Aha! now it is your turn to face the law. We are very sure that you have landed on this content only for one reason – YOU HAVE A BONE TO CHEW WITH CRB! and there is a high chance that you want to access a loan somewhere but your credit record is not ‘clean’.
If that’s the case then this content is suitable for you because almost all information is given on how to make things right with CRB Report. We also guess that when you read the first paragraph you were not free in your conscious. That’s the exact situation we went through when the time came to face the issue of CRB.
But with us it was worse because we had nowhere to retrieve the information from. We consulted the bank nothing worked, we searched on Google like the way you have done still the relevant information was not found, later we called CRB offices to the great disappointment their phones were just ‘crying’ (in Bemba’s English)! Including their website https://www.transunionafrica.com/zambia never indicated a step by step guide like the way we have done.
After a successful mission of much struggles, we have done all what we can to make sure that Google can rank this content on page one so that thousands of affected borrowers can easily access it and resolve their CRB issue without or with very minimal challenges.
Your search on google related to checking and or clearing your credit report so that you can erase your name from CRB records will be resolved after following the eight (8) steps we have indicated in the content. We are happy that you have come to the right place because the author is giving a solution to the problem he went through. Hence beyond doubt, this is the only available information on Google which is closely related to CRB clearance in Zambia.
In order to effectively address this issue we will be using the following terms interchangeably but pointing out to one subject which is CRB:
CRB (Credit Reference Bureau), Credit Union, TransUnion Africa and Credit Report Zambia
My Testimony with CRB.
It was a way back in April in 2024 when I was accepted for the loan of a good amount.. and very low interest rate. With the hope that now ‘twasalula’ (I am about to fry or feel good) i was called by a local government officer telling me that i must meet him in office because regardless of my application being approved something was not right with my documents.
The following morning i went there and i found him, he gave me the bank report showing that something is not going well with my Credit Reference Bureau. To be honest it was my first time hearing about this issue. I asked him to tell me what it was; he only told me to visit the bank.
When I went to the local ATRASMARA (Access bank), the customer care officer handed me a 8 page report from CRB indicating an unpaid balance of about K1566 and some ngwees. It was a loan which I got some time back from Kasaka Loans (MTN), but forgot to clear.
I was shocked because I was told that without clearing my name from this record the loan will not be offered to me – and if i could delay for the clearance, i may miss the opportunity.
I requested the bank if there is any help – only to be told to pay the unpaid balance then contact the CRB department. He added ‘we have nothing to do with your issue’, just deal with them on your own – then come back when all is settled. Honestly speaking, it seems very clearly to me that even him had a very little knowledge about CRB.
So, here is the dilemma and the questions which ringed in my mind: How do I even start? To whom should I pay the money? Is it MTN or CRB itself? After I have paid what proof am i going to provide to the bank? – is it a text message of payment or mobile money transaction statement? Whom should I contact? Where is the CRB office located? How much am I going to spend for all these processes to come to an end? Because I was in a hard time and this loan was my only hope which remained at this moment, I added another question; Is God against me or are ancestral curses real?
To cut the story short, after a great struggle, I succeeded in erasing my name from Credit Record Zambia.
I spent about K1500 on these expenses! But wait, this article will save your money, you will only pay less than K100 – although, K1500 is not including the credit i had with Kasaka loan MTN.
K1500 was mainly spent for transports from Mpulungu to Lusaka. It is not mandatory to visit their offices, if the process is done well, everything could be done and completed online.
In this article also I will provide accurate and clear information on how the process is done. I have chosen to do so because when I searched on Google I couldn’t find any helpful articles about CRB and it surely frustrated me at a greater degree.
For this same reason, I couldn’t just let it go but share the information in order to help ‘my stranded neighbour’ – you!
What is CRB and what is its function?
The initials of CRB may stand for many interpretations but in this regard we are referring to the Credit Record Bureau.
CRB provides you with credit data, which lenders then refer to in order to assess your credit history when you’re applying for loan/credit.
Other terms which may be used interchangeably with Credit Record Bureau (CRB) are Credit report Zambia, credit report and TransUnion Africa.
Why is your name and National Registration Card found on the CRB list?
This simply means that you got a credit from an official registered lending institution like ZAM CASH then you failed to pay after the agreed grace period. This duration depends on the terms and conditions of that particular institution. For example Zamtel Chuma loans may report you after six months of failure to settle their loan.
Who is at risk of being reported to CRB or Credit Records Zambia?
- People who like getting multiple loans from different institutions and fail to pay
- People who expose their Mobile Money Accounts to close family members like children and siblings – this is because you may not know when they got a loan using the SIM cards registered in your details.
- Those who are careless at keeping their personal documents especially National Registration Cards (NRCs). If you have a tendency of exposing your NRC anyhow, some sophisticated people may use it to get loans.
