CIBIL or TransUnion CIBIL is one of the oldest certified credit rating agencies in India that provides credit scores for individuals as well as business organizations. Based on these credit scores and the detailed analysis of the credit profile of the entity including their repayment history, CIBIL issues credit reports for any entity. These credit reports help the lender access the creditworthiness of the borrowers.
Why is the CIBIL credit report important?
The credit report issued by CIBIL is important based on the following factors.
- It also becomes one of the first reference points for the lenders while considering a loan application or a credit card application.
- Reviewing the credit report on a regular basis helps the person maintain the financial discipline to keep their credit score in check.
- Applicants can apply for the loan or credit cards after knowing their credit scores to ensure that their loan or credit cards application is not rejected or any hard inquiry for credit score does not damage it.
What is the information included in a CIBIL credit report?
A credit report provides many crucial details of a person. These details provide the necessary information to the lenders about the applicant which helps them in making the decision to sanction the loan application or the credit card application.
The contents of a credit report are mentioned below.
CIBIL Score
The credit score issued by CIBIL is a three-digit number ranging between 300 to 900 that is used to represent the creditworthiness of the person or the organization. The higher the credit score, the better the creditworthiness of the person. As mentioned above, this credit score is issued after considering the repayment history of the person and is one of the parts of the credit report issued by CIBIL.
Personal details and contact information
The CIBIL credit report also contains personal details like the name of the person or the organization, address, date of birth, gender, PAN Card, Passport number, Aadhar number, telephone number, mobile number, etc. The report can mention up to 4 addresses of an entity under their contact information.
Employment details
Under this section, the CIBIL credit report will include the employment information of the person. Such information will include the annual income or the monthly income as reported by the members who access this information like the lenders (banks, NBFCs, etc.
Credit information
This section provides information about the past credit taken by the person and the entity and the corresponding repayment history. The CIBIL credit report provides detailed information about the type of credit taken (credit card or personal loan, home loan, etc.), frequency and consistency of repayments, account numbers, loan amount, ownership details., etc.
Enquiry information
Lenders make an enquiry of the credit score and the credit report of the applicant before the sanction of the loan or the credit card. These enquiries are listed in detail including the information like date of application, the amount applied, the name of the vendor, etc.
What are the types of CIBIL credit reports?
CIBIL issues credit reports for individuals as well as corporates. These credit resorts are therefore classified under two categories based on the entity it is issued for.
1.CIBIL Credit Report
This is the CIBIL credit report is issued for an individual. This report contains the detailed credit profile of the individual including the current credit score of the person allotted by CIBIL based on their past credit behaviour.
2. CIBIL Company Credit Report
This is the credit report issued by CIBIL for the corporate entity like a company, a firm, etc. This report includes information about the credit applied and availed by the organization as well as details of the vendor, credit score of the entity, repayment history including information about defaults if any, etc.
What are some of the key terms in a CIBIL credit report?
While reading a credit report, a person can come across many terms and acronyms which represent a specific meaning. Some of the common terms found in any CIBIL credit report are mentioned below.
| Terms | Meaning or details |
| Standard (STD) | Payments have been made within 90 days. |
| Non-Performing Asset (NPA) | Payments that are pending for over 90 days. |
| Sub Standard Account (SUB) | Used for an account that has remained an NPA for over a year. |
| Doubtful (DBT) | Used for an account has remained sub-standard for a period of 12 months |
| Loss (LSS) | Used for an account where the loss has been identified and such loss remains uncollectable. |
| Credit Limit | It represents the total credit extended on the credit card and an overdraft. |
| Control Number | This is a 9-digit unique number that is used by the credit bureau to track a CIBIL credit report. |
How to get a CIBIL credit report?
A person or an organization can get their CIBIL Credit report quite easily. As per a recent amendment in the rules in this regard, RBI has mandated that a free credit score of a person has to be mandatorily provided to such person by the credit rating agencies at least once a year.
Applicants can get the credit score through their CIBIL Credit Report which can be received by them from the website of CIBIL (cibil.com) on a subscription. Such subscription can be annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly as per the discretion of the applicant. Apart from this, credit scores and CIBIL credit reports can be accessed through certain independent websites that also help in getting the CIBIL credit report of the applicant. Another way to access the CIBIL Credit Report is by making a request to the lender at the time of application for a loan or credit card.
How to resolve any errors or disputes in CIBIL credit report?
The CIBIL Credit report issued for any person or entity can have many errors like incorrect personal details, incorrect overdue amount, the incorrect balance of outstanding loans, non-updating of the current balance, etc. These errors have to be rectified to represent the true credit profile of the entity. Such a process of rectification of errors in the CIBIL credit report is initiated by filing a dispute for the same with the credit rating agency.
The steps for rectifying any errors on the CIBIL™ report are mentioned below.
- The first step is to login to the CIBIL website and fill the official online dispute form.
- Under this form, the applicant will be required to provide all the relevant details like
- Details of the error or fraudulent entry in the CIBIL credit report
- Personal details of the applicant
These details will have to be true and correct for the application to be processed.
- Next, the applicant will be required to provide the control number (9 digits unique number) that is used to identify the disputed report.
- Upon successful submission of the dispute application or request, the same will be forwarded to the concerned lender for verification of the applicant’s claim.
- The lender is then required to verify the applicant’s claim and if found true, the same has to be notified to CIBIL.
- Accordingly, CIBIL will then have to issue a revised credit report with all the approved changes.
- The applicant will also be notified of the changes and the corrections in the credit report by sending an email to the registered email id of the applicant.
Conclusion
The CIBIL credit report is a crucial document that is reviewed by lenders to assess the eligibility of a person for any loan application or credit card application. It provides a detailed past and present record of the credit applied and taken by the applicant as well as a credit score ranging between 300 to 900 based on such credit history.
FAQs
The process of filing any errors or disputes for rectification is a long process and takes a minimum duration of 30 days
NA or NH in a CIBIL credit report signifies that either the applicant does not have a credit history or not enough credit history to determine a credit score. It can also imply that the credit history of the applicant is not active for the past couple of years or if the applicant only has add-on credit cards and no primary credit card to their name
A CIBIL Credit score closer to 300 implies that the applicant has an unfavourable credit history and is not usually considered by the lenders for any loan or credit cards
Yes. A settlement of any loan is reflected on the CIBIL Credit Report with status as ‘settled’ and has an adverse impact on the credit score of the applicant.
A control number is a 9 digit unique number against which any credit report is saved under the CIBIL database
