Credit reference agency
Credit reference agency is a company that provides valuable information about the credit history of a person and this information is put into use by number of sources like lenders, financing institutions etc for making decision. Credit reference agencies are found in United Kingdom and are alike credit bureaus as found in United States. These agencies offer information about all types of credit agreements that have been made by a person in past. While providing such information, credit reference agencies also offer information about serious problems and issues like mortgage arrears, court judgments etc.
For providing such information to the lender, consent of a person is taken when he signs the documents. Remember, if credit reference agencies pass credit information about a person without the necessary consent, it may be termed as breach of Data Protection Act. Credit reference agencies also provide credit scores, apart from credit history and these scores sometimes become very deciding in determining if a person has to be given credit or not. Credit scores are calculated by these agencies on basis of numbers of records. These include different types of accounts repaid by a person, total amount owed by a person, the payment history etc. Apart from above, numbers of accounts that have been recently opened by a person and the delinquencies in payments are also taken into consideration.
Three major credit reference agencies in United Kingdom are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. Experian can be approached at Consumer Help Service, P.O. Box 8000, Nottingham. Its contact number is 0844-481-8000. A person can easily order his credit report from this agency over phone or online by logging on to experian.co.uk. Similarly, Equifax can be approached at Credit File Advice Center, P.O. Box 1140, Bradford. Its contact number is 0870-010-0583. Call Credit can be contacted at Consumer Services Team, P.O. Box 491, Leeds. Its contact number is 0870-060-1414. While offering services in United Kingdom, Call Credit works in tandem with Trans Union of United States.
Above credit reference agencies are subscribed to by many lending and credit institutions in UK that includes banks, societies etc. Similarly, credit card issuing companies, utility companies etc also make use of these agencies for offering different types of goods and services. While obtaining necessary information from the credit reference agencies, these companies are also expected to provide relevant data to these agencies so that data pool can be maintained. All the credit reference agencies work as per the rules and regulations of Consumer Credit Act 1974 and are legally bound through Data Protection Act. Information offered should be up to date and relevant.
Some Important Facts
County Court Judgments or CCJ are registered automatically and credit reference agencies keep these on the credit report of a person for a period of 6 years. Electoral roll information is also offered by these agencies. If a person has not got the same, he can apply for it through local council and same information is recorded in the credit file maintained at the credit reference agencies. Lenders generally provide points on each item contained in the credit report offered by these agencies and these points are then added up for taking any decision. Whenever any lender enquires about any borrower, a search is marked in the reports or credit fie maintained at the credit reference agencies. However, stay of these searches differs from one credit reference agency to another. For example, searches are held by Experian for a period twelve months. Similarly, Call Credit and Equifax hold these searches for a period of 24 months. A person can check his credit report whenever he wants and can know about the searches placed. A person cannot appeal against the credit denial.
In many cases, a person is denied credit by the lending institution. In such cases, a person must ask the lender for the credit reference agency that was contacted by it. He can also ask if the credit has been denied on the basis of information passed by that particular credit agency. If that is the reason, credit file can be checked for ensuring if it contains the latest and true information or not. A person has been provided right under the Data Protection Act of 1998 to get copy of his credit report from the credit reference agencies. Credit report can be obtained online from these agencies by paying 2 pound sterling if obtained through letter or by paying 3.5 pound sterling if same is obtained online. While getting credit report from the credit reference agencies, a person is also required to provide information like his name, address, etc. Previous addresses at which he lived in the past 6 years are also required. Generally, credit report is provided by the agencies within a period of 7 working days. However, if proof of identity is also sought by the credit reference agency, time taken may be more.
Credit reference agencies maintain many types of information about a person. For example, credit or loan accounts that are in default are held in the credit reports offered. These are deleted or removed from the credit report after 6 years. Similarly, settled account information is also held in the credit report. This information is removed from the credit report 6 years after the settlement date or date of last payment. Bankruptcy orders are also removed after 6 years. However, if a person is subjected to BRU or Bankruptcy Restriction Undertaking, it may remain in the report for longer time. Similarly, if a person in subjected to BRO or Bankruptcy Restriction Order, same is contained in the credit report for longer periods. IVA or Individual Voluntary Agreements are also held in the credit reports offered by credit reference agencies and are removed 6 years after the date of setting up of IVA. If there are any administration orders, these are also contained in the credit report. Apart from CCJ, reports also contain Higher Court Judgments. In no case, a person can get the correct item removed from his credit report. However, he can put a notice of correction. Word limit for this notice is 200 words. Complaint against credit reference agencies can be made to Financial Ombudsman Service.
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