- Those who accept other people to use their NRCs for SIM card registration – you may not know how that SIM card may be utilised.
Solutions to the above Challenges:
- keep safe your personal documents
- Know very well all the SIM cards who is using your SIM Cards.
- Make a commitment Visit ZAMTEL, AIRTEL, MTN and ZEDMOBILE offices, ask them to give you a list of all numbers registered in your details. In case you find some strange numbers, tell the attendant officers to clear all the unknown numbers by you. (THIS IS THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION).
What does the Credit Record Report contain?
Credit Record Report is a document which contains and shows the following Particulars of a defaulter and credit/loan institution clearly:
- Name of a defaulter
- N.R.C Number of a defaulter
- Defaulter risk level (Low, High or Medium)
- Date of default
- Amount defaulted
- Loan/credit institution
How to clear your name from Credit Records Zambia or Credit Record Bureau online?
Here are the steps to follow without skipping any single step:
- Consult the Bank or any money lending institution if you will be given a chance to get a loan from them once your name is cleared from defaulters
This step is vital because you may end up clearing up your name from the defaulters but still be rejected from accessing a loan.
If the loan institution accepts that you can be given that opportunity then proceed to step 2 if not find other money lending institutions which may understand your situation.
- Contact the CRB officers to give you a Credit Record.
The communication is only done via email. Tell them in a very short way that you are asking for your Credit Report/Record. The email address to be used is when contacting them is CustomerCareZM@transunion.com. Remember to save this email because you will be using it frequently until everything is done.
During this first time contact include/attach your certified copy of your NRC and certified copy of Tax Personal Identification Number (TPIN) – PDF is recommended. In addition attach your selfie and a clear photo/ image of your N.R.C. Wait for their response, they do respond within 48 working hours.
- Fill in the Questionnaire form and Submit
After 48 working hours they will respond to your email. Questionnaire form will be sent to you. This is a form which must be filled correctly and signed by the defaulter (yourself).
After filling in the form, scan it and send it to the CRB email address as a reply. Remember to attach your details as mentioned in step 2. Note that if you are within Lusaka, you can submit it physically at their offices. Whether you are submitting it via email or personally do it within 10 days. Below is an image illustrating the CRB Questionnaire form:
- Read a Credit Report (Pay much attention when you are reading your CRB)
After 5 working days (sometimes less than that) you will receive a message containing your credit report via email, download and read it and reply to them that you have done so.
NOTE: Credit report message is received as a ‘Protected message’ because it is more confidential than other messages, hence, the instructions will be provided by TransUnion Africa on how to open it.
- Fill in a Credit Dispute form (Never submit the wrong information, it could cost you)
After reading and confirming to the CRB department that you have read the Credit report, after 2 days you will receive a Dispute Form. It is a form where you fill in the information to accept or reject the Credit Report.
At this stage there are 2 critical things involved;
- If you agree that the amount shown on the credit report is accurate, fill in the dispute form and tick on (YES), scan and send it to TransUnion Africa (CRB). the work will be easier and your Credit will be cleared in 14 working days or less than that. But …
- If you reject (you do not accept) the Credit report, then, you will fill in the dispute form stating that the money indicated is more than what you were expecting or you are not aware of the credit indicated on the Credit Report thus the work of credit clearance will be more complicated because more further steps will be taken by TransUnion Africa and Credit Record Zambia, to confirm your disagreement between the money lending institution and yourself.
The Transunion Africa will then contact the money lending institution explaining your complaint as you have illustrated in dispute form, thereafter the lending institution will review your credit report and history whether they could agree with you or not. So you see, for this reason the process will be very complex and more time will be taken instead of weeks it may take months or a year.
In a situation where you totally disagree that you are not even aware about the outstanding credit, the situation becomes more and more complex because other institutions will come in to see who (a thief) who got a loan using your NRC without your consent?
Therefore our advice is, if the credit shown is not far more than your expectation just accept, repay and move on. If not, consolidate well with the lending institution until you agree upon one amount of loan to settle. Below is how the
- Pay the outstanding loan which you defaulted (it is also advisable that upon receiving the CRB Report, repay the loan in order to accelerate the work)
The sixth stage requires you to pay the full amount of money as it is illustrated in the Credit report you received from the CRB via protected message or the disputed agreed amount.
Additionally, in case you do have other outstanding loans of more than 6 months pay back so that you avoid a situation where immediately after clearing the current loan, another loan institution report you as a defaulter.
Take note that the Credit Report is only cleared once per annum thus if the situation mentioned above occurs you will be told to wait for another year.
- Communicate again with CRB
Using the same email as before, inform the Credit Record Zambia that you have paid the money in full. CRB will then communicate to the lending institution where you get a loan from for the purpose of confirmation.
In order to accelerate the process further, contact the lending institution where you got your loan about the CRB process and inform them that you have cleared the balance.
