Home / Commons / Session kits / Credit reports and scores / Handout: New Zealand

Fluent · Handout

Credit reports and scores: New Zealand.

A take-home sheet for people at the session. Other countries: United States · United Kingdom · Canada · Australia · India · Philippines.

Moraph for Good · Fluent

Credit reports and scores: New Zealand

Handout · moraph.org/commons/sessions/fluent/credit-reports-and-scores

This sheet goes with the Credit reports and scores session. It is general information, not advice about your own situation.

Get your report

  • Use the free, official route below, not a search result.
  • You shouldn’t need a card number to see your own report.
  • Bureaus can hold different information, so check each one.

Read it line by line

  • Check your name, date of birth and addresses.
  • Look for accounts you don’t recognize, wrong balances and late payments that weren’t late.
  • Look for old debts that should have dropped off, and debts listed twice.

Dispute errors in writing

  • Contact the credit bureau and the company that reported the error.
  • Say what is wrong and why; send copies, never originals.
  • Keep a copy of everything, with dates, and follow up.

Scores and rebuilding

  • A score is calculated from your report; different bureaus give different numbers.
  • Paying on time and keeping balances well below limits generally help.
  • Paying someone can’t get accurate information removed; you can dispute errors yourself, free.

In New Zealand

  • Free reports. Three credit reporting agencies hold credit information in New Zealand: Centrix, Equifax and Experian. Everyone has a legal right to ask for the information they hold, at no cost. Each holds slightly different information, so it’s worth getting your report from all three.
  • What you can ask for. You can ask for just your credit report or for everything a credit reporter holds about you, including who has accessed your report, and for an explanation of any credit score. It’s free, unless you ask for an expedited report within three working days, which can cost no more than $10.
  • Fixing errors. Credit reporters must correct errors they become aware of. If one needs longer than 20 working days to decide on your request, it must tell you why. If it doesn’t make the change, you can ask for a note to be added that will go with future reports.
  • How long information stays. A default is a debt of $125 or more that was 30 days or more overdue, where the lender took steps to recover it. Even after you pay it, a default stays on your file for five years, but lenders can see it has been settled.
  • Freezing your file. If you think you’re a victim of fraud, or you lose a card or ID someone could misuse, you can ask credit reporters to freeze your information for 10 working days. A request to one of the three is treated as a request to all of them.

Official places to check:

  • Sorted (Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission): sorted.org.nz/guides/tackling-debt/credit-reports
  • Office of the Privacy Commissioner: www.privacy.org.nz/resources-and-learning/knowledge-base/view/191
  • Office of the Privacy Commissioner: www.privacy.org.nz/resources-and-learning/knowledge-base/view/192
  • Office of the Privacy Commissioner: www.privacy.org.nz/resources-and-learning/knowledge-base/view/193

More free official help in New Zealand: moraph.org/commons/help/financial-literacy/nz

General information, not advice about your own situation. Checked 20 October 2026. If an official source says something different, it is right. Free to copy and adapt. moraph.org/commons/sessions/fluent/credit-reports-and-scores