March credit report changes

[Isochronous]

Summarised here: What has changed? | Credit Smart

Information to be included under the new system:

• your name, or any alias you use or a previous name, date of birth, gender, current or last known address and two (only) previous addresses, current or last known employer and driver’s licence number
• information that shows you applied for credit, and the type and amount of credit that you applied for
• the date you opened your credit accounts
• the type of credit accounts you opened
• the date a credit account was closed
• the maximum amount of credit available to you under each credit account (and if you get a credit limit increase on a credit card, for example, the new credit limit can be shown)
• basic information about the terms or conditions relating to the credit repayment (such as any maximum term and whether payments are interest-only or principal and interest)
• the name of your credit providers and whether they hold an Australian credit licence
• default information (that is, a payment of more than $150 that is at least 60 days overdue and for which you have been served with at least two notices requiring payment)
• information that shows you have paid the full amount of a default , and the date you paid it
• information that shows that, because of a default , you have entered into a new or varied arrangement with that credit provider (or another credit provider )
• information about whether monthly repayments have been paid on time over the past two years (this information can only be supplied and accessed by credit providers that hold an Australian credit licence or by an organisation that is considering providing mortgage insurance for a home loan you have applied for. Telecommunications companies and utilities providers such as electricity or gas companies do not currently hold Australian credit licences. This means they cannot supply or access this information.).
• publicly available information about your history and activities in relation to consumer credit
• a credit provider’s opinion that you have fraudulently attempted to get credit or fraudulently evaded your obligations to repay credit, or that you do not intend to comply with your repayment obligations (after taking steps to contact you over a period of at least six months and failing to do so)
• court judgements about credit provided to you (or that you applied for)
• information about a bankruptcy, a debt agreement or personal insolvency agreement.

This may affect some of you doing applications for points bonuses. Then we'll have to look back at the good old days pre-March 2014 when it was so much easier!

 

[kpc]

Hmmm....very interesting. When in March does this start? I guess the big problem for a lot us with a lot of different cards is the total credit limit which is not listed, and only known if you declare it (accurately) when you apply for a new credit card.

 

[doctorofcredit]

Is this retroactive or only on new data gathered after the date? How long does this information stay in our file? Were any other consumer protections added? I've been out of the country for awhile so obviously missed this.

I assume this was an amendment to the Privacy Act? Any idea what the amendment was titled? I got a feeling Australian consumers got ****ed whilst I was away.

 

[akeno]

According to the privacy fact sheet, comprehensive credit reporting will have collected information starting from January 2013. So if you have been 60 days late since January 2013, then that information will show up in your March Report. Collection of this information has already started.

http://www.oaic.gov.au/images/docum...y-fact-sheet-16-credit-history-repayments.pdf

 

[ferrariz]

Summarised here: What has changed? | Credit Smart

Information to be included under the new system:

[/LIST]
This may affect some of you doing applications for points bonuses. Then we'll have to look back at the good old days pre-March 2014 when it was so much easier!

Actually, it will become easier.. Currently, banks can only see credit card enquiries, not how much you owe on the card or even if you actually still have it. Most of them then assume you have most of that credit, which lowers the amount of credit they are willing to give you.

No in the new regime, if you apply for and open cards for points and then close them, as far as the new bank is concerned, you have low outstanding credit.. A good thing

 

[doctorofcredit]

According to the privacy fact sheet, comprehensive credit reporting will have collected information starting from January 2013. So if you have been 60 days late since January 2013, then that information will show up in your March Report. Collection of this information has already started.

http://www.oaic.gov.au/images/docum...y-fact-sheet-16-credit-history-repayments.pdf

Information about any particular payment cannot
be held for more than two years from the date it
was due.

That's pretty reasonable and a lot better than the 7 years credit bureaus in the US can hold onto it for.

 

[akeno]

Information about any particular payment cannot
be held for more than two years from the date it
was due.

That's pretty reasonable and a lot better than the 7 years credit bureaus in the US can hold onto it for.

sounds reasonable but I feel collection of such information such as repayment history will affect a lot of people getting Credit if you are the type that makes minimum repayments. That would look bad on your file.

