Everything you wanted to know about your illion credit report

illion offers numerous financial services, including providing consumers like you with a free copy of their credit report and credit score.

An illion credit score indicates how creditworthy an individual is, and also how likely they are to pay their bills and fulfil their dues on time. The illion credit report, on the other hand, contains all financial information about your loan enquiries, bill payments, loan defaults (if any), court judgments and any outstanding credit, including mortgages and credit cards.

Doing an illion credit check gives you an individual score that draws a comparison to indicate how you fare against others. Rest assured, requesting your credit score and credit report through the illion credit check doesn’t impact either document.

An illion credit score range is a number between 0 to 1,000 and indicates how lenders view your creditworthiness. Most people’s scores lie between 300 and 850, but the higher your score, the better your credit rating is.

A number above 500 is generally considered to be a good score. This makes you more eligible for better offers from banks, insurance companies, phone and internet providers, and utility companies.

• Zero score

A zero score is mostly a younger Australian who has no credit history as yet.

• A low score: 1-299

A score in this range means your file possibly has some negative data, say payment defaults, poor payment history or bankruptcy. A high number of credit enquiries, especially recent enquiries for small amounts, could also put your score in this range.

• Room for improvement: 300-499

This range doesn’t necessarily imply a negative history. It may reflect a younger person, who is considered to be risky by most lenders since they have a shorter credit history and lenders are unable to gauge their creditworthiness. There is also a possibility that your history has a record of credit applications to smaller lenders who provide services to higher-risk customers.

• Good: 500-699

This score could indicate that there isn’t much information about your credit history. Or it could be that your good history with a current provider has not been reported as yet. The score could also be affected by your age or where you live since credit scores generally increase with age.

• Great: 700-799

If your score is within this range, it means that you must have maintained a good payment history. However, there could still be a few credit enquiries or loan applications on your file. 

• Excellent: 800-1,000

This range is often observed among older individuals who have exercised discipline with credit applications and maintained any repayments well. They could possibly have a mortgage and could have invested in property as well without failing to make repayments.

• A low score doesn’t disqualify you from borrowing altogether. It may just mean some lenders charge a higher interest rate or place more restrictions like a lower loan size on your application.

Your credit score is primarily dependent on how reliable you are at paying your bills and other financial responsibilities. Individuals who consistently pay their bills on time will often have a higher credit score than those who are prone to frequent late payments or not paying bills at all.

Here are events that could impact your credit score negatively:

• Not paying your bills
• Late payments on bills
• Applying for credit and being rejected
• A partner who defaults on joint debt

If you’re disappointed with your low credit score and are looking to improve it, here are a few suggestions from illion:

• Check for the accuracy of all the information on your credit history.
• Look for events negatively impacting your score and fix those.
• Set up automatic transfers to pay all repayments (credit card, home loan and personal loan) and bills on time.
• Arrive at a payment plan with your credit provider or collection agency to comfortably pay any outstanding debt.
• Reduce credit and spending habits to build a good history of paying back debts.
• Establish a budget, shift to a prepaid mobile plan and save up money to buy items rather than relying on credit

If you want to see what’s on your credit report, you can get your hands on your illion free credit report by:

• Visiting the website
• Emailing [email protected]
• Calling 1300 734 806