If you’ve taken on more credit over the last few years, such as a new home loan or cellphone contract, it can become challenging to keep track of everything you owe. To help you keep your credit accounts in good shape, we have outlined some good-to-know tips below.

Why it’s important to stay on top of your credit accounts

Your credit accounts include any agreement in which you had immediate access to money and promised to return it over time. This may include loans, credit cards, and mobile phone contracts.

However, if you don’t stay on top of your credit accounts, you will face certain repercussions. The two main consequences are:

• Your debt will increase: Depending on your credit agreement, you may be fined for missing payments, which will increase your debt. If you have a credit card or store card and you don’t settle your account within the interest-free period, your debt will also increase.

• Your credit score will decline: If you prove to be an untrustworthy borrower, lenders will report you to the credit bureaus and your credit score will decline. This will then warn other lenders not to trust you with credit in the future.

Do you know what lenders are saying about you? Sign up or log in to ClearScore to find out what’s being displayed on your credit report.

How to read your credit report and spot account errors

Your credit report is the record every lender sees when you apply for credit, and it is built almost entirely from the credit accounts in your name. Knowing how to read it means you can catch a mistake before it costs you an approval. Here is what to look for, line by line.

What appears under each credit account on your report

• Account holder and lender name - the credit provider who opened the account, which may be a parent company rather than the brand you recognise.

• Account type - home loan, vehicle finance, personal loan, credit card, store card, mobile phone contract or revolving credit facility.

• Opening date and account number - usually partially masked for security.

• Credit limit or original loan amount - the total you were granted.

• Current balance and monthly instalment - what you still owe and what you are contracted to pay each month.

• Payment history - a rolling record, typically over 24 months, showing whether each instalment was paid on time.

Understanding account status codes and payment profiles

• Current / up to date - nothing owing beyond the agreed instalment.

• 1, 2, 3 (or 30, 60, 90 days) - the number of instalments you are behind. A single "1" is a warning; a "3" is treated seriously by most lenders.

• Closed or paid up - the agreement has ended and the balance is zero.

• Written off, handed over or legal - the lender has stopped expecting normal repayment and passed the debt on. These are the most damaging entries.

• Under debt review - a flag showing you have applied for debt counselling.

Common errors: closed accounts still showing, duplicate listings, wrong balances

• A settled account still showing a balance - common after you have paid off a store card or vehicle finance and the lender has not updated the bureau.

• Duplicate listings - the same debt appearing twice, often because it was sold to a debt collector who listed it separately. This inflates your total debt and your credit utilisation.

• Accounts you do not recognise - potentially identity fraud, or a shared surname mix-up.

• Incorrect credit limits - a limit reported lower than it is will make your utilisation look far worse than it is.

• A missed payment you did make - often caused by a debit order that was reversed and then paid manually.

Adverse listings, judgments and administration orders explained

• Adverse listing - a negative classification from a lender, such as "slow payer" or "absconded". These generally remain for up to one year.

• Default - a formal record that you fell substantially behind. Under the National Credit Act regulations, adverse classifications of consumer behaviour such as a default are generally retained for up to one year, or until the debt is settled if that happens sooner.

• Judgment - a court order confirming the debt. Judgments can remain for up to five years, and paying the debt does not remove the listing on its own - you must apply to the court that granted it to have the judgment formally rescinded.

• Administration order - a court-appointed arrangement for smaller debts, which stays until the order is completed and rescinded.

How to dispute an error with a credit bureau (and the free annual report)

• Gather your proof - a settlement letter, bank statement showing the payment, or written confirmation from the lender.

• Log the dispute directly with the bureau that is reporting the entry. Every South African is entitled to at least one free credit report a year from each registered bureau, and you can view yours anytime on your accounts page.

• Ask for a reference number and keep every piece of correspondence.

• Tell the lender at the same time, so their next data submission carries the corrected figure.

• If the bureau does not resolve it, escalate to the National Credit Regulator or the Credit Ombud at no cost.

How long a bureau has to investigate and respond

Under the National Credit Act, a bureau must investigate a disputed entry and revert within 20 business days. While the dispute is open, the disputed information must be flagged so that lenders can see it is contested. If the bureau cannot verify the entry with the credit provider, it must be removed. Check your report again after the investigation closes - a correction at one bureau does not automatically apply at the others.

Tips to keep your credit accounts in check

If you want to maintain a good credit reputation and keep your debt in check, you need to keep a close eye on your credit accounts. Here are some important points to consider:

1. Keep your credit utilisation below 30%

Your credit utilisation is the ratio of your current balance compared to your overall credit limit. If you have borrowed R700 and your overall credit limit is R1,000, then your credit utilisation is 70%.

