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Do I need to be honest about debt that's more than 6 years old?

badgermonkey007
Posts: 8 Forumite
in Loans
My debts (which I paid off) are due to fall off of my credit history next month because it's now 6 years since I paid them off/original default date.
Do I need to be honest about them with the banks if applying for any loans/mortgages etc? Or can I in good conscience ignore the question of any previous bad debts?
Thanks in advance
Do I need to be honest about them with the banks if applying for any loans/mortgages etc? Or can I in good conscience ignore the question of any previous bad debts?
Thanks in advance
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Comments
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Surely it depends on the questions asked on any application for credit.
If it asks have you EVER defaulted or had late payments on a credit agreement you would need to declare it BUT I don't know how they would find out if it has dropped off your credit files, unless the companies are linked/part of the same financial group.
As long as you are honest you need have no fear but be aware telling porkies on any application is fraud.0 -
Do lenders have to be honest?
Can they, when checking a potential customers file, make a note of what it says about the potential customer and keep it for ever. In this way they could steer clear of anyone who had ever gone bankrupt even though more than six years had passed...0 -
Robert_Sterling wrote: »Do lenders have to be honest?
Can they, when checking a potential customers file, make a note of what it says about the potential customer and keep it for ever. In this way they could steer clear of anyone who had ever gone bankrupt even though more than six years had passed.0 -
badgermonkey007 wrote: »Do I need to be honest about them with the banks if applying for any loans/mortgages etc?
Only as a last resort...0 -
Wouldn't keeping notes for more than 6 years put them in breach of data protection?0
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badgermonkey007 wrote: »Wouldn't keeping notes for more than 6 years put them in breach of data protection?
Where in the Data protection Act does it limit the timescale you are allowed to keep information?0 -
Just here - on a government website
Q: How long should organisations keep data for?
The Data Protection Act says that information should be kept for no longer than is necessary. The Act does not specify what a ‘necessary’ period should be for particular information. Each case would be considered on its own merits. If an organisation is obliged to retain data for a given length of time under any other laws, this should be taken into consideration.
For example, financial institutes may have to keep some information for up to six years in accordance with the Financial Services Authority regulations. A sole trader, however, may not need to keep information for longer than a month.
Its on i c o . gov.uk0 -
Also - I'm aware of the moral implication. Given the banking industries behaviour in the last few years, I'm also concerned about the immoral application of rules.0
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when applying for credit most institutions would only ask for 3 years history, also your debt is paid off why worry about it.0
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I'm concerned because it's about to drop off my of my credit reports (next month) WOO! If I do the credit worthiness calculator on the money savings expert site, it asks if I've ever had any bad debt...obviously I have, but I'm not clear whether I'm obligated to report it from June 1st!0
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