Credit reports changing

New system rewards you for paying bills on time

Paying bills on time always makes good financial sense but with comprehensive credit reporting due to kick off from July 1, it just became a lot more important.

Whenever you apply for credit – and this can include opening a new mobile phone or gas/electricity account, the service provider is likely to take a look at your credit history.

At present, this shows any applications you’ve made for credit as well as negative information like unpaid bills, overdue accounts and loan defaults.

These details can stay on your credit history for years, potentially making it difficult to secure a competitively priced loan.

Yet people often don’t know they have a tarnished credit record until they’re knocked back by a lender.

This system is set to change. When “comprehensive” credit reporting (CCR) starts in July, it calls for our big financial institutions to provide details of positive as well as negative events.

As a guide, up to 24 months of debt repayment history can be recorded on your personal credit file.

It may all sound a bit “big brother”, however the new credit reporting changes will give lenders a more rounded picture of your credit history.

Paying bills and loan repayments on time will reflect favourably on your credit report and hopefully make it easier to secure credit.

Consistently dragging the chain with bills can make it harder to get a loan.

Positive credit reporting has been in place overseas for some time and borrowers often use a strong credit rating to negotiate a lower interest rate.

While July is several months away, the big banks have already begun compiling details of your repayment history in readiness. That makes it more important than ever to pay bills on time.

In our busy lives it can be easy to overlook bill payment dates. Setting up an automatic direct debit can help, or, if you regularly struggle to meet bills for utilities like power and gas, ask your energy provider about “bill smoothing”.

This is where you work out your total power bill for the last year, divide it by 12 and then pay a monthly sum into your energy account. A lot of people say it is far more manageable than paying a large quarterly bill.