Check Your Credit Score and Report Free in South Africa

Can I really check my credit report for free?

Yes. section 72 of the National Credit Act lets you inspect your file at a credit bureau at no charge, once within any period of twelve months. The right applies to each bureau separately, so TransUnion, Experian, XDS and Compuscan can each give you one free report a year. Extra copies inside the same year may be charged for.

A report and a score are different products. The report lists your accounts, payment history, enquiries, judgments and personal details. The score is a number calculated from that file. The free statutory product is the report; a score often comes alongside it, but the Act does not promise one.

The same section also lets you challenge anything you think is wrong, again at no cost to you. Most people forget that half of the right, and it gets its own section below.

How do I get my free report from each bureau?

Open the bureau's website by typing the address yourself, register with your South African ID number, answer the identity questions and download the report. Repeat for each bureau, because lenders do not all report to all four and the files can differ.

For Experian, Experian says that every consumer has the right to one free report a year from each bureau, and its own site now directs people to a portal called Up, powered by Experian, although some older pages still mention My Credit Check. TransUnion publishes a free report route on transunion.co.za. For XDS and Compuscan, go to xds.co.za and compuscan.co.za and look for the consumer or free report option, since the menu names change from time to time.

Keep your ID number and a cellphone or email address you can open ready.
Type the bureau's address into the browser. Do not follow a link from an SMS or an advert.
Find the free annual report option and register.
Answer the identity questions. They come from your own file, such as which lender holds an account in your name.
Save the report somewhere private. It holds your ID number and every account you have.
Write the date in your diary: the next free request opens 12 months later.

If the verification fails, the bureau will give you another route, usually by phone or email. A third-party site that offers to get round it is the wrong answer. If any page wants a card payment before it shows the statutory report, you are on the wrong page.

How do I check my credit score on the Capitec app or another bank app?

A number of banks now show a free score inside their apps. Look for a credit health or credit score tile in the credit, loans or explore section of your own banking app. Menu names change with app updates, so a screenshot from last year may lead nowhere.

The score in a bank app is built from bureau data, but the bureau and the model behind it may differ from what a lender uses. TransUnion says as much on its own FAQ page: its consumer score may not be the one a credit provider uses, since lenders can apply their own models under the Act. If your goal is the full file with every account and listing, ask the bureau for the statutory report instead.

Asking for your own report counts as an inspection under the Act. It is not a loan application, so it does not behave like a lender's check, which does leave an enquiry on your file. Once you have a number, see what counts as a good credit score to read it.

Can I check my credit score with my ID number only?

Not on a real bureau site. After the ID number you will always meet a one-time code or a few questions about accounts in your name. If a page skips that and hands over a score, ask what it is collecting in return. The usual price is a cellphone number for a marketing list or a banking login, and neither belongs anywhere near a free report.

What is in a credit report, and what do the TransUnion and Experian scores mean?

Open one and you will find your name, ID number, past addresses and employers, then every account with a balance and a month-by-month payment record. Further down come the lenders who have looked at you recently, and any judgments or debt review flags.

The score sits on top of all that. TransUnion's own FAQ puts TransUnion's scale at 0 to 999, with Poor at 0 to 486 and Excellent at 767 to 999, while Experian runs its own scale. A 650 therefore tells you little until you know whose number it is. Our guide to what counts as a good credit score has the TransUnion bands in full.

There is no official blacklist. The bureau records how you paid and the lender decides what to make of it. The retention periods sit in regulation 17 of the National Credit Regulations: enquiries for one year, payment profile information for five, and a civil judgment for five years or until a court rescinds it.

How do I dispute a mistake on my credit report?

Tell the bureau in writing which entry is wrong and why, and attach whatever evidence you have. The bureau must take reasonable steps to find supporting evidence and, if it cannot find credible evidence, remove the information. Experian says it has 20 business days to investigate a dispute and respond.

If the bureau sends you evidence and you still disagree, you have 20 business days from receiving it to ask the National Credit Regulator to investigate as a complaint. While a challenge is unresolved, the bureau may not report the challenged item.

Mark the entry on your report and note the lender and account number.
Contact the lender first if the error is theirs, for instance a paid-up account still showing as open.
Send the bureau a written challenge with a settlement letter or statement attached.
Keep copies and the date you sent them.
If the answer does not satisfy you, phone the NCR call centre on 0860 627 627.

After a successful challenge you get a further free inspection to confirm the fix. If the report shows more debt than you can service, debt review is one lawful option, and before sharing details with any lender you can run the NCR registration guide. Registered providers are listed in the lender directory. If a weak file is why you are searching, loans for bad credit covers what is realistic.

Questions about checking your credit report

Will checking my own credit report lower my score?

Looking at your own file is an inspection under the Act, not a credit application. The enquiries that matter to lenders come from lenders assessing an application you made.

How often can I get a free report?

Once in any 12-month period from each bureau. Extra copies can be charged. After you successfully challenge an entry, you get one more free inspection.

Why do my TransUnion and Experian scores differ?

Each bureau holds its own file, because lenders may report to some and not others, and each uses its own model and scale. A gap is normal. An account that appears in one report and not the other is worth asking about.

Is a bank app score the same as the one a lender uses?

Not necessarily. A lender may run its own scorecard and must also assess your income and expenses, so the number in an app is an indicator and nothing more.

What if a site asks me to pay for my free report?

Close the page and type the bureau's own address into your browser. The yearly report you are entitled to under section 72 is free, and a site that insists on a card payment first is not offering it.