However, this is very high, and bringing it under 30% may help your credit score improve over time, although scores depend on your full credit profile. You can do this by reducing your debt or increasing your credit limits.

You can easily access your credit utilisation through ClearScore. Head over to your accounts page, where you will be able to see the credit limit and current balance of each of them.

2. Set up debit orders for recurring payments

The most effective way to ensure your credit accounts are paid is to set up debit orders. You can easily do this through your bank or lender.

Be aware that you may be charged a small debit order fee. For example, if you have a Discovery Bank Gold Credit Card, you will pay R3.75 for this service every month. However, this is usually a small cost for the convenience of having your credit accounts paid automatically each month, provided there are sufficient funds.

3. Don’t borrow more than you need

Once you get a new credit card or store card, it may be tempting to spend more than you need. It’s easy to add small amounts to your monthly budget. However, these add up and, before you know it, you may be dedicating too much of your income towards servicing your debt.

The best way to keep track of this is to calculate your affordability before you add anything to your credit accounts. For example, imagine you earn R20,000 and your monthly expenses add up to R19,000. If you buy a car with a monthly instalment of R1,500, you will be R500 short every month. Therefore, you should rather consider a car with a smaller monthly instalment.

4. Use the free resources available to you

There are many online tools that can help you manage your credit accounts. ClearScore is one of them, which allows you to track your accounts, view your credit utilisation, and see your credit enquiries. You can access this anytime, and it will never cost you a cent.

On top of this, you can also join free Coaching Plans that will teach you how to manage your credit accounts effectively, and we have an article that can teach you how to improve your financial literacy.

Which credit accounts should you prioritise when money is tight?

When there is not enough money to cover every instalment, pay the accounts where missing a payment costs you the most - your home, your transport and your ability to earn. Paying a store card while your bond falls behind is the wrong trade, even though both appear on your credit report.

Why not all missed payments cost you the same

Secured debt is backed by an asset. If you stop paying a home loan or vehicle finance agreement, the lender can ultimately repossess the house or car through the courts. Unsecured debt - credit cards, personal loans, store cards - has no asset attached, so the consequence is financial and reputational rather than the loss of the thing itself. Both damage your credit score, but only one leaves you without a roof or a way to get to work.

Priority order at a glance

Priority does not mean permission to ignore the accounts lower down. Every unpaid instalment on an NCA-regulated agreement can be reported to the bureaus and will show on your report. The order simply tells you where to put the last rand when there is not enough to go around.

What to do before you miss a payment (contact the lender first)

A missed payment you warned the lender about is far easier to fix than one they discover. As soon as you know a debit order will not go through, phone the credit provider and ask about a payment arrangement, a payment holiday, or a reduced instalment for a fixed period. Many South African lenders will restructure rather than start collections, and some agreements include credit life insurance that covers instalments in the event of retrenchment, disability or death - check whether you are already paying for cover you have never claimed on.

Get any arrangement in writing, and confirm how the lender will report it to the bureaus. Then check your accounts page the following month to make sure the account is showing as arranged rather than in arrears.

When should you get help?

Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, you may become overindebted. This is when your debt becomes unmanageable and you end up missing several monthly instalments.

The best way to address this is to get professional help from a debt counselling company. They will pair you with a registered debt counsellor who will rearrange your existing credit agreements and set a single reduced monthly payment, distributed to your creditors by a payment distribution agency. Your agreements are not merged into one new loan - debt review restructures what you already owe.

Alternatively, if you're not struggling too much but you'd like to restructure your debt so that it's easier to manage, one option is a consolidation loan that combines your debt into a single monthly repayment. This may lower the monthly amount, but it can also extend the term and increase the total interest and fees, so it's worth comparing the total cost.

Feeling overwhelmed by debt? Find out whether you qualify for debt consolidation and debt counselling through ClearScore.

Debt counselling vs consolidation loan: which is right for you?

Both routes reduce your monthly repayment, but they work in opposite ways. Debt counselling is a legal process under the National Credit Act that rearranges what you owe and, while you keep up with the restructured payments, limits creditors from enforcing those agreements. That protection is conditional - creditors who had already issued a Section 129 notice before you applied may continue, and protection can lapse if you default on the rearranged plan. A consolidation loan is simply new credit used to settle old credit - you stay in full control, but nothing stops a lender from acting if you fall behind again.

