Credit Reporting Agencies and what information they store

The Credit Reporting Agencies - Equifax, Experian and Callcredit in the UK - are businesses who deal in credit information. They are regulated by the Office of Fair Trading and registered with the Office of The Information Commissioner. They operate within the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

The agencies keep a credit file on everyone who has used any form of credit, and provide business services aimed at assessing credit risk. Their services also enable individuals to combat identity theft, which is a fast growing crime everywhere.

The information they store is of both a general nature which is available in the public domain, as well as being specific to any individual who has used credit facilities.

Information which is a matter of public record includes registration on the Electoral Roll, any County Court Judgements and Bankruptcy Orders. This data is generally known and recorded by all the credit reporting agencies.

The agencies also receive information supplied to them by businesses who provide credit facilities. This could be about a mortgage, a credit card or a personal loan. It could even be about the provision of goods or services on credit, such as from a store that issues its own card or from the utilities like electricity or telephone that you pay for on a monthly or quarterly basis.

This specific credit information, however, is not necessarily known by all the credit agencies. Banks, financial institutions, credit card issuers, loan companies and merchants, for example, who share financial information with the agencies and who also seek detailed information back from them, don't necessarily deal with all of them. They might use all three, but often only one of the agencies. This means that unless you view your credit report from all three agencies, you will not necessarily gain a true position of your overall credit standing.

The credit reporting agencies also maintain a record of the number of searches and enquiries conducted on an individual credit file. Searches relate to lending applications, and enquiries to non-credit matters such as might be made by a landlord vetting a new tenant.

What are the three Credit Bureaus?