How to get a annual credit report in United Kingdom (UK)

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If you have applied for credit, you have the right to know the name and address of any credit reference agency that was approached for details about you. The shop or loan company must tell you the name and address of any credit reference agency they approach without you having to ask. If they fail to tell you, you can complain to your local trading standards or consumer advice department (see under the entry for your local council in the phone book). You can see what information credit reference agencies have about you even if you have not applied for, or have been refused credit. You can write to them at any time and ask for a copy of your file.


If you do contact them, you must:

- send £2 by cheque or postal order, which is not refundable

- give your full name ( also give any names you used to be known by, such as a maiden name)and address, including the postcode

- your date of birth

- give addresses that you have lived at during the past six years.

You should send your request by recorded delivery and keep copies of the letter and any further correspondence. The large agencies keep information on almost every address in the country.

The main agencies are:

Experian
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham NG1 5GX

Equifax
Consumer Advice Department
Consumer Response Centre
PO Box 3001
Glasgow G81 2DT

Callcredit
Consumer Services
Callcredit Limited
PO Box 491
Leeds, LS3 1WZ

The agency has seven working days from when it received your letter to send you the information on your file, or tell you it has no information about you. If it asks you for more details, the seven-day period starts from when it receives these.

Please Note: Under certain circumstances the credit reference agencies need more information from you before they can send you your credit file. For example, they may need proof of your name and address from a utility bill or bank statement. This is important to make sure that no one else gets your file by mistake or to check that no one else has fraudulently applied for your credit reference file. The agencies do not have to send you your file until they get this information.

If you think that any information the agency has sent you is wrong and that you are likely to suffer because it is wrong, you can ask it to correct the information. You cannot ask it to alter information that is correct.



Sources of this information include Directgov at http://www.direct.gov.uk/ and further information on obtaining UK credit reports can be found there. Disclaimer: The above information was written in good faith, but we cannot guarantee accuracy.