Obtaining the report is a three step process. Borrowers have to log onto the Cibil website www.cibil.com and fill in the online request form and make a payment through either card or online banking. The report is released after the borrower identifies himself by answering three questions based on his credit history.
According to a Cibil spokesperson factors that determine an individual's credit score include timeliness in repayments, extent of borrowing and the extent to which borrowings are unsecured. Interestingly an individual without any loans or credit cards will not have any credit history. As against this a borrower with small loans who has been repaying on time will have a good credit history.
Although Cibil has been around for several years it is only the last two years that lenders have begun to extensively use the bureau as it now has a detailed history of almost the entire borrower population in India. After the passage of the credit information bill, banks have been incorporating in their loan agreement a clause that permits them to share borrower information with the bureau.
Consumers benefit from the bureau as it emboldens lenders to make loans faster without having to independently investigate the borrowers track record. Home loan providers such as HDFC have been using Cibil to ascertain whether the borrower has defaulted in the past or whether he has multiple home loans.(Times of India)
