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How will COVID-19 impact you?

We fully understand your concerns regarding COVID-19 and the impact this will have on your score and repayments. We've put together responses to the most common questions and provided further sources to help you.
 
You can also check out our learn articles and you can also keep an eye on our Twitter or Facebook pages for further updates.

 

Select the relevant topic for more frequently asked questions:

 

Credit Scores

Can you ensure that my credit score won’t be impacted by COVID-19?

There are a number of new policies being implemented daily to look to prevent the financial impact of COVID-19. We’re working to understand the impact of these policies on users’ credit scores.

ClearScore isn’t a credit reference agency, and the aim of our service is to give our users free access to their Equifax report & score so know they stand financially and identify any inaccuracies.

For more information about this topic check out the following sources: 

  • Equifax (Our data provider) here

  • UK Government here

  • ClearScore learn articles here

 

Payment holidays 

Will the 3 month mortgage holiday have any impact on my credit score?

The three main credit reference agencies (CRAs), Equifax (our data provider), Experian and TransUnion have confirmed that consumer credit scores will be protected for people who have agreed ‘payment holidays’ in place with their banks/lenders as a result of the COVID-19.

For more information about this topic check out the following sources: 

  • MSE (Money Saving Expert) here 

  • FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) here

  • Money Helper here

If I'm renting, how do I ask my landlord for a rental holiday?

If you're struggling to pay for your rent the government advice is to speak to your landlord. If your landlord isn't able to offer a flexible way to pay your rent, trey to pay to pay as much as you can afford.

You can also check out this learn article for more information on rental holiday here.

 

Payment freeze

How can I qualify for an emergency payment freeze

An emergency payment freeze means that you've agreed in advance with your credit provider that you'll not be making repayments for an agreed length of time i.e. 3 months.

This does not mean that you don't pay the amount owed. You'll still owe the amount you haven't paid during the emergency payment freeze. However, the repayment will take place at a later date. For more information on the repayments, you'll need to contact your provider (i.e a bank or lender).

If you're unable or you're at risk of not being able to fulfill your financial commitments because of illness from COVID-19, reduced pay or losing your job as a result of COVID-19, you can contact your provider directly to request an emergency payment freeze.

Should I cancel my direct debits, if I can't contact my provider?

If you miss a payment without agreeing to an emergency payment freeze with your credit provider this may be shown as a late payment on your credit report and could have an impact on your score.

For more information on how missing payments and other factors can affect your score, please check out this article. 

What happens to my credit score if I set up an emergency payment freeze?

Once you have an emergency payment freeze agreed with your provider, they'll suspend future payments and freeze the repayment status of your account at the date the emergency payment freeze was agreed.

They'll then continue to report this repayment status to the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) for the period you're on an emergency payment freeze. This should minimise any impact on your credit score.

However other changes to your credit information may have an impact on your credit score; e.g. making multiple applications for credit in a short period of time, or how much of your available credit you're currently using. 
 
If I have an emergency payment freeze on one of my accounts, will this include all my accounts?
No, if you need an emergency payment freeze on more than one of your accounts, you'll need to speak to each of your credit providers directly to see how they can help you.
 
Will my other credit providers know that I have an emergency payment freeze on other accounts?

There are no specific flags or markers that indicate the presence of an emergency payment freeze.

Once you have an emergency payment freeze agreed with your credit provider, they'll suspend future payments and freeze the repayment status of your account at the point the emergency payment freeze was agreed.

They'll then continue to report this repayment status to the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) for the period you're on an emergency payment freeze. 

If you were up to date with your repayments before the emergency payment freeze starts your payment status will show as ‘up to date’ and will continue to appear this way whilst you're on an emergency payment freeze. 

However, if you were in one month’s arrears before the emergency payment freeze starts, your payment status will continue to show one month in arrears. Unless you make an additional payment to clear the full arrears.

 

 

 

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