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Rating very highly: How one of britain's best known credit rating companies works
More information has been revealed on how credit-check companies give consumers detailed information on their credit rating.
One of the best-known companies that offers UK consumers the opportunity to see their credit rating in the eyes of consumers has stated that it has information on over 45 million people in the UK, from which an informative profile can be established on what credit rating a person has and why.
The credit-check companies, of which there are three in the UK, have access to past credit applications and can see whether the application was accepted or denied. Frequent, denied applications can normally have a detrimental effect on a credit rating.
Using a service can help you to determine why, as most services have the opportunity to help you check whether there is any incorrect information on the applications that you are sending off and whether or not you are consistent on all the credit card applications you make.
Consistency can be defined by whether or not you put the same credit/debit cards and telephone numbers on different applications.
Some of the information that these credit-check companies have access to is communal – like information on CCJs and on telephone numbers.
Companies have been seen to give advice to consumers who are rather frustrated as to why they are not receiving the credit they seek. Recently, it was revealed that even the most trivial of incorrect information on an application form can compromise the chances of obtaining credit.
Martin Lewis, of popular website MoneySavingExpert.com, believes that frequent inconsistencies in applications could even result in credit-checking companies checking for fraudulent activity. He said: "There are two fraud-checking agencies: Cifas just keeps a record of confirmed cases of fraud, but National Hunter checks for discrepancies between past and current applications forms. So, to avoid innocent applications unwittingly triggering this alarm, it is crucial to be consistent on your job title, use the same mobile phone number, and anything else that may vary."
He added that there were loads of little things that people could slip up on: "There are scores of little things, including listing a landline phone number instead of a mobile, and checking that your file lists all your active bank and credit accounts with the correct address."
These specialist credit-rating companies are usually giving information to lenders who are trying to get a better picture of your consumer habits when you apply for credit. The information credit-checking companies give is only taken into account a little bit however, as the key factor to if you have a good credit rating in the eyes of a company is this: whether or not you can boost a company's profits due to your profile.
More and more people are using the resources from these credit companies to see how they stand with lenders – some consumers are being particularly savvy and are obtaining 30-day trials to find out their credit rating and are downloading free credit reports.
The three main credit-check companies in the UK are Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. Some of them are not only used by consumers, but by multinational companies also.