From 12 March 2014 additional information was permitted to be collected, held and disclosed by credit bureaus such as Equifax. This provides more information that credit providers can use to assess your history. Once this data is supplied by credit providers, your credit history will include information such as:

• Account open date and close dates
• Type of credit account such as a credit card or personal loan
• Credit limit. This is the maximum amount of credit available to you for an account. If you accept a credit limit increase the new credit limit could be included on your credit history.
• Monthly repayment history on credit accounts such as mortgages and credit cards. This will reflect whether you paid the minimum amount required on your financial commitments each month on time or not (licensed credit providers only).

This is in addition to the existing information on your credit report such as:

• Personal details – name, address and date of birth
• Consumer credit information:
  • Credit or loan applications, known as enquiries
  • Overdue debts like payment defaults (paid and unpaid)
  • Serious credit infringements
• Publicly available information such as personal insolvency information, court writs, court judgements and directorship information.

You can get your free Equifax Credit Report or track your credit reporting information including your Equifax Credit Score through a monthly subscription package.
 

There are certain circumstances under which you can get a copy of your credit report for free.

• If you have been declined on a credit application, you have the right to access your credit report free during the 90 days following the date you were declined; or
• If you have requested an amendment to your credit information and that amendment has been made; or
• Once every 12 months