Six steps to keep a check on your financial health

Just as having an annual checkup of your personal health is highly recommended for every adult, it is also prudent to have an annual checkup done for your financial health. Just as you undergo various pathological reports to ascertain your bodily health, you must keep a check on your credit score numbers for your financial health as well. The most popular credit score reporting agency in India is the Credit Information Bureau of India Limited (Cibil). All banks, NBFC or any financial institution will check your Cibil score before offering you any loan. A Cibil score is essentially a barometer to check your creditworthiness, therefore it is imperative to keep yourself updated about your Cibil score.

1)Fill up the online CIBIL score request form:

To get your CIBIL score, the first step involves logging on to the official website of Credit Information Bureau of India Limited. Go to the section where you can apply for your credit score. Alternatively, you can directly

go to this link: https://www.cibil.com/online/credit-score-check.do to access the Cibil score request form.

2) Fill in the details:

Fill in the request form after checking the terms and conditions at the bottom. Include as many details as possible. You will need to give details of any identity proof-PAN card, passport, Voter Id or driving license. Enter ID details in the provided field. 3) Submission and Payment: After you fill in the form, enter the anti-spam code and click on ‘Proceed to payment’. You will be directed to the next page where you will be required to authenticate a payment of '500 towards charges to ascertain your CIBIL score. You can make the payments from your debit card, credit card or net banking facility as convenient.

4) Authentication:

After successful payment, you will be taken to an authentication page. Here the system generates five questions based on your submitted details and credit history. The questions may range from your curr-ent loans to your bank accounts and other details as per the Cibil database. You will need to answer a minimum of three out of the five questions successfully to get your application authenticated. 5)Confirmation:

After successful authentication, you will receive a confirmation message from the system. Once confirmed you will receive the Cibil Trans Union Score including CIR within four business days. You will also get a receipt for the payment made towards Cibil score charges which you can print for your record.

6) This step is only applicable if your authentication in step 4 fails due to any reason. If your authentication fails, all you need to do is take a print of your payment receipt and mail it along with the self-attested documents to Cibil’s registered corporate office in Mumbai. You can contact the helpline number as well, for any guidance: +91-22-61404300.

Getting your Cibil score is fast, easy and transparent involving a small payment of '500, whereby you will get your score mailed in three or four business days.

Importance of checking your CIBIL score

Whenever you apply for a loan, the lender will check your Cibil score. If your score is considered too low, your loan request will be rejected. Every such rejection further dents your Cibil score.

If you know your Cibil score before hand, before applying for a loan, you can make efforts to improve it, if it is too low. Also, an annual check-up will help you to keep track of how various financial transactions impact your score.

Checking your Cibil score is easy and you can get access to your Cibil score by applying online after payment of the requisite fee to the Credit Information Bur-eau of India Limited and answering some questions to verify your identity. The charges to request for your CIBIL TransUnion Score (including CIR) are fixed at '500.

You will need to pay the fee at the time of online application of your Cibil score.

The writer is the CEO of BankBazaar.com