Fenil's Library

Khyati Dharamsi. Mumbai

Have you been denied a loan or credit card by a bank? Your credit report may be to blame.

Ask the bank for your credit report, which is essentially a document that lists the history of loans and credit cards issued in your name.

Of late, banks have become cautious and are checking reports maintained by Credit Information Bureau of India (Cibil). Banks feed information on all the borrowers and Cibil maintains this database. This data is in turn used by banks before giving out loans.

It doesn't matter if you default with one bank and go to another to seek loan. The other bank too knows that you are a defaulter as the database on borrowers is shared by most leading banks and non-bank financers.

If a bank denies you a loan, it has to tell you the reason. Ask for the credit report and see if it represents your correct credit picture. If the bank refuses to part with it, ask Cibil.

The bureau is working on a system whereby an individual can get his credit report by paying a fee without having to go via the bank. But until the new system is in place, the helpline and info desk of Cibil may be of help.

To provide you the credit report, Cibil will need a number called the control number. 

"A control number is a unique nine-digit number on the credit information report, which identifies a report pulled at a particular point in time. Using the control number, Cibil can track the consumer's report in its database," Cibil says. 

The control number can be mailed to Cibil at info@cibil.com or shared on the toll-free number 1800-224-245 to know where the problem in the credit report lies.

However, Cibil can only help you with procuring that information if the bank is not providing you the same. Cibil cannot change it if you dispute the information.

A Cibil spokesperson told DNA Money, "In case of an inaccurate report, the borrower can therefore approach the concerned credit grantor to submit his/her corrected details to Cibil, which will then get reflected in the credit report."

A better tool, however, would be a system whereby one can access his or her credit report for a fee, either physically or online. In an interview to DNA Money Cibil managing director Arun Thukral said, "We are working on it. In one-year time or so it should be ready."