Written by The information that is contained on your credit report is important. The information contained upon the credit report is the basis upon which lenders decide whether they will lend you any money. It’s accuracy is therefore something you should check, at least once eveery year.
You can obtain your credit report from one of the credit reference agencies simply by writing to them together with a small administrative fee. Or you can take advantage of one of the many offers available on the web to get hold of a free credit report.
If you do find that there is inaccurate information then you should immediately take steps to correct this information. The following steps should be take for the types of errors in the sections noted below:
Your Electoral Roll Information
This information includes your address. The information is sourced from your registration to vote that you complete for your local authority. Check your address. If it incorrect inform the local authority and they will inform the credit reference agencies within 28 days.
County Court Judgements
If you believe a County Court Judgement has been incorrectly recorded then you need to contact the office of the County Court quoting your particular case number. They will check the information and if necessary inform the credit reference agencies of any corrections. Again this correction process will take place within 28 days.
If you have actually satisfied a County Court Judgement within 28 days of it being issued then you should request a Certificate of Satisfaction from the Couty Court. Send a copy of this to the credit reference agencies and they may well remove the record of the County Court Judgement from your record. If you have not settled the Judgement within 28 days, the record will remain, but will be marked as satisfied.
Bankruptcy Orders
If you have had a bankruptcy order annulled, or cancelled, or you have fully discharged your obligations under the bankruptcy order then you should either have received a Certificate of Annullment or an Order of Discharge. Send a copy of this directly to the credit reference agencies and they will update your credit report appropriately.
For a Certificate of Annullment all record of any bankruptcy order will be removed from your credit report, but for an Order of Discharge the record will remain for a period of six years but will be marked as discharged.
Voluntary Arrangements
If there is an error on your credit report relating to any voluntary arrangements you may have in place then you should contact your voluntary arrangement supervisor, point out the error and ask the supervisor to confirm in writing to you that there is an error. You may then send this confirmation to the credit reference agencies who will then correct their records in line with what the supervisor states.
Search Records
If you wish a search record to be removed then you must contact the organisation who undertook that search and request them to write to the credit reference agencies to remove the search record. The credit reference agencies will not remove a search record at your request alone.
Altering Or Removing A CIFAS Record
In order to have a CIFAS record removed or altered you again must contact the organisation concerned. Determine the validity of the record and if you do disagree then you can request they remove or alter it. Generally they are amenable to correcting records but in the event they do not agree to do so then you should pursue the maatter through their dispute resolution process.
Aliases, Financial Associations And Linked Addresses
If you have aliases, financial assocations such as joint bank accounts or joint mortgages, or have linked addresses that you believe are no longer appropriate or relevant then you should write to the credit reference agencies providing them with full details of the matter. They will investigate and if they conclude that the arrangement requires correction then they will do so forthwith.
If you wish you can request the credit reference agencies to create a disassociation from those with whom you have had a previous association. This breaks any financial associations that might be recorded on your credit report and removes all record of the other party or parties from your report.
As you can see there are practical steps that you can take in order to rectify or remove incorrect or unnecessary information that is held on your credit report. Remember your credit report forms the basis for all financial institutions or lenders to calculate your credit score. If your credit score is not high enough you will find it very difficult to raise additional credit, but if your credit score is low due to errors on your credit report you owe it to yourself to find them and correct them. You never know when it might cause you problems if you do not do this. So search the web for sites that provide you with a free credit report and start checking today.