Do you know what’s on your credit file?

Former_MSE_Debs

Poll started 7 Jan 2014

Apply for a mortgage, credit card, even a mobile phone contract, and you’re credit-scored (see Boost Your Credit Score for more info). As well as your application form details, and any past dealings they’ve had with you, firms also get details from one of three credit reference agencies. But do you know what information is kept on your file?

In this week's poll, we asked you to answer whether you think the below information is on your credit file for LENDERS to see...

If you haven't already,

Vote in this week's poll

---

Here are the answers – though we’ve hidden just in case.

Once you’ve voted, you can check the correct answers below.

How to see them: they’re written in WHITE so simply highlight the section below (click on it with you mouse then move it down) and the answers will ‘magically’ appear.


If you’ve been rejected for borrowing - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No. Lenders can only see when you’ve made applications, not the outcome of them. However, they may be able to guess, based on the accounts you have open.

Who you live with / are married to - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No, your file won’t show lenders who you live with and are married to. But it will show you if you’re financially linked to someone else. If you’ve got a joint bank account with a partner, their credit score will affect yours, for better or worse.


Any past speeding fines - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No. Speeding or parking fines aren’t considered credit issues, despite being court-issued, so they’re not detailed.

Missed credit card payments- YES DOES SHOW
Yes. Any time you don’t make a payment, so you default, it’ll show up on your file and stay there for at least six years. To help avoid this, set up a direct debit for at least the minimum, though ensure you pay more as and when you can.

Your current salary - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No, how much you earn isn’t on your file. But it’s likely you’ll have been asked your salary on a lender’s application form.

Late credit card payments - YES DOES SHOW
Yes, and the details will be held on your file for at least six years. Agencies tend to ‘grade’ late payments by how late they are and will alter your score accordingly. So a month late is far better than six months.

Whether you’re on the electoral roll - YES DOES SHOW
Yes - this is publicly-held information and is detailed on your file. It confirms your current address and any addresses you’ve been linked to in the last six years. It’s still possible to have a good score and not be on the electoral roll, but it’s very unlikely you’ll be successful getting credit without it.

Insurance companies you pay monthly - YES DOES SHOW
Yes. Choose to pay for insurance products such as car and home policies monthly, rather than as a one-off annual fee, and not only will you pay more, you’ll also be credit-scored. This is because you’re essentially borrowing the annual cost from the insurance company and spreading out repayments.

Student loan information - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No. Post-1998 loans won’t show up at all on your credit file. But if you have pre-1998 loans, then they will show if you’ve defaulted.

Any criminal record - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No criminal convictions are listed – credit scoring doesn’t take this into account.

Whether you’ve checked your credit file - NO DOESN’T SHOW
No. This information is held on your file, but only you can see it. It isn’t passed onto lenders and doesn’t affect any assessment of you.

Products you applied for & took out five years ago - YES DOES SHOW
Yes – products are detailed on your file while they’re active, and for six years after that.

---

Did you vote? Why did you pick that option? Are you surprised at the results so far? Have your say below. To see the results from last time, click this

VictimOfImpersonation

I think the nextpoll might ask "What proportion of the data held by CRAs, and also what percentage of the decisions made by credit providers on the strength of a "live" check with a CRA is accurate?

And the natural question after that which I have already asked (because I asked myself the other questions a long time ago!) will be something like: Are CRAs fit for purpose or should they be reformed?

Interesting new poll, though ...

Tiglath

I'm not sure you're correct on monthly payments for insurance; it doesn't show on my Noddle account and never has.

lynneinjapan

Tiglath wrote: »

I'm not sure you're correct on monthly payments for insurance; it doesn't show on my Noddle account and never has.

It won't show the actual amounts but I suppose it's a credit agreement and will be recorded as such. Some providers only use one or two of the credit referencing agencies and I think Noddle (which I think is powered by Callcredit?) is overlooked by some so that might explain why it's not showing up on Noddle.

Tigsteroonie

Tiglath wrote: »

I'm not sure you're correct on monthly payments for insurance; it doesn't show on my Noddle account and never has.

Similarly, my credit files don't show my monthly insurance payments (despite the fact that I know they're processed through some form of credit agreement).

Naf

Tiglath wrote: »

I'm not sure you're correct on monthly payments for insurance; it doesn't show on my Noddle account and never has.

Nor does mine.

I'm amazed that so many people thing that their student loan is on there, or criminal record or salary.
The others I guess I can understand:
- marital status isn't there, but it does show other financially linked individuals, and if they have the same surname, then its a logical deduction.
- Past rejections might not be there, but it does record previous searches and its not unreasonable to believe that the result is also recorded.
- When you check file - its another reasonable assumption that this would show up just as any other search.

JimmyTheWig

I think the first question is misleading. If you make an application and get rejected the application will be on there. Which is why I voted yes. I knew full well that the decision wouldn't be on there, but that wasn't the question as far as I was concerned.
Got all the others right, though

I_just_love_a_bargain

Doesn't work if your using an iPad :mad:

Svenena

100% right I thought carefully over the first question, but ultimately rejections as such aren't shown, just searches, and accounts. You can surmise from this whether applications were successful to a large degree, but it's not the same thing. Some companies do a hard search which will show on your report, but you might not follow through with an actual application, or might withdraw.

Those saying their monthly insurance payments don't show on Noddle (ie CallCredit), are they also not showing on Experian or Equifax? Remember most companies don't report to all three CRAs.

sax11

I was interested in this one as i'm refusing to fill in my electoral roll card - frankly none of them benefit from voting anyway.

Experian_company_representative

Very interesting exercise and some slightly worrying results. Still a lot of work for us to do!

Weird that 95 people (the figure right now anyway) don't think that missed card payments are recorded and visible to lenders.

On insurance, some insurers do share credit data but not very many at the moment.

James