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29 March, 2024 20:42 IST
Financial Planning
   
Busted: 4 Cibil credit score myths
Source: IRIS (23-DEC-14)

In the world that we live in today, it is extremely important to maintain a good Cibil score. The banking regulator, RBI, has made it mandatory for all lenders to make their credit approval decisions taking into consideration the Cibil report and score of individuals. However, as we mentioned earlier, there is a lot of misinformation about how to maintain that perfect score so that you do not get any unpleasant surprises when you apply for credit. So here are some common myths that we will attempt to bust so that you can make prudent financial decisions.

Myth #1: Checking your own Cibil score will have a negative impact on it

You have been told that everytime an inquiry is made for your Cibil report and Cibil score, you get a negative marking, so you avoid checking your own score and keep wondering if you are doing things right.

The truth:  

The truth is quite contrary to this myth, for checking your Cibil report at least once annually is a good financial practice. When you check your own Cibil score it is considered a “soft inquiry” and does not impact your score. However, if lenders or credit card issuers request Cibil to give them access to the same (when you apply for a loan or a credit card), it is considered as a “hard inquiry” as it gets recorded in the Enquiry Section on your report. Loan applications with various banks at one point of time will lead to hard inquiries in quick succession demonstrating 'credit hungry behavior' which will impact your score negatively. However, pulling out your own Cibil repot online once a year, is akin to performing a healthcheck. Be assured, that it does not hurt your score a bit!

Myth #2: Closing a credit card does not hurt your Cibil score

Consider this. You own three cards. The oldest one among them has no outstanding balance since you have had a perfect history of having cleared your monthly outstanding well within the payment cycle. Since you are diligent and aware of how your credit behavior may impact your Cibil score, you decide to be proactive and close your credit card. What you do not know is that you are doing yourself more harm than good.

The truth:

If you have maintained a good payment history on your old card and have a zero outstanding balance on it, do not bother closing it. There are two good reasons for this. Firstly, you must consider the fact that one of the things that impacts your Cibil score is the length of your credit. So if you have held an old credit card and have displayed good credit behavior on it for years together, holding on to it will show that you are responsible with your credit. The other reason to keep your old credit card is that it keeps your utilization rate low, which is another factor that influences your Cibil score.

Consider an example. You have three credit cards with a limit of Rs 1 lakh each and spend an average of Rs 80,000 each month. With three credit cards your total limit amounts to Rs 3 lakhs. When you spend Rs 80,000 monthly, your utilization rate is roughly 27%. If you close one of the cards, your total limit comes down to Rs 2 lakhs and your utilization rate shoots up to 40%. Thus, as you can see holding on to a credit card even if it is not in use makes sense rather than closing it.

Myth #3: No credit equals to a good Cibil score

Middle class Indians have grown up with the belief that living on credit is essentially a bad thing. Till date, there are many who avoid credit cards or loans like the plague and think that their Cibil score will be perfect as they have no use for credit!

The truth:

Such people are as much in the line of fire as those who overleverage themselves and hurt their Cibil score. The ones who do not borrow do not have a credit history and hence, no credit bureau can assign them a score. Such people will find it difficult  to get a loan when they need one. The trick therefore, is to use credit responsibly. Taking a loan or using a credit card is a good thing as long as you are making timely repayments. This is considered to be good financial behavior and  puts you in good stead with Cibil. It also  ensures that your Cibil score remains well above 750.

Myth #4: There is just one credit bureau that maintains your records

Even those who know about credit score and credit report think that there is only Cibil that is keeping their financial records.

The truth:

So for most of you this is news! There are three other credit bureaus in India apart from Cibil. These are Experian Credit Information Co. of India, Equifax Credit Information Services and CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services. What this means is that when you want to take a loan or a credit card, the lender may access your credit score and credit report from any of these institutionsalong with Cibil. Each of these bureaus has different scoring models, so your score can vary from one bureau to the other. The good news however is that these credit scores are highly correlated. So if your credit behavior is considered good by Cibil, it will be considered good by the others as well!

Conclusion:

Things such as a low credit utilization rate, responsible use of credit and maintaining an optimum number of active loans or credit cards have a good bearing on your Cibil score. As long as you are doing that, you will have little reason to worry when you are in real need for credit.

(Contributed by Rajiv Raj, director and co-founder at Creditvidya.com)


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