Step 1:
You can order your credit report directly from the credit bureau. You are entitled to one free credit report per year and it takes around 10 working days to receive. You can order it from Experian, Equifax or Illion (formerly Dun & Bradstreet) by clicking on the links below.

• Illion
• Experian
• Equifax

Step 2:
Once you’ve received a copy of your credit report, look for any incorrect black marks or defaults. This refers to information on your credit report that may indicate that you’ve had issues repaying your credit including:

• Missed payments. Your credit report retains repayment history information from the past two years. This means that any missed payments on your mortgage, personal loans, or credit card accounts during the last two years will show up your credit report.
• Overdue accounts or payment defaults. Overdue amounts of $150 and above are recorded once they are 60 days overdue. Defaults can damage your credit report as they indicate your inability to make timely repayments. These listings remain on file for five years.
• Clearouts or serious credit infringements. These are overdue accounts or payment defaults where the credit provider has not been able to contact you. Clearouts and serious credit infringements stay on your report for seven years if they remain unpaid. If paid, these listings only remain on your report for five years and are defined as “payment defaults”.
• Writs and summons. This refers to if you’ve been summoned to court to settle a debt. They stay on record for five years.
• Court judgments. Court judgements including bankruptcies, personal insolvencies or debt agreements can stay on file for five years or longer. This depends on when the case is officially resolved. For instance, bankruptcy goes off record two years from your date of discharge or five years from your date of bankruptcy, whichever is later.
• Credit enquiries. Applications for any form of credit (including personal loans, mortgages and even utilities) can remain on your credit report for up to five years, regardless of whether they are approved. That’s why it’s important to check if you’re eligible before you apply for a line of credit. If your application is rejected, wait a few months before applying again.

Step 3:
Remove the black marks and defaults

Listings can only be removed from your report if they’re incorrect or after the rightful duration. If you identify an incorrect mark on your credit report, you can contact the credit reporting agency to have it removed. If you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, you can enlist our help to get this resolved on your behalf for one standard consultation fee no matter how many matters we need to dispute or work on. Or do it yourself for a one-off low fee and we will guide you every step of the way as to what you need to do for written correspondence or when you are speaking to parties over the phone. Individual service guarantee!