What information do credit reference agencies hold about me?
Credit reference agencies can hold the following information about you:
1. Personal details:
◦ Full name
◦ Current address
◦ Previous addresses
◦ Financial associations
◦ Presence on the electoral roll (being registered to vote at your address)
2. Bankruptcies, County Court Judgments (CCJs) and IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements)
3. Credit account information:
◦ How much you owe
◦ Whether you have paid on time
◦ The age of the account
4. Any ‘credit application’ (or hard) searches carried out on your report
5. Any fraudulent activity
Where does the credit data come from?
Your credit report and score are provided to us by Equifax, one of the three credit reference agencies in the UK. These companies collect information on the credit history of individuals. The information comes from lenders, mobile phone companies and utility companies.
This information is stored and organised by the agency so that it can be easily used by potential lenders to assess a person’s credit risk. The other two credit reference agencies in the UK are TransUnion and Experian.
Do government bodies look at my credit data?
Yes, government bodies may access this credit data to check that individuals are entitled to certain benefits and to recover unpaid taxes and similar debts.