CreditCards Blog

I used Credit Report http://www.creditreport.co.uk (http://www.creditreport.co.uk/) to get my credit report online. It came from CallCredit who are one of the UK credit agencies. Now that I have got my report will my credit rating be changed? Do the credit agencies know if you have got your own report and for example use internal scoring to take account of the fact that you may have a reason to check your report, eg looking for credit or worried about your credit rating?

I would be concerned if this was the case and the credit agency could let this influence them. In any case you have a statutory right to see your own credit report.

I used Credit Report http://www.creditreport.co.uk (http://www.creditreport.co.uk/) to get my credit report online. It came from CallCredit who are one of the UK credit agencies.

Credit reports, when ordered directly from Experian and Equifax are more valuable, IMO, than those from CallCredit. The former are the two agencies most UK lenders report to, when you apply for/use credit facilities. (For help, see the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky.)

Now that I have got my report will my credit rating be changed?

No. Your enquiries about your own files are not seen by lenders. They are interested only in the number of credit checks made by other lenders.

Do the credit agencies know if you have got your own report and, for example, use internal scoring to take account of the fact that you may have a reason to check your report, eg looking for credit or worried about your credit rating?

Your requests to see your own credit files have no effect at all.

Credit reports, when ordered directly from Experian and Equifax, are valuable. After all, this is the information lenders search when you apply for credit. Additional services like credit scores are a nice little earner for the credit reference agencies, but of little practical value to cc applicants and certainly not worth paying extra for, IMO. I wouldn't let these numbers distract you from tackling the things that really matter ;)

Remember credit reference agencies are there to provide your credit history, but the actual methodology (and the process of scoring itself) is done by their clients, the lenders. None of us - including the CRAs - knows what criteria are used by individual companies. Lenders do not disclose this information.

Does anyone know if when you search your own credit report, does the search show up on your credit file and does it show as you searching your own file?

I thought that all the searches also identified who did the search? I'm not sure how it could count against you to search your own credit report anyway.

The only searches that show up to lenders are credit applications. All other searches - your own checks on your credit report, ID verification by third parties etc - do not show up.

Does this mean that when you get your own credit report it won't show you the details of anyone that has done any searches for ID checking? Shouldn't access to your credit file allow you to see everything that has happened on your credit report?

Maybe it is a data protection issue? I think you would have a right to see any data that the credit agencies hold about you. I assumed that when you see your own credit report you are seeing everything that the credit agency holds on your file.

I'd like to obtain details of all searches against me if I got a copy of my credit report.

Do you know if the credit report agency do identity checks on everyone? Why do they do them and how often do they check your id? Do the credit report agency try to contact you if they have problems checking your id?

Do you know if the credit report agency do identity checks on everyone? Why do they do them and how often do they check your id? Do the credit report agency try to contact you if they have problems checking your id?

I didn't know credit agencies did do ID checks on people. Are you sure they do?

I didn't know credit agencies did do ID checks on people. Are you sure they do?
In order to verify that the correct person is applying for access to the credit file, they will ask you something from your records that only you are likely to know. Eg - 'Which company do you pay 150 per month to on a personal loan?" In order to access this information, a note of their enquiry will be added to the file.

ONLY enquiries resulting from credit applications will affect your credit rating.

Other enquiries that are carried out for whatever reason are called 'unrecorded enquiries' and they make no difference whatsoever to your score.