Your creditreport can be securely accessed by acompany if they need information about you – for example,when you request to set up mobile phone contract, apply for a mortgage, or get a loan.
Companies that may look at your credit report:
Mortgage providers
Mortgageproviders will be giving you access to possibly the largest loan of your lifetime,so they need tosee your credit report to gauge if you're a reliable borrower, and if you'll be able to makeregularrepayments.
Lenders and creditors
If you apply for a credit card or a loan, lenders need to see your credit report to assesshow wellyou'vemanaged to repay credit in the past. They'll base their decision on whether to give youcredit on yourreport, as well as the amount they'll let you borrow, and the rateofinterest you'll pay.
Insurance companies
Insurance companies want to check your credit history to decide whether they should insureyou, and iftheydo, the cost of your premium and how you should pay.
A history of late payments or significant debt may mean you have to pay higher premiums, orpay for yourpolicy upfront – without instalments.
Potential employers
Most employers shouldn't need to see your credit report before they make you a job offer.However, ifyou'vebeen offered a job at a financial institution (such as a building society or bank), certainemployersmayneed to see your credit report as part of the screening process. You could also be given acredit checkifyou're applying for a job where you'll be handling large sums of money, or where you'll havea highlevel ofresponsibility.
Utility and mobile companies
Gas, water and electricity providers usually charge in arrears – that means you'll pay on amonthly orquarterly basis for what you've used, not a service they'll provide in the future. So whenyou registerwitha utilities company, you'll be using a form of credit with them.
It's unusual for a utilities company to refuse to provide a service if you have a bad credithistory.However, if you've got a history of being unreliable or making late payments, they may putyou on aprepayaccount instead, like a key meter.
Mobilephone companies operate in a similar way – you payfor what you've already used – so they may want tocheck your credit report before offering you a contract.
Debt collection agencies
When you first apply to take out a loan, you agree to allow the lender to check your creditreport.
If you can't repay a debt and it's passed to a debt collection agency, the debt collectorshave a righttosearch your credit report to get a snapshot of your financial situation and make appropriatedecisionsonhow to best collect the money you owe.
Government agencies
There are a small number of circ*mstances where a Government agency can access your creditreport, suchasfor the prevention of crime, or collection of taxes, or as part of a legal case. This accessmight notalways show as a search on your report.
Who controls who can see my credit report?
Credit referenceagencies collect information about your credit history, and use it to create acreditreport. Companies which need to find out more about your financial habits will contact acreditreferenceagency to get a better idea of your relationship with your finances.
The information in your credit report comes from a range of sources, such as lenders, banksandcreditors.It's worth bearing in mind that companies may share different types of information, and theymight notsharethe same information with different credit reference agencies.
Each credit reference agency creates its own credit report, so the information each one holdsmay bedifferent.
Can my family and friends access my credit report?
Your family and friends can't request access to your credit report – regardless of theirrelationship toyou. It shouldn't be available to the general public and it won't show up as a search engineresult,even ifyou have a unique name.
What kind of information is on my credit report?
Your credit report includes the following, however, the above companies won't always see allof thisdata:
- Your name (including middle names) and date of birth
- Your electoralregister information
- A list of current bank accounts and overdrafts
- A list of credit accounts you hold, as well as ones you've closed in the last six years
- Details about your financial behaviour, such as late or missed payments
- Dates and details of 'hard checks' carried out – 'softchecks' are included, but only you can see these
- Financialassociations
- If you've had any CountyCourt Judgments (CCJs), IndividualVoluntary Arrangements (IVAs) or bankruptcies in the last six years
- Details on whether you've ever been a victimof fraud through a Cifas notification
What isn't included on my credit report?
Your credit report doesn't include:
- Your salary
- The amount of savings you have
- Criminal records
- Your medical history
- Political affiliation
- Religion
- Ethnicity
