Regardless of whether you apply for a secured or unsecured form of credit, lenders, today check your credit rating after receiving such an application. TransUnion CIBIL is the premier organisation keeping track of credit patterns of individuals and companies. Even so, around 68% of borrowers were ignorant of their CIBIL ratings, according to a survey.
If you are looking to avail of a loan soon, understanding how to download a free CIBIL report can help significantly. The official CIBIL website allows one to do so once every fiscal. Here is a detailed process of checking your CIBIL score without needing to pay a charge.
How to download your credit report from CIBIL?
The process to download a free CIBIL report from the official portal is simple. Here is the process that one would need to follow for the same –
Step 1: Visit the CIBIL website and create a free account.
Step 2: Enter all of the necessary details while initiating an account, such as income, age, and personal information.
Step 3: Provide details regarding a valid personal identification document. Your PAN card information is mandatory here.
After the account creation process is complete, follow these steps –
- Click on ‘Get Your Credit Score’.
- Wait for access to your free annual report.
Keep in mind that if you want to check your credit report multiple times in the same year, you would have to opt for a subscription on CIBIL’s website.
Therefore, when you require access to such a report more than once a year, relying on third-party financial sites may be more economical.
How to download free CIBIL report from third-party websites?
Certain reputed financial institutions also offer the facility to check one’s CIBIL report online. Unlike the official portal, these sites do not restrict borrowers from checking their reports just once a year. Thus, one can perform such checks multiple times without incurring a charge.
Even though the exact process can differ based on which lender’s website you choose, here is a streamlined look at it.
- Visit your chosen financial website.
- Enter required personal and financial details, per your identification documents.
- Click on ‘Proceed’ and wait for an OTP to arrive on the registered phone number and email ID.
- Enter this OTP on the relevant field and proceed.
- If the OTP matches, you will gain access to your CIBIL report, along with personalised pre-approved credit offers based on the score.
This is how an individual can check their best CIBIL score in just a matter of minutes for free. However, as a borrower, you may wonder when and why such a check is necessary.
When should you check your CIBIL score?
Now that you know how to get a CIBIL report free of cost, it is important to assess the frequency at which you should check the same. It is best to check it before opting for credit, whether secured on unsecured. Most lenders today seek applications from individuals holding a score of 750 or higher.
If your score is lower, you stand the chance of credit rejection, which would further hamper this rating. Under such a circumstance, the best course of action is to improve this rating before submitting a loan application. Doing so will ensure timely approval and allow a borrower to avail of loans at the best terms.
Useful tips to improve CIBIL score
If your score is currently lower than the minimum requirement set by a lending institution, following the practices mentioned below can help –
- Pay all your dues on time
Borrowers with existing loans can build their CIBIL rating by servicing EMIs on time. Delaying or defaulting on these can hamper credit rating significantly, creating difficulties in availing subsequent credits. Besides term loan EMIs, you should also pay your credit card bills in full at the end of each billing cycle.
- Maintain a healthy credit mix
Ideally, borrowers’ portfolios should reflect a balance between secured and unsecured loans. If one opts for only one kind of credit, the CIBIL score may not improve. Therefore, if you have availed of unsecured credits in the past, try to opt for a secured one this time around or vice versa.
- Keep your credit utilisation ratio low
Credit utilisation is the proportion of credit one uses against the total credit available to them. Keeping this proportion to under 30% is recommended when trying to improve the CIBIL score. Higher ratios can be perceived as credit hungry nature, leading to drops in CIBIL ratings.
Thus, after you download a free CIBIL report, make sure to analyse it. Improving it before submitting a loan application can help you save on interest payments in the long term. Also, a decent credit rating helps you avail of the best credit offers in the market.
