Our main guide, why a professional credit counselling session helps below 600, covers what happens in a session, what to bring and the red flags to avoid. This post shows counselling in action: three common situations and the advice each one usually leads to.
Why the cause matters more than the number
Two people with the same 575 score can need opposite advice. One should urgently borrow to consolidate expensive debt; the other should not borrow at all for a year. Generic tips (“pay on time, keep utilisation low”) are true but don’t tell you what to do first. A counsellor reads the full report, your bank statement and your monthly budget together and puts the steps in order.
Situation A: the app-loan spiral
An illustrative profile, not a real customer. Salaried, take-home ₹45,000 a month. Three loan-app loans adding up to ₹75,000, each rolled over several times. One went overdue last month and the score has slipped to about 590. Salary is gone within a week of payday.
Monthly cost: three app loans vs one EMI
Illustration: ₹75,000 across three apps at a 10% fee per rollover plus 1% a day costs roughly ₹30,000 a month just to keep going. One 12-month loan is about ₹7,750 a month (illustrative). Over a year the difference is around ₹3.4 lakh. Your actual figures depend on the offer and the KFS.
What a counsellor would typically advise:
- Stop taking new app loans today, even “just to repay another one”.
- List every loan: app, lender behind it, amount due, due date, daily charge. Check each app against the RBI directory of digital lending apps; an unregistered app is a different conversation.
- Replace the rollovers with one affordable EMI as early as possible, from an employer salary advance, family help, or a consolidation loan where your profile qualifies. SmartSwitch exists for exactly this, and the calculator shows your own numbers.
- If any app harasses you or contacts your family, note it, report it to the lender’s grievance officer, and use the 1930 helpline or cybercrime.gov.in if threats continue.
Situation B: an old write-off, a steady job now
An illustrative profile, not a real customer. Take-home ₹62,000 a month, same employer for three years. A credit card was written off in 2022 after a job loss; nothing else negative since. Score about 560.
What a counsellor would typically advise:
Contact the card issuer
Ask for the full outstanding and whether penal charges can be reduced. Paying in full usually reads better than another settlement.
Close it properly
Get the closure in writing and a no-dues certificate, then check that every bureau updates. Our write-off guide walks through it.
Add one positive account
A secured credit card against a small FD, used lightly and paid in full, starts a fresh run of on-time history.
Don’t apply for unsecured credit for now
Rejections add enquiries. Revisit after six to twelve months of clean payments.
Situation C: the score isn’t really yours
An illustrative profile, not a real customer. Never missed an EMI, but the score shows about 570. The report has a personal loan from a lender they have never dealt with, 120 days overdue, and a two-wheeler loan closed in 2023 still shown as active.
What a counsellor would typically advise: do nothing else until the errors are fixed. Dispute the unknown loan with the bureau and the lender named, attach ID proof, and file a cybercrime complaint if it looks like identity misuse. Dispute the closed loan with the NOC attached. Check the other bureaus too, since errors are often bureau-specific; see how to compare all four reports and our dispute templates. When the corrections go through, the score can move a long way, because the underlying history was good all along.
How the three plans differ
| A: app-loan spiral | B: old write-off | C: report errors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main cause | Expensive short-term debt | One old serious default | Data that isn’t yours |
| First move | Stop rollovers, consolidate | Close the account properly | Dispute with proof |
| Should you borrow now? | Only to replace costly debt | No, rebuild first | Wait until corrected |
| Typical horizon | Relief in weeks; score over months | 6–12 months+ | Weeks to a few months |
| Biggest risk | One more app loan | Applying too early | Giving up on the dispute |
The 90 days after your session
Advice only works if you follow it. Whatever your situation, these habits make the plan stick:
- Week 1: set up auto-debit for every EMI and card minimum from your salary account, with a small buffer.
- Weeks 1–2: carry out the first move from your plan (consolidate, contact the lender, or file disputes).
- Month 1: write a simple budget: salary in, EMIs out, essentials, then savings of even ₹1,000 as an emergency cushion.
- Month 2: check that every promised update (closure, NOC, correction) has reached the bureaus.
- Month 3: pull a fresh report, compare it with the one you started with, and review progress with your counsellor.
No honest counsellor will promise a particular score by a particular date; scores recover as months of clean history build up. For realistic expectations, see can a CIBIL score rise 50 points in 3 months?
How Omozing can help
Our Credit Score Booster programme reviews your full report and sets out a step-by-step plan for your situation, without promising a specific score. When your score reaches 600 and your take-home salary is ₹40,000 a month or more, Omozing, the lending brand of RBI-registered NBFC Aparampaar Finance, can consider you for a personal loan, with a credit officer reading the full report rather than a cut-off. We never ask for any fee before approval.
Not sure which situation you’re in?
Get your report reviewed and a plan built around the real cause.
Frequently asked questions
Is credit counselling useful if my score is below 600?
Yes, especially below 600, because the right first step depends on the cause: expensive app loans, an old default or errors on the report. A counsellor reads the full report and puts the steps in the right order.
Will a counsellor negotiate with my lenders?
Some do, but you can also contact lenders yourself. A counsellor helps you decide what to ask for, such as full closure instead of settlement, and what documents to collect.
Can counselling remove a write-off from my report?
No. Accurate information can’t be removed. Counselling helps you close the account properly and rebuild positive history so the write-off matters less over time.
Should I take a loan to repay app loans?
Replacing several expensive app loans with one affordable EMI usually saves a lot of money, as long as you stop taking new app loans. Borrowing more on top of them does not help.
How long until I see results?
Fixing errors can show within weeks to a few months. Rebuilding after a default usually takes six to twelve months or more of on-time payments. No one can promise a specific score.
Is it a red flag if a counsellor asks for a big upfront fee and promises a score?
Yes. Be wary of anyone who guarantees a score or offers to delete accurate entries. You can dispute genuine errors with the bureau yourself for free.
Omozing is the digital lending brand of Aparampaar Finance Private Limited, an RBI-registered non-deposit-taking NBFC. Loans are subject to credit assessment. See our regulatory disclosures and grievance redressal process.