It is important that you develop the habit of being aware of the relevance of your credit report and also develop a habit of regularly checking the same. 'Credit report' in short, can determine your buying power and can influence the decisions for obtaining a loan from a bank, renting or purchasing any real estate. It is even said to be relied on my prospective employers to validate your reliability towards financial obligations. A financial institution can often rely on your credit report to determine whether you qualify for the issuance of the loan and also to determine the deposit amount that you need to pay in order to obtain a loan. For these various requirements, you must regularly check your credit report and credit score and aim to create a strong credit history.

In the UAE, the federal organization of 'Al Etihad Credit Bureau' (AECB) is responsible for collecting all credit data and information and is tasked with the responsibility to provide accurate credit reports to individuals, financial institutions and also companies in the UAE. The AECB was established in 2014 as a PJSC entity wholly owned by the UAE federal government, with its offices in the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

A 'credit card report' can be requested from AECB by any individual, company or financial institution in the UAE. Such credit reports could include the following details such the entire credit history, payment history for the last twenty-four months, overdue payment amounts, records of defaulted payments, a record of bounced cheques.

A credit report obtained from AECB will include in it the following details

:
  • Record of your current and previous credit facilities
  • Your payment overdue, if any
  • Your entire payment history for the last twenty -four months
  • Records of your defaults including bounced cheques, if any

How to dispute Credit report:

Consumers are allowed to dispute any data that is presented in the 'Credit Report' issued by AECB and are also allowed the opportunity to prove any given data to be incorrect by submitting supporting documents. For raising a dispute, a person has to submit their original valid emirates id at the time of raising the dispute for verification and proceed to fill a 'dispute form'. The customer is also required to submit with the application a copy of the latest credit report.

This essentially means that you can raise a dispute only concerning your latest reports. The turnaround time for a dispute to be addressed is usually twenty working days. In resolving disputes, AECB works in tandem with the lending institution itself that has provided the necessary data to ensure its validity. Further, AECB takes into account the supporting documents provided by the customer to prove their claim. Once the dispute is resolved, AECB representatives proceed to contact the customer and provide their feedback concerning the dispute.

In essence, review your credit reports on a periodic basis to check for any inaccurate or incomplete information and, in such instance, proceed to raise a 'dispute form' with AECB. It should be well understood that your credit report affects your overall credit score, which constitutes a parameter to determine your likeability to miss a payment in the future. Hence it constitutes a very critical analysis report for your overall payment behavior.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.