such as an overdue debt that is inadvertently listed on your credit report by a credit provider e.g. the debt is statute barred, Equifax, after investigating your complaint or on the advice of the credit provider, will remove the listing.
In addition, there are certain circumstances when you can request information be deleted from your file, these are:
- When a default listed on the consumer portion of your credit report has subsequently become statute barred.
- When there is a default listing and you have entered a new arrangement with the relevant credit provider and a credit provider and the default listed on the consumer portion of your credit report was the result of an unavoidable error such as a natural disaster or bank error.
Equifax will investigate and remove the default information if the debt has become statute barred or the listing was a result of unavoidable circumstances and you have entered into a new arrangement with the credit provider.
This all depends on the type of data. Identity information including your name, date of birth, gender, driver’s licence and address history is held for the life of the credit report. For other information on your credit report, here are some of the typical timeframes.
Two years
Repayment history information
Five years
Any credit enquiry
Overdue accounts listed as a payment default
Overdue accounts listed as clearouts
Writs and summons
Court judgments
Seven years
Overdue accounts listed as a serious credit infringement
For some information the timeframe will vary
- Information about consumer credit accounts you have with credit providers (known as consumer credit liability information). This information can be held for 2 years after the account has been terminated or ceases to exist. This means that the account information will remain on file for the length of the loan plus 2 years.
- Similarly, if you are bankrupt, have a debt agreement or personal insolvency the length of time this information remains on file could vary depending upon when the bankruptcy, debt agreement or personal insolvency agreement was entered into and when it ends.
At Equifax, we automatically delete information from your credit report on or just before its expiry date, calculated using the retention periods set out in the Privacy Act.
We’ll create a credit file when we first receive information about you, such as an enquiry made to a credit provider, a business directorship, or default judgement information.
Remember, banks and financial institutions are not the only providers of credit. Any company that provides payment terms of at least seven days may also be a credit provider, including mobile phone, electricity and gas companies. These companies may access your credit file with your knowledge, as part of assessing your request for a particular service. You can get a copy of your credit report for free. We also have a range of annual subscription packages to get you a copy of your Equifax credit report, your Equifax Score and other features such as credit and identity monitoring.
Your consumer credit report can be updated on a monthly basis with account repayment information such as if you have paid a credit card, or other personal credit, on time. If it has not been paid on time this will also be recorded. Your credit report may also be updated whenever you apply for credit, open or close an account, change your credit limit or agree to act as a guarantor for someone else. Credit providers may also update your report when they list any overdue debts you may have incurred and we may also add certain information obtained from third parties, such as default judgments, court writs and Bankruptcy Act information.