Keep the payment record and proof in case one of the departments asks for it.
- Wait for Approval and Clearance.
Updating of the Credit report takes not more than 14 working days, sometimes less than that. After this duration, a new updated report will be sent again to you via the protected message of your email. Open it, download, print it out, certify and submit it to the bank or any institution which requested it.
Some banks may not accept this report, they may request for an approval or clearance letter from the institution where you got your loan. If that’s the case contact the same lending institution attaching your latest/updated Credit report, ask them for a stamped loan clearance letter.
Depending on how active they are within 6 – 72 hours the credit clearance letter could be processed and sent.
In all these steps no charge will be required. It is a free service except if by any means CRB has issued 2 Credit reports within a month then you will be charged a fee less than K90 to give you another Credit Report.
When communicating to the CRB, maintain one email, do not change emails by all means. We do understand that regardless of this information some may fail to take these steps and act. If you are that kind of a person it is okay, visit our contact page and send us the message, we shall surely respond and assist you effectively. But if you are based in Lusaka we advise you to visit their offices.
Finalizing With the Bank or any other Lending Institution
Sometimes, even if you have cleared the CRB report some banks and other money lending institutions may not accept the cleared CRB report. If that situation occurs, then, you ought to contact the body where you got your loan from.
Request them to write a loan clearance letter indicating that you are no longer a defaulter to them. During this process you maybe requested to submit your Passport size photo, National Registration Card (N.R.C) and the updated CRB Report as a proof that your name is no longer pending as a defaulter. The sample of a loan clearance letter is shown below:
How long does CRB clearance take in Zambia?
From the initial stage up to the final stage it takes not more than 14 days. This duration is only achievable if you are fast in terms of replying to CRB emails and loan settlement is successfully made on time.
Further Information About CRB
There is a mirth which circulates in Zambia that once you are listed on CRB you cannot access for a loan. As already stated, it is a mirth, the only thing which could happen is the reduction of loan amount to offer you. Bank of Zambia authorized that defaulters could negotiation with loan institutions to be given a change of loan accessibility.
It is good to take note that repeated defaulting is a bad picture which could hinder someone for future borrowing. The latest information is that once you default your details will remain on CRB for the period of 5 years even after loan settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions About CRB in Zambia,
How do I check my CRB in Zambia?
Submit your certified N.R.C and TPIN to Credit Records Zambia and wait for 5 days or ask the money lending institution of your choice to retrieve it for you. use CustomerCareZM@transunion.com to contact them.
How do I remove my name from CRB in Zambia
Pay off all your outstanding loan balances and request the CRB to remove your name from defaulters list.
What happens when you are blacklisted by CRB in Zambia
You will no longer be accepted to get loans from other lending institutions not until you pay off all outstanding balances and clear your CRB records. To some extent even if you have cleared, the chances of loan accessible and amount could be reduced. It just depend on the decision made by that particular lending institution.
Can MTN, AIRTEL and or Zamtel list you to CRB in Zambia?
Yes, in fact with Zamtel it only takes 6 months. Mobile money loans are more deadly than any other types of loans in terms of CRB reporting because other loan services may even contact you before submitting your name to CRB but ZAMTEL, MTN and AIRTEL it is like an automatic process.
How long do you stay blacklisted on CRB Zambia
You will remain a defaulter forever not until you do the needful thing – settling your loan.
Can you open a bank account if you are blacklisted on CRB Zambia?
Yes, but there will not be an opportunity to access loan services not until you settle all your unpaid loans.
How to improve CRB credit score in Zambia?
Avoid defaulting, settle your credits/loans on time. If you have defaulted before make sure that you start paying off your loans on time.
How do I download my CRB clearance certificate online in Zambia?
Contact Credit Records Zambia, you will be given a link for CRB clearance certificate.
In Conclusion:
Clearing your name from the Credit Reference Bureau Zambia might feel overwhelming, but with the right guidance, it can be managed smoothly and cost-effectively. By following the eight steps outlined in this article, you can successfully restore your credit report Zambia and regain access to financial services from lenders.
The key to clearing your CRB report Zambia is staying proactive in your communication with both the CRB Zambia and the lending institution, ensuring that all outstanding balances are settled in full and keeping accurate records of each transaction. With patience and consistent effort, you will be able to improve your credit score Zambia and clear your name from the credit blacklist Zambia, opening doors to future loan opportunities.
If you find any part of the process unclear or difficult to manage due to a busy schedule, feel free to reach out for assistance. I understand that some may not be familiar with processes like email communication. Don’t hesitate to contact me, and we can work together to find a solution.
What is your experience after reading this content? Was it helpful to you? Do we need some revisions? Do you want to be in touch with us so that you accomplish your mission in having a clean CRB report? Drop your opinion in the comment section or visit our contact page for more help.
Good afternoon .The information is helpful.
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