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Please use this page to find out more about your rights and how you can
obtain your credit report.
Your
Rights
Under the Data Protection Act you should be
told, unless it was already obvious, if the files
of a credit reference agency are to be searched
when you apply for credit. In most cases you
should also be told if a credit reference agency
receives information about you from a lender:
they should let you know who they are
and how your information will be used
and disclosed. To make it easier what will
normally happen is that the lender will tell
you all of these things when you apply for
credit. The name and address of the agency
which has been used will not always be on
the application form but it will be made
available to you free of charge if you ask.
You can write to the lender (For an example letter to your loan company follow
this link Credit
Agency) or you
may he given a phone number.You can find
the names and addresses on our Credit Agency
Addresses
page.If you do not want to write to the lenders
or phone them, you can apply directly to the
credit reference agencies for a copy of your
credit reference file.
Your Right To See Your Credit File
You do not have to be refused credit to see
what information credit reference agencies
hold about you.You have the right at any
time to ask them in writing for a copy of
your file.
For a copy of the information they hold
which has an effect on your financial
standing, you must:
· send £2 (this will not be returned)
· give your full first names, surname and
address including postcode
· give any other addresses you have lived
at during the last 6 years. (This helps the
agency to trace all the information it
holds about you.)
An example letter to send can be found on are
Credit Agency
Page
If you run a business as a sole trader give
its name and address too, because under the
Data Protection Act you will be entitled to
any separate information which may be held
about you in your business capacity. (If you
are in a business as a partnership you can
also ask for a copy of your file since you
are entitled to this information under the
Consumer Credit Act.Your right to this
information is regulated by the Office of
Fair Trading. Requests for advice on this
matter from partnerships should therefore
be sent to the Director General of Fair
Trading.Limited companies do not have
any rights under the Data Protection Act
1998 or the Consumer Credit Act 1974.)
It is a good idea to
keep copies of any letters you write and to have a proof of
posting or recorded delivery number. They may be useful later if
there is a disagreement about your file.
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