Taking charge of your credit behavior starts with knowing where you stand in the eyes of lenders and credit bureaus. You will do this by regularly monitoring your credit report. Luckily, this isn’t an expensive thing to do, and there are even ways to get your credit report for free. We will cover everything you need to know in this helpful article.
How Much Does It Cost To Pull A Credit Report
In South Africa, you are entitled to one free credit report from each bureau once a year. That is a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year. So if you accessed your credit report last February, you will be entitled to your next free direct report the following February.
What if you want to monitor your credit regularly, and need more than one report a year? You can access as many credit reports as you need, when you want them, directly from the bureau, at a very small charge. This is typically between R20 and R30 per report. You can even sign up for a regular monthly service on most of the major credit unions if you would like it automatically done for you, again for a small fee.
If you would like to keep a careful eye on your credit report, but don’t want to pay for new reports, you can also make use of a third-party credit service. Two trusted names are Kudough and ClearScore. These services are typically free. They do come packaged with loan offers from lenders, but these can be easily ignored. The data may be slightly different from your ‘official’ credit report, as many of these services use aggregated data from 2 or more sources. However, it will give you a good idea of where you stand and what is impacting your credit score- and free is always a great price!
Do You Need Permission To Pull A Credit Report?
If you are pulling your own credit report, for monitoring purposes, you do not need permission to do so. The bureaus will ask you to verify your identity, and then send you your free or paid credit report directly as you are the ‘owner’ of the report. You have a right to know your credit score and history. We also suggest proactive regular monitoring of your credit report as a tool to boost your financial health and understanding.
You only need explicit written permission to check a credit report if you are a lender, landlord, or other interested party attempting to access someone else’s credit score. Explicit permission and a valid reason to need the credit information are two cornerstones of the South African system. You can’t simply access someone else’s report, even with their written permission, without the accompanying valid reason to do so.
This wards off issues that some overseas countries face, like companies ‘cold calling’ to offer you credit based on credit checks you didn’t authorize in the first place. It stops lenders from clogging up your report with unasked-for hard inquiries for credit you didn’t need or want. It also provides greater security around your sensitive personal and financial information.
How To Check If You Are Blacklisted In South Africa For Free?
There is no longer a blacklisting system in South Africa. This fell away when we moved away from reporting only negative credit behavior to the bureaus to a system where positives and negatives are reported. Instead, you have an agile and ever-changing credit score, impacted by good and bad credit management, that can be more easily rehabilitated.
This doesn’t guarantee everyone has a great score, of course! However, addressing the issues on your credit report, such as defaulted payments, and proactively managing your debt better, will slowly raise your score with time. No need to worry about blacklists and other issues.
As improving your credit score starts with knowing your position in the eyes of lenders and the bureaus, the best thing you can do for your credit health is to regularly monitor your credit report. This lets you dispute any outdated, false, or fraudulent information on the report swiftly. It also ensures you always know what is impacting your score, which is the first step to addressing issues and improving your position.
How Do I Clear My Name From A Credit Bureau In South Africa?
If the negative entries on your credit report are all valid and authentic, there is little you can do to clear your name with the credit bureaus other than take proactive steps to establish payment plans or other deals with the lenders in question. While this is a frustrating situation to face, remember that the South African credit score system is very fair. Both your positive and negative credit behaviors are reported to the bureau and nothing is set in stone forever.
As every piece of information has its own ‘time out’ period, prescribed by set standards, this means your score is ‘rolling’, meaning it will change from month to month and can be more easily rehabilitated. Simply fixing your current behavior around your debt, paying your monthly accounts fully and on time, and reaching an agreement on defaulted debt or court judgments will do a lot to rehabilitate your credit, even if negative entries remain. Once they are addressed or fall away, you could even have a strong credit score!
Remember, knowledge is power! So take advantage of your free credit reports, and don’t hesitate to pull new ones if you need- the fee is tiny next to the peace of mind it will bring!
