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General

  • Charity Trustees - Guidance

    The regime governing charities has been progressively tightened up over the years, making the sort of scandals that were once not uncommon much more of a rarity. This means that trustees now have to adopt a more professional attitude to the management of a...

  • Check Your Home Insurance Policy

    Increasing numbers of people are spending substantial periods of time away from their homes on account of working away, having a second home or for any of a number of other reasons. Houses can also frequently be empty for substantial periods after the death...

  • Compensation for Loss of a Chance

    Most claims for damages are claims for damages or losses which have actually happened. For example, if a lorry mounted the pavement and smashed a garden wall, the claim would be for the cost of restoring the wall to its former condition. The law relating to...

  • Correcting Your Credit Rating

    Most people require credit at some time, whether it is in the form of a credit card, a loan or an overdraft. However careful you are, it is possible to find yourself blacklisted for credit purposes. When you apply for credit, the lender will apply to either...

  • Faulty Goods: Know Your Rights

    In the UK, customers have various rights in respect of faulty goods. The Sale & Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 were introduced in the UK on 31 March 2003. These also apply to "non-retail" transactions, such as hire purchase...

  • Keeping Your Identity Safe

    With the practice of fraud by impersonation becoming ever more frequent, clients are advised to take precautions to prevent being taken for a ride by thieves. Sorting out the problems caused by impersonation fraud can be an arduous and stressful procedure....

  • Neighbours From Hell: Local Authority Powers

    The Housing Act 2004 contains a variety of measures designed to protect householders from the ‘neighbour from hell’, through measures targeting private landlords who turn a blind eye to disruptive behaviour by their tenants. The Act includes...

  • Protection from Unfair Selling Practices

    Britain has, for years, had strong consumer protection laws and further protection for consumers from unfair selling practices was introduced in the 2008 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations . The UK regulations, implementing the  EU...

  • Risks for Trustees

    Being a trustee isn't just for professionals or people 'minding the family assets'. It is common for people from all walks of life to become trustees of local charities, schools and the like. Usually, the trust deed contains a clause which protects the...

  • Treasure Trove - The Law

    There are countless stories of buried treasure, for example, the recent a huge find of Roman artefacts  unearthed in London, but the public at large know little of the law relating to treasure trove and especially the law relating to items...

  • When is a Package Tour Not a Package Tour

    We often hear of problems associated with package tour holidays and customers' attempts to gain compensation. It is important, therefore, to know what is and what is not a package tour for the purposes of working out who is responsible if things go badly...

  • Your Rights as a Consumer

    UK consumer protection legislation is robust, giving them substantial rights and imposing significant obligations on traders. Indeed, in some cases the actions of a vendor may be sufficient to constitute an ‘unfair commercial practice’ (UCP). UK...

Correcting Your Credit Rating

Most people require credit at some time, whether it is in the form of a credit card, a loan or an overdraft. However careful you are, it is possible to find yourself blacklisted for credit purposes.

When you apply for credit, the lender will apply to either Experian or Equifax, the two Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) that provide financial data to lenders, for information to help them make a decision. CRAs hold a regularly updated database of information about consumer credit applications, court judgments and so on.

When a lender checks with a CRA, following a customer's request for credit, it is logged on that person's file. A large number of applications from one person in a short time may indicate fraud or excessive borrowing.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Consumer Credit Act 1974 you have the right to know what information about you is held by a CRA. The statutory credit reference report costs £2. You can see details of who has searched for information about you and request information as often as you wish without a record of this being seen by a lender.

If you are refused credit, the lender is not obliged to tell you why but they should tell you if information supplied by a CRA was material in the decision to refuse credit. The lender should give you the name and address of the agency.

If you think the information is inaccurate, you can make a complaint to the CRA, who must then contact their information provider. Meanwhile, your file should be marked as "disputed" so that prospective lenders realise that the information may not be reliable. Agencies have 28 days to answer complaints.

Usually, people only contact a CRA if they run into difficulties when applying for credit. However, you may wish to know what information is stored, even if you have never had any problems.

Difficulties can occur because at present lenders are allowed to take into consideration information about people with the same surname living at the same address, even if their financial affairs are completely unconnected to the individual seeking credit. For example, if you have children living at home who have debts, it could affect your own credit worthiness.

The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.