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Callcredit were formed in 2001 and are one of three credit reference agencies in the UK. The other two credit reference agencies are Equifax and Experian. The information held by the three credit reference agencies is not necessarily the same. We would advise consumers to obtain a copy of their credit file from all three agencies on a regular basis to check the accuracy of the information held.
No, searches can only be made with your permission. When you apply for credit your permission is obtained in various ways, dependant upon which method of application you use. Some lenders obtain permission through the consent clause or declaration on the application form you complete and sign. If you apply for credit over the telephone, you should be informed verbally before you proceed that a credit search will be carried out with one or more of the credit reference agencies. If you apply for credit over the Internet you should be asked to confirm that you consent to the declaration or terms & conditions of the account. This should include permission for a credit search to be carried out with one or more of the credit reference agencies.
No, unless you can show that the information held is inaccurate. The information we hold is legally obtained and registered with the Information Commissioner. If we were unable to hold this information, consumers would find it much more difficult to obtain credit.
No. Individuals can only apply for their own credit file under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.
No, we do not hold any details about an individual's political persuasion, race or religion.
No. Credit reference agencies collect factual information from various sources, which lenders use to help them make credit decisions. Callcredit do not offer opinions about an individual's creditworthiness. Lenders adopt differing lending criteria depending on the level of risk they are happy to expose themselves to and the volume of new accounts they need to acquire. In theory, one lender may grant someone credit, whilst another may decline the request.
No. The information obtained by the credit reference agencies from public sources, such as Electoral Roll data, Bankruptcies and County Court Judgments, should be similar. Information supplied to the agencies by lenders may well be different. Some lenders supply data about their credit accounts to all three credit reference agencies, however others only supply data to one agency. The credit reference agencies also retain a record of every search performed on their database. These are shown on your credit file in the Credit Search History section. Lenders normally search the files of one credit reference agency (although some use multiple agencies), therefore the searches visible on your Callcredit credit file probably won't appear on your Experian or Equifax file, and vice versa.
We recommend that you obtain a copy of your credit file from the three credit reference agencies on a regular basis, to ensure the information held is accurate.
No, we only hold the details mentioned above which are used purely to assess a person's ability to repay credit and to prevent fraud.
No, we only hold information held at addresses in the UK.
Credit reference agencies obtain their information from a variety of sources.
Public Information:
The Electoral Roll - Each October local authorities distribute Electoral Roll registration cards to every household. The information they collect is published in the following February. Local authorities now make changes to their Electoral Roll on a monthly basis - this is called the Rolling Register. Lenders access Electoral Roll data via a credit reference agency to confirm the identity of their applicant and check that the address provided by the applicant is correct. For further information about the Electoral Roll click here.
County Court Judgments (England and Wales) - Details of County Court Judgments (also known CCJs) are supplied by the county courts to The Registry Trust (an independent organisation established via the Lord Chancellor's Department) who maintain the statutory public register of CCJs. The Registry Trust notifies us of all judgments, satisfactions and cancellations on a regular basis and we update our files accordingly. For further information about County Court Judgments click here.
Scottish Decrees - Details of Scottish Decrees are supplied by the Sheriff's Courts to The Registry Trust. The Registry Trust maintain a public register (by agreement with the Scottish Courts Service) containing all Small Claims and Summary Cause money decrees entered in the Sheriff's Courts during the preceding six years. The Registry Trust notifies us of all decrees, recalls and dismissals on a regular basis and we update our files accordingly.
Bankruptcy Orders and Scottish Sequestrations - We obtain details of Bankruptcies from London Gazette or Stubbs Gazette and keep them on file for six years. Sequestrations are obtained from Edinburgh Gazette. For further information about Bankruptcy Orders click here.
Credit Information - The UK's major financial institutions - banks, building societies, finance houses and retailers, have agreed to share information about each other's credit agreements. This allows member companies to check the details submitted by other members to help them assess whether to accept applications for credit. The information they share consists of previous credit searches, credit agreements, payment history and defaults. The members submit these details to one or more of the credit reference agencies who then store the information and allow other members to access it. Callcredit's credit information database is called Share. Experian's database is called CAIS (pronounced 'keys') and Equifax's database is called Insight. The information held on these three databases is not necessarily the same. One lender may decide to contribute data to all three agencies, whereas another lender may decide to contribute data to only one agency. For more information about Share click here.
Every time an organisation accesses your Callcredit file we record this, along with the name of the company, the type of search/enquiry performed, the product type applied for (where applicable) and the date of the search. We retain a record of each search for 2 years. The Credit Search History section of your credit file will contain any searches performed in the last 2 years.
It is our priority to ensure that the information we obtain is held securely. All the data we hold is processed strictly in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. We screen our employees carefully and our premises are very secure. No-one can be complacent about security, but we constantly review how we can protect our customers, our information databases and our reputation for maintaining privacy.
Yes. We can produce your credit file at your former UK addresses upon receipt of your request and the £2 fee. To enable us to despatch your UK credit file to your overseas address, you must send us two forms of proof that you are residing at your overseas address (eg. bank statement, tenancy agreement, solicitor's letter, or recent utility bill in your name).
Credit reference agencies collate and store financial and publicly available information about almost every adult in the UK. This information is then supplied to lenders and other organisations to assist them in establishing an individual's identity, credit history and current credit commitments.
The information also allows lenders to confirm the address provided by their applicant and to help to prevent fraud.
Major financial institutions use credit reference agencies, as do landlords to vet prospective tenants, employers to credit health check prospective employees and mail order companies to set up new customers accounts, amongst others. The data that can be displayed to our clients differs depending upon their membership of certain shared databases. Information available in the public domain such as the Electoral Roll, Bankruptcies and County Court Judgments, can be displayed to all our clients if they request it, however Share data can only be displayed to clients who are members of these shared databases.
It is important to understand that we do not decide who can and cannot obtain credit. We do not hold a 'blacklist' or give black marks to individuals. Only the lender concerned knows why they declined an application and most will inform the applicant of the reason(s).
Callcredit do not endorse the activities of credit repair companies. Credit repair companies claim that they can help you remove derogatory information such as County Court Judgments and defaults from your credit file. Credit reference agencies will only amend or delete information from their files when instructed to do so by the institution who provided it. For instance, CCJs cannot be satisfied without a certificate of satisfaction issued by the county court. Before paying a credit repair company any money, please seek advice from your local Citizen's Advice Bureau.
Credit reference agencies must be licensed by the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. They must also register with the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Lenders need to verify the identity of their applicants and establish some basic facts about their applicant's finances to enable them to lend responsibly. They also need to fulfil their legal responsibilities and comply with the Money Laundering regulations. They use credit reference agencies to enable them to do this. They check their applicant's credit history to establish if previous credit agreements have been repaid on time and to check their current financial commitments. This assists them in establishing whether the applicant has the ability to repay the credit they are applying for without causing over commitment. They also check the files of a credit reference agency to help them identify fraudulent applications.
Yes, we record a Consumer Credit File Request enquiry type on our files each time you apply for a copy of your credit file from us. A record of historical requests is then displayed to you on future credit files in the Credit Search History section. Records of your credit file requests are not available to anyone else searching our database.
