WHAT IS ON IT
Accounts and addresses
Mostly how you have kept up credit and service or utility accounts, plus past addresses, the electoral roll and public records such as county court judgments.
How long it staysWHAT THE REGULATOR SAYS
The file you
never filled in.
Most adults in the UK have one.
Check a record
6 YEARSfor most records
Credit reference agencies hold information about how you have run your credit and utility accounts, where you have lived and some public records. Lenders read it. The Information Commissioner's Office explains what is on it, how long it stays and how to put mistakes right.
At a glance
- Seeing it is free
- Mistakes can be fixed
- Your side can be added
- An independent plain-English guide
6 years
How long most entries stay
Closed accounts, defaults, county court judgments, bankruptcies and IVAs usually stay on a credit file for six years from the relevant date, according to ICO guidance.
RECORD LIFESPAN · ICO
200 words
Your own statement on an entry
You can ask an agency to add a notice of correction of up to 200 words explaining why you think an entry is wrong. Anyone who looks at that entry will see it.
NOTICE OF CORRECTION · ICO
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Six years,
two hundred words.
One figure on how long records last,
one on how much of your side you can add.
The FCA's Credit Information Market Study (final report, December 2023) found a general lack of awareness and understanding of credit information among consumers.
HOW LONG DOES IT STAY?
Pick a record,
see its lifespan.
Different entries last different lengths of time. Pick one to see what the ICO's guidance says. The bar shows how long the record usually stays on your file.
Based on the ICO's Credit explained guidance (2019) and its credit pages for the public. General information only, not financial advice.
THE SHORT ANSWER
A record of how
you have paid.
Nobody has a right to credit, the ICO says.
But you do have rights over your file.
General information only, not financial advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to a regulated financial adviser or a free money-advice service.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
Usually the lender
The ICO says if an entry has a company's name on it, that company is likely responsible for it. The agency cannot change it without the company's permission.
Fixing a mistake
YOUR RIGHTS
See it for free
You can ask any of the agencies for a copy of your file free of charge. Look for the phrase 'statutory report'; no subscription is needed.
See the numbers
IF SOMETHING LOOKS WRONG
Four steps the
ICO describes.
These are the routes the Information Commissioner's Office sets out. It cannot decide financial disputes, but it can look at whether data is accurate and fair.
Get your statutory report
Ask any agency for a free copy, in writing, verbally or online. Unless it needs more information, it has one month to respond.
Raise it with the agency or lender
Dispute the entry with the agency you got the file from. If the error came from a lender, contact that lender too, with any proof.
Add your side
Ask for a notice of correction of up to 200 words. It sits with the entry and should be considered if you apply for credit.
Complain to the ICO
If an obvious inaccuracy is not corrected after you have contacted the agency and the lender, you can complain to the ICO.
COURT JUDGMENTS
Where the public
records come from.
County court judgments are not reported by lenders. The ICO says all judgment, decree and administration order data comes to the agencies from Registry Trust, which has kept the official register for England and Wales on behalf of the Ministry of Justice since 1985.
Because judgments often arrive without a date of birth, the ICO says mix-ups can happen, especially where people with the same name share an address. Disputes start with the agency that supplied your file.
Questions
Questions people ask
Do credit reference agencies need my consent?
No. The ICO says data protection law does not require consent if the agency has a lawful basis and you have been told what will happen, usually in a credit agreement's terms and conditions.
Is my file the same at every agency?
Not always. The ICO says lenders do not have to report to every agency, so the information can differ. You may need to request more than one file, or ask your lenders which agencies they use.
Will a partner's credit history affect mine?
Only if you are financially linked, for example through a joint account. The ICO says you should not be linked just because you live at the same address, and you can ask to be disassociated when a joint account closes.
Does checking my own file harm my record?
The ICO says searches should not have a negative impact on your credit history, though lots of application searches in a short time can suggest you are having trouble getting credit.
Why does the electoral roll matter?
Lenders may use it to check you live, or have lived, at the addresses you give. The ICO notes people entitled to vote but not registered may find it harder to get credit.
Sources
Where the facts come from
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