The contents of your personal credit report can have a bearing on whether or not you are given credit.

Factors other than the information held on a credit report may contribute to a lending decision as well (such as the information you provide on your application form), but your credit report is important.

Your credit report can affect your ability to:

• Get a loan.
• Get a credit card.
• Obtain a mortgage.
• Achieve a good credit score.

It's important to be aware that different companies use different methods when they are deciding whether or not to give you credit. You do not have a single credit score and credit scores are not shown on your credit report.

Get it right
As the information held by credit reference agencies is used to determine what credit you can obtain, it is important those details are right.