What is a credit file?

A credit file is a record of your credit history and is maintained by agencies such as Veda Advantage and baycorp. The information shown on your credit file includes any loan applications you have applied for that were not approved, defaults on loans, bankruptcy, and other adverse events. This information can be accessed by other financial institutions such as the banks which would help them determine your character as a potential borrower.

If the banks can see a lot of blemishes on your credit file such as unpaid debts and missed payments they will assume that you will have the same approach towards a mortgage, so they will be extremely cautious when assessing your loan application. It is uncommon to have more then one credit file, this happens when you have a name changed for legal reasons or marriage. 

How to obtain my credit file?

You can obtain a your credit file from Veda Advantage at http://www.vedaadvantage.com/ they charge $35 for a standard credit check ( 24 hrs). However everyone is entitled to one FREE credit file check, once per year: just simply download our form, fill in and fax/email to Veda Advantage ( 10 working days).

For existing and new Shape Home loan client's, your broker can carry out a credit check on the spot and explain to you how to read and fix your credit file.

What information is on a credit file?

The lenders are very cautious in lending money to borrowers who have a bad credit history that is either ongoing or where the adverse listings have not been cleared, therefore it is important that you know what your credit history is like.

The following points indicate what information is recorded onto your credit file that can be seen by the banks and lenders:

• Your name, date of birth, address, previous address, drivers license number, employer, previous employer.
• Company directorships
• All loans you have applied for in the last 5 years come up as “Enquiries”.
• Any loans where you have not made the repayments come up as “Defaults”. Generally a default is listed after 3 months of missed repayments.
• Court Judgments
• Court Writs
• Bankruptcy history

Did you know that approximately 14% of Australians have a default or other black mark on their credit file? To save yourself from being turned down by the banks for a loan due to your bad credit history, simply enquire online and one of our specialist mortgage brokers will help you get finance approval!

How can i clean up my file?

Depending on the file you want to clean up, we will work with you and a third organization that specialize in credit file clean up to help you wipe clean your file. 

Click here to understand how to improve your credit file and read your credit file [ July 2015 ]