Ratings and What They Mean (i.e. What is an R9 Credit Rating)
Within your credit report, each trade line contains a credit rating, for example, an R1 or R9 credit rating. In order to understand your credit report it is essential to know what these credit ratings mean.
Firstly, each credit product has a rating depending on the type.
- R = Revolving. This refers to credit where the balance revolves, for example a line of credit or a credit card. These usually do not have an end date and when you pay off a portion of the balance those funds become available again.
- I= Installment. This refers to those products where the balance decreases with every fixed monthly payment (in order to repay the credit completely). A car loan is an example of an installment.
- O= Open. This refers to demand loans, where you borrow money but payment is required in full by the end of a certain period. Student loans are an example of this.
These letters are then followed by a single digit number which indicates your payment habits. Here is a breakdown of what those numbers mean:
- 1 = up to date
- 2 = 30 days in arrears
- 3 = 60 days in arrears
- 4 = 90 days in arrears
- 5 = 120 days in arrears
- 6 = usually not used
- 7 = credit counselling
- 8 = repossession
- 9 = bad debt write off
So, if you receive an RI credit rating it means that your payments for that product are up to date. On the other hand, an R9 credit rating means that you made arrangements to have your bad debt written off (often denotes a bankruptcy).
Now, if your credit rating is not stellar, an R2-R5 for example, it can be restored to an R1 rating if the account is paid up to date. However, an R7 will not be removed until 3 years after the credit counselling program is paid in full, and an R8 or R9 credit rating will not be removed from the credit report until 6 years after the date that the debt is paid in full.