 

[akeno]

Actually, it will become easier.. Currently, banks can only see credit card enquiries, not how much you owe on the card or even if you actually still have it. Most of them then assume you have most of that credit, which lowers the amount of credit they are willing to give you.

No in the new regime, if you apply for and open cards for points and then close them, as far as the new bank is concerned, you have low outstanding credit.. A good thing

Opening and closing Credit Accounts is not a big deal anymore. With the new credit report, it is about RHI (Repayment History Info). So information such as making payments on time, or whether you are making min repayments will have a huge impact on getting Credit in the future.

 

[quokka77]

Interesting times. I wonder how much of this stuff will make it into consumer tools / accessible reports like Secure Sentinel by (Darth) Veda.

 

[adam15]

Opening and closing Credit Accounts is not a big deal anymore. With the new credit report, it is about RHI (Repayment History Info). So information such as making payments on time, or whether you are making min repayments will have a huge impact on getting Credit in the future.

I suspect that consumers that only repay the minimum amount (and on time) are the most desirable from the provider's perspective.

 

[Diesellife]

I suspect that consumers that only repay the minimum amount (and on time) are the most desirable from the provider's perspective.

Unfortunately, that information will not be available in the credit report.
The report will not have the "repayment amount", the report can only show if the person has made the required payment on time or has been late...

 

[burmans]

sounds reasonable but I feel collection of such information such as repayment history will affect a lot of people getting Credit if you are the type that makes minimum repayments. That would look bad on your file.

If you only make minimum repayments you are still reported as up to date with your payments so this is not a bad thing on credit reports!

 

[burmans]

Hmmm....very interesting. When in March does this start? I guess the big problem for a lot us with a lot of different cards is the total credit limit which is not listed, and only known if you declare it (accurately) when you apply for a new credit card.

Starts 12th March but most credit providers won't be on the new system until probably Q3/4 this year, and note that credit providers can only provide RHI from when they notify their customers, first Credit Providers started notifying in December and some still are doing so.

Once all credit providers are on board the number of applications you make will be somewhat irrelevant, what matters most is the total borrowing you already have and your repayment history on these account. It does mean you should be careful on credit limits and actually close accounts you don't use though as these credit limits will be taken into account even if you don't use (it's limit reported, not balance).

 

[Diesellife]

Too bad that I love my limit spread out here and there... I'm not giving up my 200k limit :-( they all serve different purposes...

 

[doctorofcredit]

Too bad that I love my limit spread out here and there... I'm not giving up my 200k limit :-( they all serve different purposes...

You can always ask for a credit limit reduction. Don't really see any need whatsoever for such a large credit limit unless you're doing significant volume. Worst comes to worst, you can just pay off cards mid month.

 

[smit0847]

I'm not sure whether this has been covered before but because of the March changes each credit provider is legally required to give you a copy of your credit report every 12 months. With at least 3 major credit reporting agencies this means you can get a free report at least every 4 months. These companies do make it quite hard to obtain (they bury the 'free' option down below all the paid options as obviously they are making no money from a free report) but they have to give it to you.

I got mine from d&b and it showed almost nothing - only a couple of enquiries for cards several years ago. No recent CC applications and my home loan was not listed at all!

I've just ordered mine from Veda to see what they show up.

 

[burmans]

I'm not sure whether this has been covered before but because of the March changes each credit provider is legally required to give you a copy of your credit report every 12 months. With at least 3 major credit reporting agencies this means you can get a free report at least every 4 months. These companies do make it quite hard to obtain (they bury the 'free' option down below all the paid options as obviously they are making no money from a free report) but they have to give it to you.

I got mine from d&b and it showed almost nothing - only a couple of enquiries for cards several years ago. No recent CC applications and my home loan was not listed at all!

I've just ordered mine from Veda to see what they show up.

Veda are still by far the biggest Credit Reporting Bureau (pedantry I know but legally now called "Bureaus" not "Agencies" with the new Act). Would encourage everyone to do this once a year but must note again that you wont see repayment history information at this time until credit providers start reporting it.