CreditKnowledge.co.uk is a reporting service, enabling our customers to access, understand and manage their Credit Report and Score.

The information used to make your Credit Report and Score is obtained from a UK Credit Reference Agency and may include details about your previous credit history. This same information may also be used by lenders and credit providers to help them make a decision on providing credit to potential borrowers.

In simple terms a credit report is a record of your credit history, showing how you manage your finances. It details information such as how long you have had credit accounts, how much debt you have, if you have CCJ’s, basically how you have previously handled credit.

The information on this report helps lenders assess your level of risk when making a decision about providing you with credit.

• Personal Information: Including your name and addresses
• Financial Associations: For example someone you have taken out joint credit with
• Credit Accounts: Including loans, mortgages and credit cards
• Credit Searches: A record of the companies and dates when your credit report has been retrieved for a credit application
• Public Records: Details about CCJ’s, bankruptcies and electoral roll

The information on your Credit Report is used to create your Credit Score, a number which represents your credit history. If your Credit Report shows a positive credit history i.e. you make your payments on time, you will have a higher score. This may help you get loans and credit cards at lower rates. However, if your Credit Report details a history of missed payments or multiple CCJ’s, your Credit Score will be lower. This may mean that it will be more difficult for you to get approved for credit as it could indicate to a lender that you will have difficulty repaying in the future.

You should check your Credit Report on a regular basis, and before making credit applications. By doing this, you can highlight any mistakes on your file which may prevent you from obtaining credit. Also, it will allow you to check if any fraudulent applications have been made in your name.

A Credit Score is a number that is calculated from your Credit Report to represent your credit history. The higher the number the better, as those with a higher score are generally viewed as being a lower risk and are more likely to obtain credit at more favourable terms.

It is important to note that your Credit Score is only a guide as it is not the same as an individual lender's score. Even if you have a high Credit Score it does not guarantee that you will be accepted for credit as each lender has different criteria when assessing which customers to lend money to.

When you make a credit application, the lender will assess this based on your most recent Credit Report activity. The lender will not see historical information which has since changed.

When making a lending decision, lenders will take into account various factors including:

• The details provided in your enquiry
• Data from the Credit Reference Agency: credit payment history, if you are on the electoral roll at your present address, if you have any CCJ’s or Insolvencies
• Details surrounding existing accounts you have with the lender
• That lender's internal rules and policies

No! Using Credit Knowledge will never impact your credit score.

By signing up to creditknowledge.co.uk, you will be able to view your Credit Report & Credit Score (based upon the information recorded on the Credit Report as shown by creditknowledge.co.uk) online.

View your Credit Report & Score by signing up here today.

Although lenders and organisations generally update their files with a Credit Reference Agency every month, there are circumstances where it can take up to 12 weeks for the data to be updated.

Active Accounts: These accounts are still open, and will usually be updated by the lender monthly, however in some circumstances it can take up to 12 weeks.

Settled Accounts: This is an account where you have made all of the necessary payments and it has been closed. These accounts may be one where the term has ended, such as a loan or mortgage, or one which you have closed, for example a credit card account.

The status codes on your credit report show if you have made your credit repayments on time and if you are up to date with the payments. If you have missed any payments it will show how many months in arrears you are.

If the lender has deemed that you have broken the terms of the credit agreement (generally if you fall 6 months behind), the account will show as being in Default. Where possible, it is important that you keep up with your repayments as a Default will remain on your credit report for 6 years and it may impact on your ability to obtain credit in the future. Even if you make all of the repayments after the default is dated, the history of your account will not change, and the status history of ‘D’ will show that you have defaulted on the account.

A record of all defaulted accounts is held for six years from the date the lender decided that the terms of the agreement had been broken (the ‘default’ date).

Only in the following circumstance will a judgment be removed:

• If six years have passed since the original court date
• If the case is set aside after being taken back to court
• You can produce evidence that an insurance company was responsible for the debt
• If paid within one month

A judgment can still be marked as Satisfied on your file if paid more than one month after the original judgment. To do this you need to send a Credit Reference Agency the appropriate Certificate of Satisfaction. Although the judgment will remain on your file for six years from the judgment date, lenders will be able to see that it has been paid.

A Notice of Correction is your chance to explain why you feel your credit score has been affected by something which you feel was unavoidable. It is a short note (no longer than 200 words) that you can add to an entry on your credit report, enabling you to further explain the background to a lender when they are assessing you for credit worthiness.

As a lender is obliged to read a Notice of Correction before making their decision, it can slow down your credit application.

After signing up to your credit report, if you want to add a Notice of Correction, write to a Credit Reference Agency with your full name, address, email address login and the note that you would like to be added to your file.

Do remember that it cannot be incorrect, frivolous, defamatory or libellous and must not be longer than 200 words.

An associate is someone who you are financially connected to, for example someone you have shared a joint mortgage or joint bank account with.  A record is kept of any person who is financially associated with you, and you will see information such as the details of the associate, the date the link was created, and the name of the company who created the link.

In order to disassociate yourself from someone you have had a financial connection with, make sure that any joint accounts are transferred to a single name or closed.

Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks for any changes to show on your CreditKnowledge.co.uk Credit Report. This is because the data providers update account balances in general every 4-6 weeks, but in some instances it can take up to 12 weeks. If it has gone past this time, then you can seek to amend it by:

Contacting the company that the account relates to. They can make the necessary amendment or ask the Credit Reference agency to update your file if they agree the information is incorrect

or

If you are a CreditKnowledge.co.uk member, you can raise the issue via your account

Alternatively, you can write to TransUnion at TransUnion, Dispute Team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ, please include all supporting material (for example statements or letters from the lender involved). This will be sent on your behalf to the relevant lender and it is expected that you will receive a response within 28 days. Making repayments to a defaulted account after the defaulted date does not change the history of the account even when you have made all the repayments. The status history of 'D' shows that you have defaulted on the account.

A Credit Reference Agency (CRA) is an independent company that collects and securely holds data and reports finance-related and public information about you. This information, including details about your credit applications, financial history and current accounts is provided upon request to potential lenders, employers or landlords. This is used to help in identifying you, or when in relation to taking out credit, the likelihood of your defaulting on payment.

In the UK, there are four main Credit Reference Agenices: Crediva, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You are able to contact them directly using the addresses below:

Transunion

Consumer Services, TransUnion International UK Limited, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ

Crediva

Crediva Limited, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Global Reach, Dunleavy Drive, Cardiff, CF11 0SN

Equifax

Equifax Ltd, Customer Service Centre, PO Box 10036, Leicester, LE3 4FS

Experian

Customer Support Centre, Experian Ltd, PO BOX 9000, Nottingham NG80 7WF

In order to provide your Credit Report, Credit Knowledge uses TransUnion.