Credit Check Uk
this is a follow-up to a thread I started before about mortgages.
We've finally found a bank who will actually look at my UK credit
history, but now we're worried that they'll find out too much! Yes,
some people are never satisfied, are they? The problem is, while
I have a great payment history, I have quite a few outstanding debts
in the UK that I didn't really want them to find out about. My
question is...does anyone know how much information UK credit agencies
are allowed to reveal in a credit check? Unlike US ones, I always
believed they were only allowed to reveal good/bad payment history,
not current balances and the like. Do anyone know if that's true, or
am I'm just being incredibly optimistic/naive?
No, Credit Reference Agencies in the UK only retain information about
a) default notices registered with the Agency by lenders or other
creditors
b) County Court Judgements (i.e. when creditors have actually obtained
judgement against you through the courts)
c) other credit enquiries made, by whom, for what amount, etc (i.e. a
record of many enquiries in a given period may suggest you have been
seeking a lot of credit)
They do *not* hold details of your actual debts. These remain
confidential to the lenders concerned, and indeed if a Bank revealed
such information (except with your specific authority, when legally
forced to do so, or in special circumstances when it can illustrate that
it is in its own interest . . a point which is taken seriously and not
abused), it would be in violation of its duty of confidentiality towards
its customer.
Having said that, you would be foolish to "hide" debts, because if it
was subsequently established that you did so, you could be considered to
have obtained credit fraudulently. The important thing with existing
debts is not their magnitude, but whether they have been regularly and
satisfactorily serviced in accordance with the original agreement, and
that you can illustrate that they can continue to be so with your
changed circumstances. If that is the case, you should have nothing to
worry about.
By the way, could you name the Bank that will consider your UK credit?