Credit history: how it is formed and how to check it
A credit history is a record, not a punishment. You can check it yourself, and it is worth doing before applying, not after.
When an obligation is not met, or met only in part, the lender sends the data to the credit bureau within 1–3 business days. That is where the credit history is formed: a record of every loan, repayment and delay.
The record is kept whether or not the loan has been repaid. A history of payments made on time matters as much as a history of delays — and it is what works in your favour at the next application.
How to check
You can request your credit history from the ACRA credit bureau in the manner set out at acra.am. It shows what data is held about you and which lender submitted it. If an entry is wrong, the correction is requested from that same lender.
What damages a history
- A late payment — even by a few days
- A small unpaid debt: the amount does not matter, the fact does
- Acting as guarantor: someone else's delay appears in the guarantor's history too
A poor credit history may prevent you from obtaining a loan in the future. Lending decisions are made on the basis of a solvency assessment.