Credit Reference Agencies in the UK maintain a history of data submitted to them from companies who you hold an active credit account with.

Data is usually stored for up to six years, even when an account is closed, defaulted or settled.

The information that you will find on your Credit Report can include the following –

• The type of account.
• The amount owed.
• The Credit Limit.
• Payment Performance, for example if you have paid on time or been late.
• Information about any County Court Judgments or IVA’s you may have. (This is pulled from publicly available information).

In the UK, three examples of a Credit Reference Agencies are:

• Equifax
• Experian
• Call Credit

Data held by these three companies may not always be the same. It is therefore possible that you could score better with one agency than another.

Can you see what these Credit Reference Agencies are storing about you?

You have a right to access the information stored by the above agencies and this can normally be done online or through writing to the company concerned to make a request. Both of these options do involve a fee although you may be able to find a free online trial.

How do the Credit Reference Agencies affect you?

When you make an application for credit, whether that be with your Bank or for a new car, the chances are that you will be credit checked.

What this means is that you will provide all the requested details, these details will then be checked against publicly available information and then your credit history will also be reviewed with one or maybe even two of the above agencies.

Once the finance company has all this information they will make a decision based on what they found along with their own calculations. For example your salary might play an important part when making a loan application.

From this credit search the finance company will have a score. This score will have been calculated by the finance company and not the credit reference agency and the sole decision to lend rests with the finance company.

If you are then declined it will usually be because you have a poor credit history, as in you have not kept all your existing accounts up to date, or you are not on the electoral roll or possibly because some of the details you provided did not match what was expected.

When you make an application for credit it is always worth checking your credit file beforehand to make sure that there aren’t any errors. If there are then you have a right to challenge the information and if proven incorrect, the credit reference agencies should remove it.