AUSTRALIANS COULD SOON GET REALLY CHEAP CREDIT

MELBOURNE, Australia, August 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Australians could be set to get cheap credit if the credit report reformsproposed by the ALRC are acted upon by the Commonwealth Government, saysindependent credit checking website, checkmyfile.

11-08-2008

Experts at checkmyfile, Australia's online credit checking website,believe if consumer credit payment records are shared with Australia's creditagencies, not only will this bring down the cost of Australian credit to UKand US levels but also ensure injudicious lending is controlled properly.Barry Stamp of checkmyfile says: "Australian consumers have been payingmuch more for their credit than UK and US consumers. This will hopefullybecome a thing of the past if the current credit report proposals set out bythe ALRC are acted upon quickly.The ALRC is backing an increase in the type of data lenders can sharewith the credit reference agencies, and have backed the sharing of consumerpayment performance data. "This is proven to be the most valuable data forspotting consumers falling into financial difficulty, and without it, lenderscannot lend as responsibly as they could."Stamp adds: "It is a ludicrous claim by some commentators that givinglenders access to more comprehensive data will lead to reckless lending."To drive down the cost of credit, legislators need to allow lenders toshare credit payment performance data with the credit reference agencies.Better data means sharper lending decisions, which helps reduce the extensivecosts of debt collecting, which cuts dramatically the cost of credit ".Checkmyfile has no doubt that sharing more credit report informationabout consumers is good for consumers. From its experience in the UK, whereit has been providing online credit reports to consumers since 2000, andwhere 'positive' credit reporting is accepted as the norm by both lenders andconsumers.Even the ALRC proposals would leave Australian credit reporting systemtrailing the UK, which has seen an expansion in the information shared withthe credit reference agencies. Recent behavioural changes, which includerecords of cash machine withdrawals and minimum payments being made, havebeen supported by UK consumer groups as a positive step to combat consumerover-indebtedness, as they are considered warning signs of over-indebtedness."At the moment, Australian lenders and consumers are flying blind,comparatively speaking," concludes Stamp.For further information contact richard.goedegebuur@checkmyfile.com.au orcall +61-3-9811-4785 or visit http://www.checkmyfile.com.aucheckmyfile.com.au