A credit report is the banking system’s perception about an individual and so it is important to scrutinise it for any errors and keep it up to date with information, said Mohan Jayaraman, Managing Director, Experian Credit Information Company of India Pvt. Ltd. and Country Manager, Experian India Such reports have become crucial now as banks are increasingly becoming cautious while dispensing credit. In such a scenario, to maintain a good score, one should take loans only when s/he needs it. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD [caption id=“attachment_127947” align=“alignleft” width=“300”] Firstpost[/caption] “Ensure that you pay your commitments on time, ensure that you approach your market for requirement and not flood the market with too many of your inquiries. Be conscious and aware of due dates and so on, to ensure that you don’t miss any of them. Also get you credit report once a year,” he said. To rectify errors in the report, a consumer can either approach the bureau or the bank. However, the bureaus don’t have the ability to correct the data, since the data is owned by the banking system. What the bureau does is that they pass on the error to the banking system and ensure that it is followed through, corrected and the correction reflected back on the report. The process takes 30 days, he said. Typically a consumer should ensure that s/he has good track record for a 12-18 month period, he said. “The bankers look more at the recent track record; typically it’s a three years track record timeframe that matters for the bank. Most bureaus might capture the information for the longer period of time and possibly show more the accounts over the shorter period of time. Typically ensuring that you have a clean track record for a 12-18 month period is a good place to start with.” As far as joint loans goes, he strongly recommends the customers should be aware and conscious of the fact that they are signing on to something, that is a commitment from their side. If they don’t live up to it, it is something that will reflect negative from their side. Any adverse note in the report will have a negative impact on the consumer. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Experian’s credit scores are similar to the market range i.e. 300 to 900 range but readability, better quality of summarisation and a better score differentiate them from others’, he said. The $5 billion Experian is the largest credit bureau in the world. Watch the full interview above.