At a glance: the two routes compared

Who each option suits

Debt counselling may be considered by people who are already missing instalments, receiving collection calls, or paying more in debt than they can realistically cover from their income. It is designed for people who have run out of room to negotiate on their own, and a registered debt counsellor can assess eligibility.

A consolidation loan may be considered by people who are still paying everything on time but juggling several accounts with different due dates and high interest rates. Qualifying for a rate lower than the average across your existing debts can simplify admin, but a longer term or added fees can increase the total you repay, so it's worth comparing the total cost and getting independent guidance.

What debt review does to your credit record (and how you exit it)

Once you are accepted, your counsellor notifies the credit bureaus and every credit provider, and a debt review flag appears on your credit report. You cannot take out new credit while that flag is active - this is a protection, not a punishment, but it does mean no new store accounts, no vehicle finance and no credit cards for the duration.

When you have repaid everything under the restructured plan, your counsellor issues a clearance certificate and the flag must be removed from your report. Your payment history stays, so the accounts you paid consistently during review work in your favour afterwards. If your circumstances improve before you finish, you can apply to court to have the debt review order rescinded.

Warning signs a consolidation loan will make things worse

• The new interest rate is higher than the average rate across the debts you are settling.

• The instalment only drops because the term is far longer - you will pay more in total.

• You leave the old credit cards and store cards open and start using them again, doubling your debt.

• You are already behind on payments, which usually means you will only qualify for expensive credit.

• Upfront "admin" or "clearance" fees are demanded before the loan is granted - a common scam.

Whichever route you consider, check your affordability and your current credit standing first through ClearScore (a credit broker, not a lender) so the decision is based on your real numbers.

Credit account management FAQs

Do debit orders increase your credit score?

Debit orders do not increase your credit score on their own - the score responds to the successful, on-time payments that debit orders produce. A debit order that goes off every month means your lender reports a clean payment history to the credit bureaus, and payment history is the single largest factor in your score. So the mechanism is indirect but powerful: set up debit orders for every credit account, keep enough in the account to cover them, and your score may improve over time as that unbroken run of on-time payments builds. A debit order on a non-credit expense, such as a gym membership or insurance premium, generally does not appear on your credit report at all and therefore has no effect either way.

What happens to my credit score if a debit order bounces?

A single bounced debit order that you pay manually within the same month usually does not reach your credit report, because lenders report your account status at month end. Your bank will charge an unsuccessful debit order fee, and the lender may charge a penalty. If the instalment is still unpaid when the lender submits data to the bureaus, it is recorded as a missed payment, which may lower your score. If you spot a failed debit order, pay it immediately rather than waiting for the next month's collection.

Is it better to close a credit account or keep it open with a zero balance?

In most cases, keeping the account open with a zero balance is better. An open account with an unused limit lowers your overall credit utilisation, and a long-standing account adds to the average age of your credit history - both may work in your favour with lenders. Closing it removes that available limit and can push your utilisation up overnight. The exception is an account with a high annual fee you are not using, or a store card you are tempted to overspend on. If the account costs you money or willpower, close it.

How many credit accounts is too many in South Africa?

There is no fixed number. Lenders look at whether you can afford the total monthly instalments, not how many agreements you hold. A useful benchmark is your debt-to-income ratio: if more than about a third of your take-home pay goes to servicing debt, you are stretched regardless of whether that is across two accounts or eight. What does hurt is opening several accounts in a short period, because each application creates an enquiry and a cluster of them suggests financial pressure.

How long does a missed payment stay on my credit report?

The payment history on your report generally shows a rolling 24 months, so a single missed instalment stays visible for around two years. A formal default listing can remain for up to two years, an adverse classification such as "slow payer" for up to one year, and a judgment for up to five years unless it is rescinded once the debt is settled. The good news is that impact fades - a missed payment from 18 months ago carries far less weight with lenders than one from last month, especially if everything since has been paid on time.

Does checking my own credit score on ClearScore lower it?

No. Checking your own score is a soft enquiry and has no effect on it, no matter how often you look. Only applications for credit create hard enquiries, which lenders can see on your report. You can check your score as often as you like on ClearScore, and reviewing your credit enquiries page is a good habit - it shows you which lenders have searched your record.

Can I have a debit order date changed to match my payday?

Yes. Most credit providers will move your debit order date on request, and aligning every collection with the two or three days after your salary lands is one of the simplest ways to stop payments failing. Contact each lender directly, ask for the change in writing, and confirm which month the new date takes effect - some lenders run one final collection on the old date before switching. Watch for a double collection in the changeover month and budget for it.