Australians lag many of the industrialised economies in their use and understanding of credit reporting.

According to reporting agency Dun and Bradstreet, only 1.5% of Australians (242,000 inquiries annually) request a copy of their credit reports each year, although each individual is legally entitled to one and the request is made easily online. The second reporting agency in Australia, Veda Advantage, confirms the low average. In comparison, 2.9% of people in the U.K. request their credit report, and in the U.S.A., the figure is closer to 8.2%.
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The mechanics of credit remain a mystery to most Australians, it seems. And yet the process banks use to decide who gets money, and what rate of interest they pay, has a huge effect on everyone’s financial futures and is one of the most easily influenced of all such factors.

Credit rating institutions gather financial data here, the same way they do everywhere else. But in Australia, unlike other developed economies such as the U.S. and U.K., lending institutions only report certain basic data, such as the fact that a loan application was submitted (but not whether it was accepted or rejected), defaults of greater than 90 days, and bankruptcy. In short, they only report data that’s negative. read more..

Do you check your credit file often? Do you really know what your current credit history looks like to a potential lender? Is it time to make some changes and repair your credit history? Any time there’s a flaw on your credit file that you can fix, you should do it. How do you know what needs fixing though?

Here are some hints that you might need to repair your credit history before applying for another credit card or loan: read more..

The start of a new year is quickly approaching. Maybe you’re making goals or resolutions to improve your life in 2010. Maybe some of those goals include improving your financial situation. Are you really prepared to do that? If you haven’t checked your credit history lately, you’re probably not. read more..

You’ve decided that you want a new credit card — a balance transfer card to be exact. You choose the combination of a balance transfer card and rewards card in the Velocity NAB credit card. But wait! Don’t apply just yet. Did you remember to check your credit file first? If not, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. read more..