Equifax credit score is a numeric presentation of one's financial health. The score clearly depicts how disciplined the borrower is when it comes to paying back the dues.
If you are regular in paying back you would be awarded a good score in your credit report. However, if you are burdened with multiple credits where you don’t pay responsibly your credit score is going to be poorer.
However, you can always improve your credit score if it falls below a good number.
So keep on reading, we are going to clarify much more things about Equifax, the company and the steps to improve your credit score along with how to get your first free report from Equifax here.
What is Equifax as a company?
Equifax is a multinational technology and data analytics company. It is one of the credit bureaus which is certified by RBI to act as a credit information company. As a credit information company, it acts as a data miner and records credit activities of people to assess the creditworthiness.
How can I get free Equifax credit report?
1. Login to https://assets.equifax.com/assets/india/credit_report_request_form.pdf and download credit request form.
2. Follow the instructions given in the form to fill the KYC form correctly.
3. Self attest you address proof and identity proof.
4. Once done, you can either send the above documents by a courier/regular post/speed post or you can email all these documents to ecissuport@equifax.com.
What is the difference between a paid credit report and free credit report?
There is no difference between a paid and free credit report. As per RBI rules, every CICs have to make available one credit report once in a year. If you have already got one for the year you need to pay to the CIC to get another in the same year.
What is the Equifax credit score?
Equifax credit score range is 300-900. You may get any score within this range based on your credit history. The higher the score the better your chances of getting new credit.
There are many benefits of having a good credit score e.g. getting best interest rates, getting new credit in an emergency.
All the financial institutions/banks regularly submit credit histories of individuals to credit bureaus for assessments of their creditworthiness. So you need to become a responsible borrower and clear all your dues on time without fail.
How to read an Equifax credit report?
If you have your credit report from Equifax it is easy to read. The report is divided into the following parts.
1. Equifax Score: The credit score is given in this section which is assigned based on the credit history of the individual.
2. Personal Information: This section basically contains basic information about the individual like name, gender, date of birth.
3. Contact information: In this section contact information of an individual is shared. You can see your last 4 addresses in this section.
4. Employment information: Your monthly or yearly income is shared here as per reports from banks and financial institutions.
5. Account information: The credit history of individuals is shared in this section.
6. Inquiry information: This is basically a section where your activities related to applications of loans are credit cards are recorded.
Can I improve my Equifax credit score if it is low?
Yes, you can improve your credit score. But to improve your credit score, you need to become a responsible borrower with a consistent paying back profile.
How to get corrected credit report if it has some missing or wrong data?
So you have checked your credit report and find that some information is missing or does not belong to you. In such cases, you need to take immediate corrective actions and approach to concerned authorities.
A wrong credit report may have an adverse impact on your score that may reduce your chances of getting a new loan or credit card.
If your report has wrong personal information like date of birth or addresses then it must be corrected on top priority because it is a case of an identity crisis.
Actually, the information may be wrong for 3 reasons: You have not filled your personal information correctly. Banks or financial institutions have missed something or there are just typing errors. The credit bureau has made typing errors.
If you find some information that is wrong and impacting your score you need to work on it immediately.
I recently checked my credit reports from all the CICs and I find that once I applied (maybe 8 months before) and got approved for ICICI bank credit card. I even got the credit card but did not get it activated.
But none of the CICs have any information about that. This does not impact my credit score so I did not approach for any correction.
If you want any correction in your Equifax credit report, you can fill the dispute resolution form and submit it to Equifax with copies of self-attested identity proof and address proof. You can get the dispute resolution form from Equifax here.
