Has a bank
turned down your loan application citing poor credit history ? Now you can
check why your credit record worked against you and seek recourse by obtaining
a copy of your credit report.
All you need
to do is fill up an application form available at Credit Information Bureau
(India) or Cibil’s website, attach a draft for Rs.142 and an identity proof
and mail it to Cibil. The report would reach you within a week.
Credit
scores, which are used by banks to assess an applicant’s creditworthiness is
new to India, with Cibil, which started operations around five years ago,
being the sole service provider at present, though it could soon have
competition from three other players.
While only
banking records were available at present, the information provider has
started pilot projects with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone to include data related
to telephone bill payments as well, Thukral said. Going forward, information
from general insurance companies would also be included, he said.
From the
database covering over 140 million accounts, the agency provides a credit
score between 300 and 900 for banks to enable the lenders to decide on whether
a loan could be sanctioned or not.
In the past,
several individuals have complained that their credit records were not updated
affecting their overall score. On its part, Cibil blamed banks for not
updating the records, but customers could do little to find out how the
problem arose.
But the
Cibil Credit Report, launched a month ago, would help individuals find out the
exact causes. The report provides details such as identification (Permanent
Account Number, passport number, voter identity card number), address and
contact details, along with the date when you moved in. It also provides the
list of all your bank accounts, the zero balance accounts, the approved credit
limit on your cards and the outstanding and overdue balance. Further, there
are details of all loans that you have availed, including those already
repaid.
Besides,
details for the last three years for each loan is given, which provides a
month-wise status — ranging from standard, overdue, special mention account,
sub-standard or doubtful.
In addition,
the report provides the list of enquiries made in recent months along with the
purpose for which an enquiry was made. While the name of the bank is not
given, the date of enquiry, the purpose (whether it is for a credit card or a
home loan) and the amount is provided.
While the
process was manual at present, Cibil has tied up with a business process
outsourcing outfit, and by the end of the current financial year, would put in
place payment gateways to enable online payments.
Meanwhile,
the agency today announced the launch of Cibil Locate Plus, which will help
lenders update their customer contact information. The new product will
provide information such as customer identification details, customer contact
addresses along with the reported dates and all the customer contact numbers
available in the database.
(Source :
The Economic Times, 18-9-2009)
