A credit report will contain information about you including name, date of birth, address, previous addresses & licence number along with your credit history ie. applications made for credit, credit defaults, cleared credit defaults, credit infringements and judgment orders(ie. bankruptcy See:Bankruptcy). The purpose of this report is to give credit providers insight into your credit worthiness. Credit defaults are listed for five years and credit infringements are listed for seven years. It is worthwhile doing a credit rating check by getting a copy of your credit report file prior to application see Credit Reporting Agencies below. See more about credit files & ratings »

How do you fix your credit rating?
There are now companies that offer services to help get your financial matters back on track. These companies can help with financial planning, debt management and where the debt is out of control they can also help with arranging agreements with creditors.

You could also take care of managing your finances and credit on your own by taking care to pay your bills on time, and make payment arrangements to clear old debts. At the same time, you could establish one or two lines of credit for low amounts (to keep them from getting out of control). Make regular on time payments to these lenders, letting the providers report the payments on your credit report. As time goes by and you pay off old debts, these positive reports (if reported) will overshadow the old negative ones, and the older ones will eventually be removed from your report altogether. Although it would still be wise to seek some kind of financial advice or guidance on your personal situation in regards to repairing your credit rating. Also see Financial tips & safety checks @ asic.gov.au

What options are there for people who have an imperfect/bad or poor credit rating?
Some of the more major institutions will possibly be reluctant although there is an industry of bad credit lenders for home and automotive financing. Many of these lenders do require security deposits or higher interest rates, but in exchange they offer services that you might otherwise be unable to get. See Bad Credit Loans for more info.

Staying positive
Financial hardship can place a lot of strain on emotions, wellbeing, relationships, family and marriage. It is worth remembering that you are not the first person to encounter this challenge or unfortunately be the last. There is also a lot of help available via financial counseling services & community services.

Credit Reporting Agencies
You should be able to get a copy of your report for mailed to you for free, although if you require it urgently there may be a fee requested & some services offer online credit reports. It is always worth keeping an eye over your credit file otherwise any reports made to the file will only become known when you are knocked back for a loan or credit application. Also check all the info is correct on that file ie. name spelling, age etc. The credit reporting industry is regulated by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner

The main credit reporting agency is Baycorp Advantage. To access your file, you can apply in writing to:
Baycorp Advantage, Address: Public Access, PO Box 964, North Sydney NSW 2059. They also offer services via the web See:Baycorp – MyCreditFile

Tasmanian Collection Service (TCS), Address: 29 Argyle Street, Hobart, Tasmania 7001. Web: Tascol

Dun & Bradstreet (Australia) Pty Ltd, Address: 479 Saint Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC 3004. Web: Dunn & Bradstreet

Personal Finance
bad credit, credit rating, credit reporting