What is a Credit Report?

When you apply for credit or a service that requires some form of long term commitment (such as a mobile phone contract or supply of a utility) then the lender or supplying company will access your credit history record. They do this to help them assess the risk associated with you repaying the loan or making the regular payments as they fall due.

Your credit file is a record of all your borrowings or applications for credit of any kind. It is compiled by specialist agencies using various sources of information and is a quick and easy way to make an assessment on the identity of the applicant and their record of repayment.

These specialist agencies compile information on you from a variety of sources. These include the electoral roll (which helps to confirm where you live and how long you have lived there), court records (for evidence of any judgements against you), Members of the Council or Mortgage Lenders (for home repossession details), and suppliers of credit (such as banks and credit cards). Information will also be recorded against you if you have any known aliases under which you have been known. Much of the public information is time limited to six years (such as details of any court judgements against you) but some will remain on your file permanently.

In addition, information will be retained of any searches by credit institutions even if no funding was advanced. This helps assess any fraudulent activities undertaken by applicants.

Everyone has a credit record – even if you have no borrowings! Just existing is a record and your identity can be checked from the electoral roll. If you have not registered as a voter or have never taken or applied for credit, had a conviction or alias then it is possible that no information will be held on you – but this will make it harder to apply for credit than someone who has had a track record of borrowing or living at an address for a period of time.

All the information held on you is available for you to access and check. If any information held is incorrect then you can apply to have it repaired so that the information held is accurate. Details of how to do this will be made available to you when you apply to see your credit record.

Many organisations will provide your credit information to you free of charge for a limited period or, in statutory form, upon request. Major agencies who hold this information are Equifax and Credit Expert. Why not check out your free credit report today?

Checking your information can be a valuable way of preventing fraud and identity theft. You can subscribe for regular activity reports where you will be notified of any searches or applications for credit against your details to make sure that it is only you using your identity. Why not get your free credit check today?

Lending and service institutions use the information to help derive a credit score which helps them to make the decision of whether to advance funds or services. The more accurate and complete is the record, then the easier applying for credit will be easier. Of course, any adverse payment history is also recorded which may make applying for credit more difficult or expensive.