Credit History Credit Profile: Credit Bureau Agencies

Now that there are thousands of cards available in the market. Its easy for you to apply for a credit card and wait for the credit card to arrive. You can apply for the credit card on phone, you can apply for credit card online through website, or you may visit a bank branch or request a customer services representative to visit you for the credit card application process.

But how does the credit card company decides whether to issue a credit card to a particular individual or not? That's where the Credit History or credit Profile comes into picture. Remember, the Credit Card given to you is a big liability both to the credit card holder and the credit card issuing company. What if a company issues me a credit card with a 100,000 limit and I spent all the money on the card and run away. To avoid such cases, there is a concept of credit history checks or credit profile checks. There are Credit Bureau or credit rating agencies which maintain a credit record or credit profile for each individual. The credit reference agencies maintain the credit records of individuals and the credit card companies refer to these records before issuing any credit cards to an individual.
There is a lot of information stored by the credit reference agencies. However, it’s your data and details. You have the right to ask for the information you may need.

What kind of information do these credit reference agencies store?

On a broad level, the information held by the credit reference agencies may include the following:

• Your credit history details for financial transactions
Credit reference agencies store records showing how you have made payments on credit agreements for the past 36 months. Other information can also be held including whether you have a joint account or whether you have raised a query on your record.

• Court judgements of your financial transactions
Credit reference agencies receive and hold information on court judgments, bankruptcies (or sequestrations in Scotland), bankruptcy restrictions order and any voluntary arrangements that may have been made with your creditors.

• Other credit applications
Credit reference agencies hold ‘search’ records, sometimes known as ‘footprints’. These show organisations which have looked at your report over the last 12 months. These will be visible to you on your credit report and visible to lenders who may decide not to lend to you if you have made a large number of applications over a short period of time.

• Electoral Roll
Lenders look at the electoral roll to check that you live at the address on your application form. This can help prevent fraud and money laundering.

Which credit reference agencies are operating in the USA UK and India?
In the United States, the legal term for a credit bureau under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is consumer reporting agency — often abbreviated in the industry as CRA.

In UK, there are 3 different credit reference agencies that work for maintaining the credit ratings of the UK residents. The are Experian, Equifax and CallCredit.

Below, you will find the details of all these organizations and their contact addresses:

EXPERIAN:
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF
0870 241 6212
www.experian.co.uk

EQUIFAX:
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US
0870 010 0583
www.equifax.co.uk

CALLCREDIT:
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
0870 060 1414
www.callcredit.plc.uk

In India, the establishment of Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), India's first Credit Information Bureau, is an effort made by the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India to improve the functionality and stability of the Indian financial system by containing NPAs while improving credit grantors' portfolio quality.

Related: How to Select a Credit Card & Credit Card Safety Tips

How to check your credit records?

You can contact each of the three credit reference agencies to ask for a copy of your credit record at any time. There is a statutory fee of £2 for each report. Reports are also available online but may cost you more. The information held by each agency can vary so it is vital to check all three. We recommend you check your record with each agency at least annually. Not only is this a good way of ensuring that the information held about you is correct but it can also provide peace of mind that you have not been victim of identity theft and that no-one has successfully applied for credit in your name.

In an extreme case, If you believe that you have been a victim of ID fraud you should contact each of the organisations above and keep copies of any correspondence.You may be advised to report the theft to the police.You can get further advice and guidance from www.identitytheft.org.uk