How long does a default stay on your credit report?
A defaulted account will stay on your credit report for 6 years from the date the default was registered.
After 6 years the default will be automatically deleted from your credit report, regardless of whether it has been paid (satisfied) or not.
A lot of people get accounts that are heavily in arrears mixed up with defaulted accounts.
A defaulted account will be clearly marked on your credit report as a Default. It will show the Default Date, and if the debt is still outstanding it will show the Current Balance.
If a Default has been paid, then it will be marked as Satisfied or Balance Satisfied.
Can I do a credit check on another individual?
No, credit reference agencies will only let you view your own credit report.
Your credit report should only show information in your name at any address you have been connected to in the past 6-8 years.
When you order your report, you will be shown information at the addresses you provided on your application.
How long does it take for the electoral roll to appear on a credit report?
The three credit reference agencies get copies of the published electoral register from each local authority.
Local Authorities publish a new register on the 1st of every month between January and September.
This means that if you register to vote in May, you will be added to the June 1st register. The credit reference agencies will usually have this loaded to their databases within 2 or 3 weeks.
Local authorities do not publish a new register in October or November as this is when they start preparing for the annual canvass. Which is when they send forms to every household.
The annual canvass is published on December 1st, and will usually be fully loaded by the credit reference agencies by the end of the month.
What is the highest credit score
When you check your credit report and order your score through a service like Credit Expert, it will range from 0 to 999. With 0 being the lowest score and 999 the highest.
However you should consider the fact that this score is not actually passed on to lenders or anybody else searching your credit report.
When you apply for credit, the lender will search a particular credit reference agencies database and will generally receive a score based on their own pre set criteria. This means that you may be scored differently by each lender you apply to.
The score Credit Reference Agencies give you is their attempt at generalizing the extremely complicated scoring system and giving you an average score to match that of most lenders.
There are many factors taken into consideration when your score is calculated, including the amount of existing credit, payment history and even where you live.
Who is allowed to search my credit report?
Generally, your credit report should only be searched if you have given permission.
You give permission for your credit report to be searched when you apply for credit.
Some credit agreements state that your report may be searched periodically for account maintenance purposes. Although these types of search should be recorded as Unrecorded Enquiries.
A lot of price comparison sites will now have something in the Terms & Conditions stating that your credit report may be searched. These are usually insurance searches, and like Unrecorded Enquiries, will not be visible to other lenders searching your report.
Your credit report may also be searched if you are financially connected to someone, through a joint account etc, and they apply for credit.
What is an Alias entry?
An alias on your credit report is an entry that shows you have used, or do use another name.
The most common alias entry connects a woman’s married name to her maiden name.
You may not have been known by a name listed as an alias for many years, but it can still show on your credit report.
These entries are created by lenders or the credit reference agencies when you tell them of other names you have used.
An alias entry does not directly affect your credit score. It is there so that lenders will see any information at your addresses that is recorded in your current name and any alias.
How do I dispute incorrect information on my credit report?
Firstly, you should contact the company who recorded the information.
However this can take a while and they don’t always rush to respond.
Your next step is to contact the credit reference agency who supplied your report.
When you contact them make sure you give them your credit report reference number, and quote any reference number for the specific entry you think is wrong.
Once you dispute the entry with the credit reference agency, they will contact the company who has recorded the information, and ask them to verify if it is correct or not.
The credit reference agency should then let you know what the company said, and make any amendments the company has requested.
The whole process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on what information you are disputing, which company recorded the entry, how many outstanding disputes there are with that company and so on.
If the credit reference agency tell you that the company said the information was correctly recorded, and should stay on your credit report, then you should contact the company directly if the reference agency has provided an address.
If you are still not getting anywhere after this, then you should contact the Information Commissioner.
Who makes lending decisions?
A lot of people think that the credit reference agency makes lending decisions.
It is actually the company who will be giving you credit that decides if they will give it to you.
Each company may calculate your credit score in a slightly different way, or have different criteria for what kind of consumer they want to lend to.
This can also change within companies on a product to product basis.
The role of the credit reference agency is to provide information to the lender about your past and present credit agreements and other relevant details, such as if you are registered to vote, previous applications, if you have any county court judgments (CCJs) etc. The lender will then use this information, along with details you provide on your application form, to decide if they will give you credit
Does being on the electoral roll improve your credit score?
Registering to vote can improve your credit score, but it doesn’t actually affect your score too much, and will only boost your score after you have been registered for some time (several years in some cases).
The advantage of registering to vote at your current address is that it can help lenders searching your report quickly verify your identity and residency.
It is becoming ever more important to be on the electoral roll (voters roll) as some companies – store cards in particular – refuse applications if you are not registered.
How does a County Court Judgment (CCJ) affect my credit report?
If you have a county court judgment on your report, it means that a company or individual has had to seek help from the courts to get you to repay them.
As far as a prospective lender is considered, this is a sign that you are more likely to be unable/unwilling to pay a future agreement.
A CCJ will have quite an impact on your score and will quite often cause you to be refused credit.
If you pay the judgment, then it will be marked on your report as Satisfied.
Judgments stay on your credit report for six years.
Although it will be better to have a Satisfied Judgment on your report, the fact that you have a judgment at all will have quite an impact.
The best thing to do if a CCJ is ever registered against you, and is correct, is to pay it as soon as possible.
If you pay a judgment within a month, it will be removed from the records, and removed from your credit report.
How long does a County Court Judgment stay on your credit report?
County Court Judgments (CCJs) stay on your credit report for six years from the date of the judgment.
After six years CCJs are automatically deleted, whether the judgment has been paid (satisfied) or not.
