A debt of 8 million turns into 8 billion: what can you do to control your personal credit information?

So how can borrowers check and monitor their credit information? How should they handle situations where they discover errors in their credit information? How can borrowers avoid incurring bad debt? This article will help borrowers equip themselves with basic financial knowledge to become smart consumers and avoid the unfortunate situations mentioned above.

What is credit information?

Credit information refers to information about individuals and legal entities (borrowers) who have credit relationships with credit institutions or branches of foreign banks.

In Vietnam, the credit information activities of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) are coordinated by the Vietnam National Credit Information Center (CIC). The CIC performs the following main functions: collecting credit information databases from 100% of credit institutions in the banking system; providing credit information reports to the credit institution system, credit scoring reports for individual customers, and credit rating reports for corporate customers.

Currently, the Credit Information Portal (website https://cic.gov.vn and mobile applications for Android and iOS) serves as a connecting channel between CIC and borrowers, offering numerous benefits and support. These include access to personal credit reports, loan application registration, connection with official credit institutions, and access to financial education information.

How to access and utilize the TTTD report?

Borrowers can refer to the instructions for accessing credit information reports on the website https://cic.gov.vn, under the section "Quick guide on how to use the Mobile App" or the Facebook page "Vietnam National Credit Information Center - CIC".

Regarding the fee for accessing customer credit information reports, borrowers can access their own credit report free of charge once a year.

From the second time of application in a year, borrowers must pay a fee of VND 20,000 per report for personal credit information reports and VND 50,000 per report for corporate credit information reports (excluding VAT).

To manage personal information and prevent fraud by impersonation, be cautious when sharing personal identifying information such as ID cards or citizen identification cards with service providers. Only share information with truly reputable and trustworthy service providers. Absolutely do not lend your personal documents to others for financial transactions.

Report any instances of fraud to the authorities promptly.

Steps to take when you discover an error in your personal data entry:

Step 1: Register an account and check your credit history at CIC following the instructions.

Step 2: If any information is found to be incorrect, customers should report it to CIC via the hotline 1800585891 or the "Complaints/Feedback" section on the website: http://cic.gov.vn (please attach supporting documents).

+ If errors occur during data processing, CIC is responsible for correcting the errors and notifying the customer of the results.

+ If the information reported by the credit institution is incorrect, CIC officers will guide the customer to work with the relevant credit institution to verify and clarify the information. If an error is confirmed, the General Director of the credit institution or their authorized representative is responsible for sending a written request to CIC to update and correct the information.

CIC provides several criteria and guidelines for customers to refer to in order to improve their credit score and access credit more easily from credit institutions, as follows:

Only borrow money or open credit cards when absolutely necessary, and carefully calculate your ability to repay based on your actual income.

Have a plan to repay your debts in full and on time; always be mindful of paying off your debts, even small ones.

Regularly check your credit information through the Information Portal.

When customers have multiple debts at the same time, they should try to pay off their current debt balances gradually and avoid incurring new debts, especially unsecured loans and consumer loans.

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