By Dan Cuthbert

Here are two great pieces of information I have found on the Money Smart Website (www.moneysmart.gov.au). This site is a Federal Government and ASIC sponsored site and has some great information on all financial matters.

Your Credit Report If you have ever applied for credit or a loan (whether or not you went ahead), you are likely to have a credit report. Credit providers use the information in your credit report to help work out whether you can afford a loan, or a larger credit limit on an existing loan, and whether you are likely to repay it.

It’s a good idea to check your credit report every year. As well as affecting your ability to get credit, incorrect listings can alert you to things like identity theft, where other people use your personal information for financial gain.

How does a Credit Report work? Your credit report details your credit history. Credit reporting agencies collect information from credit providers who subscribe to their services. You can get a copy of your credit report from these agencies:

Veda Advantage – visit www.mycreditfile.com.au or phone 1300 762 207 Dun and Bradstreet - visit www.dnbcreditreport.com.au or phone 13 23 33 Tasmanian Collection Service – visit www.tascol.com.au or phone 03 6213 5555

You could have a credit report with more than one reporting agency. If you live in Tasmania, check with Tasmanian Collection Service. If you live in other states check with Veda Advantage and Dun and Bradstreet.

Check your Credit Report The Privacy Act says how the information in your credit report can be used. It also gives you the right to find out what’s in your report and change any incorrect information. Credit providers must tell you if your application has been rejected because of something in your credit file.

You are entitled to check your credit report for free! If you need to see it quickly, there may be a charge, but if you are prepared to wait a little longer (around 10 days) it won’t cost you anything. Here are some important points to double check:

1. Your name or date of birth might be incorrect;
2. Your address may need updating;
3. A debt might be listed twice or the amount might be wrong;
4. You may have missed one repayment on your loan but were never 60 days in default;
5. Someone might have stolen your identity to get credit.

Here’s what might be listed in your report: • Your personal details - your name, date of birth, current and past addresses, employment and driver’s licence number; • Your credit history- listings of any credit or loans you have applied for, defaults (overdue payments of 60 days or more where collection activity has started) and any other credit infringements (infringements can be listed for up to five years after they occurred, or seven years for serious infringements); • Other Information- bankruptcies (for up to seven years after they occurred), court judgments, debt agreements and personal insolvency agreements (for up to five years after they occurred).

Proposed changes to the Privacy Act that are under consideration by Parliament could soon add more information to your credit report.

Changing an Incorrect Listing If you do not agree with what is on your credit report, you can request to have it changed. Incorrect listings should be changed for free. However, a credit report cannot be changed unless a listing is shown to be inaccurate or out of date.

Avoid debt solution companies that claim they can ‘improve’ your credit report, especially those that charge fees for services that credit reporting agencies provide for free.

In most cases, default listings and other information about your credit history cannot be removed from a report unless proven to be incorrect. Listings usually remain on a credit report for the maximum period under the Privacy Act (five or seven years).

Follow these steps to change an incorrect listing:

1. Talk with the credit reporting agency first- they may be able to fix small errors straight away. For others, they will help you through the steps needed to make a change. They may offer to contact credit providers for you.
2. Talk with your credit provider - contact your credit provider and explain why the listing is misleading or incorrect. If they don’t fix the problem, go directly to your credit provider’s independent dispute resolution scheme. This will be either the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) at www.fos.org.au or the Credit Ombudsman Service Ltd (COSL) at www.cosl.com.au. Both schemes can be reached by calling 1300 780 808
3. Listing still incorrect? Contact the Privacy Commissioner - if you still haven’t been able to sort out the problem after going to your provider’s dispute resolution scheme, contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (go to www.privacy.gov.au). You have 12 months from the date you became aware of the problem to file a complaint. If the incorrect listing has caused you financial loss, include this in your complaint.

TrackMySpend

Keep track of your expenses on the go - track your personal expenses on the go with the free easy-to-use app!

Track your spending • Track expenses by categories • Track expenses while you are travelling or on an outing • Record work or project-related expenses

Set Goals and Save • Set a realistic spending limit and stick to it • Separate ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ to identify opportunities to save • Manage your household or family budget

Use the app to get a clear picture of what you are spending your money on and gain control of your money.

Features of the TrackMySpend app

Simple interface • View a tracking bar that shows your actual spending against a set limit • Create ‘favourites’ for frequent expenses

Puts you in control • Nominate a spending limit (per week, fortnight, month or year) and track your progress

Easy backup and review • View your expense history • Free data backup to prevent data loss • Sync your profile and use on multiple devices • Export data to a CSV file (for Excel, or other financial software)