When you apply for a financial product, such as a personal loan or credit card, the credit providers, such as banks and money lenders, may pull your credit report from one of the Credit Reference Agencies (CRA). In this section, there are your repayment records, including credit balance, credit utilisation and etc.
The credit provider will upload your account information to the MCRA database on a monthly basis, which means that the account information listed in your credit report may not be all the latest information until the next upload by the credit provider. The updated information will not be displayed until the next upload date.
If there is negative repayment record in the account, such as past due payment record, or an account is subject to debt collection, this will also be displayed in this section of the credit report. In addition, current or closed accounts in good standing, such as revolving credit accounts, installment loans, secured loans, will also appear in this section of the report for 5 years.
What To Look For:
Look at the names of the accounts listed in this section to be sure you recognize them. If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, a fraudster may have opened an account in your name. While you cannot dispute negative information in your credit report just because it is negative, you can dispute accounts that are inaccurate or the result of fraud by contacting the credit providers, such as banks and money lenders, directly.
If you recently paid off a balance and it isn’t reflected in your report, look for the line that reads "Date Updated." Your lender simply may have not yet provided updated information to reflect the change in your balance. It can take up to 30 days after the payment is made for the balance to be updated on your report.
Don’t you recognize the accounts? Call the company directly as sometimes the name can be different from what is expected. The account may be identified by the name of a lender who purchased your account or by one servicing your account and not the original lender. Also, a lender or company may have changed their name.
How This Impacts Your Credit Score?
Overdue repayment is an important scoring factor, and overdue repayment records will be kept for 5 years after full settlement and account closure. According to the Code of Practice on Consumer Credit Data promulgated by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in Hong Kong, the relevant data can be kept for 5 years from the date of full repayment or the date of issue of the bankruptcy discharge order; the earliest date prevails.
In addition, be aware that your revolving account balances is important to your score as well. High balances on your revolving credit accounts may negatively impact your credit score. As low as possible is best, but combined balances between 30%-50% of your total available credit limit is a good start.
