The Questions Credit Rating Agencies Ask

To obtain your credit rating you will need to supply the credit rating agency with some information about yourself so they can accurately compile your report.

It is important they receive as much information as possible from you so they don’t get you confused with anyone else.

It is a myth that you are the one that has to supply the credit rating agency with your past credit history. They will be able to gather all the necessary information about yourself from banks and public registers. You will only need to supply them with a few basic details.

Applying For A Report

When applying for your credit report there is some essential information that the rating agency will require, such as:

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Telephone number
• E-mail address
• Address history, if you have lived in a range of houses you will need to supply the agency with most of these addresses, covering at least the past few years, so hopefully you can remember them.

You will also have to inform the rating agency if you have previously been known by any other names, or if you are married, what you maiden name was.

If you have any joint accounts with your partner or your friend you may also have to provide their details. You won’t have to supply details of their previous addresses, just their basic information such as name, age address and telephone number.

Additional Information That Might Be Needed

If you have a complex credit history and have lived at a lot of different addresses the you may have to supply the credit rating agency with a bit more information.

If you have lived at your current address for a short period of time and have not yet put your name on the electoral register then this could cause a few problems for you. You will need to have your name on the electoral register so you can prove you live at the address.

The credit rating agency needs to make sure you are who you say you are, so they may ask you for:

• A photocopy of your passport, or your driving licence or birth certificate
• Two original documents dated within the past three months, this could include a payslip or a bill or a bank statement, as long as these are addressed to you at your current address.

If you do not have any of these it may lead to problems in getting your credit report and you may have to wait a couple of months until you have been at your address a bit longer or until you receive your first bill.

If you are signing up online with a credit rating agency you may be asked to create an account with the agency if you want to create an ongoing account. If this is the case you will be asked to supply a username and password so they know it is you logging in every time.

The credit rating agency's main concern is that you are who you say you are, you may have problems showing this if you are not on the electoral register, but you should be able to work with the credit agency to prove this.