How loan repayments can impact your
credit score
If you’re experiencing financial stress, you might be wondering if financial hardship assistance could affect your credit report or your ability to get a loan in the future.
We’ve included information on this page to help you answer that question. We’ve also included links to CreditSmart’s guides if you’d like to learn more about how credit reporting works.
And if you’d prefer to talk to us about this, get in touch. We’re here to help.
What is Comprehensive Credit Reporting?
Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR) was introduced in Australia to provide a more complete picture of your credit history.
CCR information is shared by lenders (including banks) with credit reporting bodies. Pepper Money provides your information to the following credit reporting bodies, and you can request a copy of your credit report for free every three months.
What’s included on my credit report?
Your credit report includes details like credit that you’ve applied for, credit that has been approved and settled, credit limits, the name of the credit provider, and when those accounts were opened or closed.
CreditSmart has a summary of what can be shown on your credit report here.
How does financial hardship assistance affect my credit report?
If you have been approved for a financial hardship arrangement with your lender, it may be recorded on your credit report as Financial Hardship Information. It stays on your credit report for 12 months.
If you keep to the financial hardship arrangement, your credit report will show any repayments as up-to-date and won’t lower your credit score.
Lenders cannot automatically decline your credit application if you have previously had hardship. If you apply for a new loan, the lender might ask you for more information to confirm that you can afford the new loan repayments.
CreditSmart has detailed guides that explain:
Important information
If you can’t pay on time, missed payments will show on your credit report and can lower your credit score. A financial hardship arrangement can make it easier for you to manage your payments. For example, you can ask us to change how often or how much you need to pay. This can help you to avoid missing payments affecting your credit report and stop your credit score going down. You can contact us by calling 1800 185 914 or filling out our online contact form.