Judgment deletions are typically processed overnight. This means that if a judgment was registered on 10 March 2008, it would be removed from your credit report overnight on 10 March 2014 and would no longer appear on your credit report as of 11 March 2014.
A judgment can also be removed from your credit report if it has been Set Aside/canceled by the courts.
The courts should notify Registry Trust Ltd (RTL), who should then notify each of the credit reference agencies.
A judgment should usually get removed from your credit report within a month of it being Set Aside.
If a Set Aside judgment is still showing on your credit report after this time, you should send a your Set Aside Certificate to each of the Credit Reference Agencies.
If you send the original certificate, then the credit reference agency should be able to remove the judgment entry themselves. But if you send a copy, they will contact RTL and wait for them to confirm if the judgment can be removed, which can take up to a few weeks.
You can apply for a Set Aside Certificate from the court for a small fee.
Some information on a search entry is wrong, how can I change it?
The information shown on the search entry should be the same as what you provided on your application form.
If you think any of the information on a search entry is incorrect, you should contact the organisation or lender concerned.
The company should amend their records (if applicable) and tell all credit reference agencies of these changes.
The agencies (Equifax, Callcredit, and Experian) will then update the data they hold.
You can also contact the credit reference agencies and ask them to dispute the information. They will then contact the company concerned for you, but then any updates may only be applied to that particular agencies records.
What is an Equifax Credit Report?
Equifax are the UKs second largest credit reference agency.
An Equifax credit report is simply a compilation of all of the data Equifax hold about you.
Although Experian is the largest of the UKs credit reference agencies, Equifax follow closely behind, and a lot of companies actually share information with both agencies.
This means that if there is a discrepancy on your Experian report, it is quite likely that your Equifax credit report will also contain the same error.
If you were to dispute an entry through Experian, and the entry was subsequently deleted, it could still show on your Equifax report.
If you do have issues on one credit report, then you should notify the other agencies so the error can be resolved on all of your reports.
Just like the other credit reference agencies, Equifax are bound by law to provide you with a copy of your credit report, although they are also allowed to charge £2.
Equifax have an online service where you can pay a monthly charge to view your Equifax credit report an unlimited number of times.
Your equifax credit report will show you the following information (if it is recorded in your name)
Electoral Roll information for all of your addresses
Any alias’ you currently use or have used in the past
People you are financially connected to
Any CCJs, Bankruptcies or Voluntary arrangements in your name
Your current credit agreements and any that have been settled in the past six years
If there is any GAIN information in your name
If there is any CIFAS information at your address
If there is any repossession information in your name
Any addresses you have been linked to
Any credit applications and searches of your Equifax credit report in the past 12 months
A credit reference agency is a company that collects consumer data from a variety of sources to provide credit information on individual consumers.
There are 3 credit reference agencies in the UK, they are:
Experian
Equifax
Call Credit
Credit-granting companies, subscribe to one or more of these agencies to ensure the quality of their lending.
This includes companies who sell goods or services on credit such as credit card issuers, utility companies and store card issuers.
Companies who subscribe to the credit reference agencies are expected to provide relevant data to maintain the common data pool.
Credit reference agencies are bound by the Data Protection Act 1998, which requires that data relating to identifiable individuals must be accurate, relevant, held for a proper purpose and not out-of-date.
The activities of Credit Reference Agencies are governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
What is a Notice of Correction?
A Notice of Correction (NOC) is a short statement that can be attached to any individual entry on your credit report.
You could use a Notice of Correction to explain late payments on one of your credit accounts, state that you are in dispute over the information on one of your accounts, to explain why you are not registered to vote, or for any other reason really.
Credit Reference Agencies will often add a standard Notice of Dispute statement to any entry they are currently investigating for you.
The Credit Reference Agencies are quite tight about what they will accept as a notice of correction.
A few things to consider are:
Keeping it short and to the point (200 words max)
Do not name any third parties/companies
Do not directly blame any third parties
To add a Notice of Correction you just need to email, or write to, the credit reference agency telling them which entry to add it to and what you want to say.
Why should I register to vote?
It is now a legal requirement to be registered to vote at your current address in the UK.
If you are not registered to vote you could be fined up to £1000.
In terms of your credit report, companies use electoral roll information to confirm your identity and residency.
It is becoming more common for people to be refused credit because they are not registered to vote, especially if you are applying for a phone contract or store card.
Registering to vote is quick, easy and most importantly, it’s free. Just got to aboutmyvote.co.uk for more information on registering to vote.
How often should I check my credit report?
All of the Credit Reference Agencies offer monthly subscriptions to online credit report services.
Along with their online subscriptions, each agency is also bound by law to offer a paper copy of your statutory credit report for no more than £2. This is the cheapest, most convenient way of keeping an eye on your credit report without signing up to the online services.
If you do not apply for credit very often, then you don’t really need to check your report too much. But you should make sure you only apply for credit after recently seeing your credit report. This is so that you can make sure you know there are no errors, or anything bad on your report that could cause you to be refused.
If you apply for credit regularly, have recently been a victim of identity fraud, or are concerned about ID fraud, then it may be worth while to sign up to one of the online credit report services.
Do address links drop your credit score?
No.
Address link entries have no direct impact on your credit score.
They are there to so that your credit report will include information recorded in your name at those addresses.
Can landlords credit check tenant?
Yes, landlords can credit check tenants as part of the application process for tenancy.
There are many online services which offer tenant credit checks for landlords for a one time fee.
These will usually return details about whether the tenant has any history of late payments, CCJs, defaulted accounts etc.
Usually an application for tenancy will only be refused based on the landlords credit check if the tenant has a history of heavy arrears, defaulted accounts, bankruptcy and or judgments.