One of the main credit restriction registries can be consulted free of charge. To clear your name, you must negotiate or wait for the debt to expire.
In Brazil, having a “bad credit rating” is a sign of having outstanding financial obligations registered in credit restriction registries, with the CPF entered in databases such as Serasa Experian and SPC. To regularize the situation, the debt must be paid off or wait for the statute of limitations to expire, which can take up to 10 years. If the negative listing is undue, the consumer is entitled to compensation for moral damages.
The main credit restriction database in the country is managed by Serasa in partnership with SPC. Anyone can check the status of their CPF for free, after registering on the Serasa website or app, available on the Google Play and Apple Store platforms. To do so, it is necessary to provide your CPF, full name, date of birth and email, in addition to creating a password.
After registering, consumers can check whether their name is on the negative list and whether their CPF is in good standing with the Federal Revenue Service. They can also check their Serasa Score, a score from 0 to 1,000 that assesses the likelihood of paying bills in the next 12 months, and is an important indicator for granting credit, such as loans and financing.
Paid consultations
Although the free consultation Serasa and SPC is sufficient to verify most registrations, there are other paid options, such as the service offered by Boa Vista. Consulting a single CPF costs R$40, and there are packages available for multiple consultations, such as 17 CPFs for R$250.
In addition, Serasa itself offers paid services that allow you to check the CPF or CNPJ of third parties and monitor your own CPF. According to Joyce Carla, Serasa's financial education coordinator, this monitoring offers alerts to consumers, warning them when there is a risk of their name being blacklisted, or when their CPF is checked by companies, which can prevent fraud.
“If the consumer receives an alert that their CPF was consulted by a company with which they did not do business, they can take preventive measures and avoid possible scams,” explained Joyce.
When the consumer acknowledges the debt, they must negotiate payment directly with the creditor company to regularize the situation. According to Serasa, after the payment is processed, the company has up to five business days to request the exclusion of the CPF from the defaulters' database.
In the case of debts paid in installments, the CPF must be removed from the negative registry after payment of the first installment, as highlighted by the Serasa coordinator.
“It is important to remember that if the consumer fails to pay the following installments, their name may be negatively impacted again,” warned Joyce Carla.
Debt prescription
Another way to remove your name from credit restriction records is to wait for the debt to expire, after which it can no longer be collected. The expiration date varies depending on the type of debt.
According to the Civil Code, the maximum period for the statute of limitations for debts in Brazil is 10 years. However, most debts that result in a negative credit rating are time-barred in five years.
The limitation periods for major consumer debts are:
- 3 years: promissory notes, bills of exchange, property rentals, among others;
- 5 years: taxes such as IPTU, IPVA and Income Tax; traffic fines; water, electricity and telephone bills; condominium bills, school fees, health insurance and consortiums; credit card;
- 1 year: debts related to the issuance of checks.
According to attorney Ticiana Ayala, checks have a particularity. They are valid for 30 days if issued in the same city where they will be presented to the bank, or 60 days if issued in another city. After this period, the bank cannot return the check due to lack of funds, but rather because it is outside the clearing period. However, the check can still be cashed for up to one year, which can result in the negative listing of the check.
Statute-barred debt can no longer be collected
After the statute of limitations has expired, the debt can no longer be collected and the consumer can request that his or her name be removed from the defaulters' registry. Technically, the creditor company can file a lawsuit to try to collect the debt, but the courts tend to deny the request, as explained by the lawyer.
“If a creditor tries to collect a statute-barred debt through the courts, they will not be successful, as the judge may recognize the statute of limitations or the consumer may allege it in their defense, preventing collection,” explained Ticiana.