(Do you want to improve your credit score and free yourself from debt? Then read the following:

• Free yourself from debt

• Improve your credit score)

There has been a further increase in the level of debt stress of South African consumers, according the latest figures released by credit bureaus on Wednesday.

At the end of June 2009, credit bureaus had records for 17.79-million credit-active consumers:

• The percentage of consumers in good standing was 55.9 percent, a decrease of 1.7 percent when compared with the quarter ended March 2009 and a decrease of 4.5 percent when compared with the quarter ended June 2008.

• The number of consumers with impaired records continued to increase, to 7.85-million for the quarter ended June 2009. This implies a deterioration in the credit records for 390 000 consumers in comparison to the last quarter and 1.06-million year-on-year, reflecting a further increase in the level of debt-stress. The trend of consumers with impaired records has been on an increase since June 2007.

• There were an increase of 23.4 percent in the enquiries made on consumer credit records during the June 2009 quarter. Of the total enquiries made on consumer records, enquiries from banks and other financial institutions accounted for 39.4 percent, enquiries from retailers accounted for 14.2 percent and enquiries from telecommunications providers accounted for 23.7 percent.

• The number of credit reports issued to consumers increased in the quarter ended June 2009, with 33 662 free credit reports being issued, an increase of 9.8 percent quarter-on-quarter. A further 5288 credit reports were issued for a fee.

• In the quarter ended June 2009, 7072 disputes were lodged in relation to the information on consumer credit records. This was a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 15.5 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 26.8 percent.

Credit bureaus create consumer credit profiles based on credit information received from credit providers on a monthly basis. The National Credit Regulator regulates and monitors these registered credit bureaus and the quality of their data.

(Do you want to improve your credit score and free yourself from debt? Then read the following:

• Free yourself from debt

• Improve your credit score)

Sapa

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