RB.1Each job, and its free route
Credit repair companies advertise help with errors on credit reports. Here is each part of that work set beside the route the OAIC and Moneysmart describe.
| The job | The route that costs nothing |
|---|---|
| Getting your report | Each credit reporting body must give you a free copy once every 3 months. How to ask. |
| Fixing an error | Contact the credit reporting body or the lender; both are required to help you complete the request. The OAIC says there is no charge. |
| Disputing a refusal | Complain to the credit provider or credit reporting body, then to AFCA, which Moneysmart describes as free dispute resolution. |
| Help along the way | A free financial counsellor, if you’re struggling to get something fixed. |
| Removing correct negative information | Not possible by any route. Correct information stays. |
RB.2What Moneysmart warns about
- FeesThey may charge high fees for things you can do yourself for free.
- A new defaultIn some cases they may cause negative outcomes, such as a new default from not paying the credit repair fees.
- The scorePaying a credit repair company may not improve your credit score.
Moneysmart’s credit scores page makes the same point from the other side: a company may offer, for a fee, to have every negative listing taken off, yet wrong information is all it can ask a credit reporting body to remove, and you can ask for that yourself at no cost.
RB.3What stays, whoever asks
Moneysmart’s examples of correct information that can’t be changed or removed:
- All payments in the last two years on credit cards, loans or bills, whether on time or not.
- A payment of $150 or more that is at least 60 days overdue: five years, even once it is paid.
- An application for a credit card, store card, home loan, personal loan or business loan: five years.
Moneysmart also notes that buy now pay later applications trigger a credit check. How a late payment is recorded is in repayment history.
RB.4If you are weighing up a company
Moneysmart’s advice is to check, before going ahead, that the company is licensed, using ASIC’s professional registers search and choosing ‘Credit Licensee’ or ‘Credit Representative’ from the drop-down menu. It says to deal only with a licensed credit repair company.
ASIC issues the Australian Credit Licence. The Moneysmart credit repair page links straight to the register search.
RB.5The help that is already free
A financial counsellor can help if you’re struggling to get an error fixed, and Moneysmart lists how to find one. Financial counsellors and community lawyers can also help you deal with a credit provider or credit reporting body, and a third party can request corrections for you on your written authority.
The step-by-step process, with the 30-day limit for a correction, is in fixing an error on your report.