How to check your CRB status in Kenya for free

The quickest checks are TransUnion, by sending your name by SMS to 21272, and Metropol, on *433# or its Crystobol app. By law you can get your report free at least once a year from each bureau, so you should not have to pay to find out where you stand.

The three ways in

• TransUnion Kenya: SMS your full name to 21272 to register for its Nipashe service, then request your report or status. It may ask for a copy of your ID first.
• Metropol: dial *433# or use the Crystobol app. Metropol says your first report on registration is free. You can also download a report or clearance certificate on its site with the number you registered.
• Creditinfo Kenya: the third licensed bureau. Use the request channels on its own website.

When the report must be free

The Credit Reference Bureau Regulations 2020 (regulation 37) say each bureau must give you a copy at no charge:

• at least once a year;
• within 30 days of a lender turning you down because of bureau information (the "adverse action notice");
• once every six months after you have asked the bureau to correct something.

Once you ask and give the details it needs to identify you, the bureau has five working days to send the report. Your first clearance certificate is also free (regulation 28).

What to look for in the report

• Accounts listed as non-performing or in default. These are what stop most approvals.
• Loans you do not recognise. They can mean a mistake or someone using your ID.
• Balances you have already cleared. A lender has to update a bureau when information changes.
• Who has looked at your record. Bureaus must record and show you which lender accessed it and when.

If a lender refused you because of CRB

It has to tell you at the time (regulation 63). The notice must say that bureau information played a part, name the bureau with its address and phone number, and tell you that you can get that information free and dispute it. Use that notice to ask the named bureau for your report within 30 days.

How to dispute a wrong listing

1. Write to the bureau saying which entry is wrong and why. Attach proof such as an M-PESA statement or a clearance letter.
2. Within five working days the bureau must mark the entry as under investigation and ask the lender to confirm it.
3. The lender has 21 days to investigate and tell every bureau whether the entry is deleted, corrected or stays.
4. If it is wrong, the record is corrected at all the bureaus, and you can get a free report every six months after your request to check.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Missed a loan payment? What happens before any listing
• How to get off CRB
• Can you get a loan while listed?

Sources

• Credit Reference Bureau Regulations 2020, Legal Notice 55 of 2020 (CBK)
• TransUnion Kenya, Nipashe
• Metropol, Crystobol and *433#