A credit report is also sometimes referred to as a credit file and it is held by a credit reference agency and includes a series of detailed information about your financial history.
The credit report contains public record information about you, which includes Electoral Roll details and any court judgments (such as County Court Judgments (CCJs) in England and Wales, and Decrees in Scotland) or records of insolvency, such as a Bankruptcy, against you.
The report would also contain credit account information, including details of past and present credit agreements such as loans, credit cards, overdrafts, mortgages, mail-order accounts and mobile phone contracts. The report will also show your payment history and details of missed or late payments. Lenders pass information about your credit account(s) to the credit reference agencies; they usually have your permission as a term in your credit agreement.
The report also holds details of previous credit checks due to previous applications for credit, and the application forms will usually say that you give the firm your permission to check your credit report.
Credit report information is entirely factual so credit reference agencies neither advise organisations whether they should give you credit nor put people on a blacklist to stop them from getting credit. Lenders will usually have their own credit scoring system, which uses information listed on your credit report. You can check what information is held on your credit report by contacting one of the three main credit reference agencies.
Baines and Ernst Ltd