Credit reference agencies hold information about your credit agreements (including any arrears), county court judgments (CCJs) and electoral roll information. A lender can only pass on information about your credit agreements with your consent. You usually give this consent when you sign the credit agreement. Failure to obtain your consent is a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.
County court judgments will automatically be registered and are kept on record for period of six years. The information a credit reference agency hold about you is known as your credit report (or file).
Policy
Credit reference agencies provide factual information with your consent, so that a company can make a decision about whether to lend you money. They do not have a 'blacklist' of people who should not be given credit.
Credit Scoring
When being considered for credit, a lender may also take into account factors such as your age, occupation and whether you are a homeowner, (the information you give them on your credit application). Lenders often assess this information and the information on your credit report using a process known as credit scoring (see below). They will also take into account whether you are on the electoral register. This may be an important part of the lender deciding whether to give you credit.
Information
You can apply to go on the electoral register at any time of the year. Contact your local council for further assistance. You should make sure you fill in the electoral registration form sent out in September or contact your local council if you move at any time in the year.
The lender may give points to each piece of information it has and then add them up to give you a credit score. If you do not score above the particular company's pass level then you may well be turned down. The score might take into account the information on your credit report. Each lender has their own policy guidelines that they follow when making lending decisions.
Every time you apply for credit a 'search' by the lender is marked on your credit report. Searches stay on your file for different times depending upon which credit reference agency was used. Experian holds search entries for 12 months, Equifax and Callcredit for up to 24 months.
Ask the lender if they are using a credit score to decide whether to give you credit. If the company uses a computerised system you should be given broad information about how credit scoring works and the type of things they have taken into account in the scoring system for that company. If you are turned down they should tell you if you didn't pass. They should also tell you if you were turned down for any other reason, for example, because of the information held on your credit report.
