How to Identify Errors in a Credit Report in Kenya

• TransUnion Kenya

Personal Information

1. Personal Information Errors

Things you need to ensure that are accurate;
Wrong name listed
Addresses you’ve never lived at or used as a mailing address
Inaccurate employer information

2. Ensure that your name is correctly displayed and that any alternative names or alias are accurate.
3. Ensure your year of birth is accurate. Again, an error in this section of your credit report could mean that you are being confused with another consumer.
4. Ensure that there are no addresses where you have never lived or employers that you have never worked for listed in the respective sections

Credit Summary

1. The purpose of this section is to provide a quick snapshot of your current and prior credit history.
2. Ensure that the number of accounts of a specific type, total accounts or total balances don’t seem higher than they should be.
3. In case of any inaccuracies in any area of the credit summary section, kindly check the account history of your credit report which will have more detailed information on an account by account basis.
4. This will help you further investigate whether or not your credit report contains errors.

Accounts

1. Ensure that the information in this section is accurate. Pay especially close attention to any information related to delinquency, collections or past due accounts. All of these things negatively impact your credit report and credit score.
2. Make sure all of your accounts in good standing are represented.
3. Not all creditors report account data to all credit bureaus, so if you don’t see an account that you believe to be in good standing then contact your creditor and ask them if they report your account information to TransUnion.
4. Make sure you recognize all of the creditors and accounts listed in this section

Inquiries

The purpose of this section is to show what companies have requested your credit report from TransUnion.

1. Ensure you know the name of the company that requested the inquiry on you.
2. If you don’t recognize the name of a company listed in this section then research it to find out whether or not you had actually initiated a credit inquiry with them.
3. Make sure to take note of the total number of hard inquiries and their dates since hard inquires may have some negative impact on your credit score.
4. It is good to be aware of the number and age of hard inquiries that have been reported to TransUnion.

Dispute File Information

If you find information that you believe is inaccurate on your credit report it is important to act quickly as this could be an early warning signs of possible identity theft.

In addition to disputing inaccurate information with TransUnion, please contact the company that reported the account information to them in the first place.

Credit Score Band

This section gives you a guide on which score band you belong.

This section explains what your credit score means to lenders, and how it will impact their perception of your loan risk.