5 Things You Should Know about the new Credit Reporting Rules
As of Wednesday 12th March, the way your credit history is recorded has changed. Here’s how, in a nutshell:
1. You will have a mark against your credit history if you pay a loan or credit card bill more than 5 days after the due date. What’s more, if you’ve paid one of those bills 5 days late anytime since December 2012, it will already be recorded against your name.
2. These changes to privacy laws are part of a new set of Credit Reporting Rules designed to give a clearer picture of your payment history when you apply for loans, credit cards or other products. They came into effect yesterday, and you can read all about them here.
3. Some of the changes could be good news if you’re a good billpayer. For the first time, information about how often you pay on time will also be recorded against your credit history. Industry representatives are saying that a good payment history could mean you’re offered discounts for being a good customer.
4. On the other hand, consumer groups have expressed concern that lenders will ask higher interest rates from people with a poor payment history. Or that poor billpayers might not be able to get credit as easily in future.
5. You will have to be a lot more timely in your payments to maintain a clean credit history – until this week, you could be up to 60 days late with a loan repayment before your lender had to report it. That is still the case for utility bills and other payments, but not for credit cards and loans.
