AIBU to wonder what information a letting agency will see on my credit check?

[JennaJayne]

I've found the perfect flat and I've paid the deposit to book it. Yay! I'm very excited but also a bit scared that something might fall through at the last moment.

This is the first time I'm renting through a letting agency and they said that they will do a credit check and reference check. I know that I will not face any issues with the landlord and employer references, but I'm a little uncertain about the credit check.

Exactly what information will they be able to access via the credit check? The Experian website states that they will only be able to see the publicly available information such as CCJ and bankruptcies (which I don't have) unlike lenders and banks who are able to see everything. So will the agency also be able to see things like bills and bank overdrafts? What about something like a settled default on a small broadband payment?

I just want to know what they can see so that I am prepared. If there is anything negative on my credit report (although I don't think there is), then I can clarify that now.

Having done credit checks as part of people's mortgage applications in the past when I worked for a bank, I would imagine they just press a button and get a pass or fail. We certainly weren't party to any information that was on there, just whether we should lend to them or not. If they failed, we could, at the customer's request, get a hard copy of their credit report to look at, so as we could look at the reason they'd failed and then make an informed decision whether or not to lend.

OK, this is all very helpful. :)

I really, really like this flat and since I am moving cities, I literally have no time to look for a new place.

I hope I won't have any trouble passing the check.

JulietBravoJuliet- do you know what the pass and fail criteria were?

Also, for mortgage applications, the check would be different because that is actually lending money isn't it?

if something negative comes up, ask what it was and present evidence that it isn't a worry.

if you forgot to pay a small bill that you then settled quickly, that's fine. If you have a continued record of prioritising sparkly tat or partying over bills, that's not.

sounds like you'll have no problem.

You can check your own credit report yourself to see what is there, you can them correct any errors or query anything before any lenders see it. This is really worth doing, I found a couple of things on mine that were incorrect. You can have a months free trial with most companies then cancel it so it needn't cost you anything. I pay a small annual fee for a monthly check to see if there have been any searches on my report or additions: I did this because my credit card account was hacked once and balance transfers made, took ages to sort out and identity fraud is rife. I used Experien but there are other companies.

There might just be one small payment that was an issue in the past, but I don't remember clearly. I will check.

Overall, I have no issues with my bank payments and I currently have no issues with any other bills either. I am not a reckless spender.

Yeah I checked my report on Experian and it looks fine. But someone scared me and said that it is possible for something negative to not show up on one company's credit report but show up on another. That's what got me worried.

The checks for letting are a lot more lenient and companies such as Endsleigh Insurance will go on total income. Even if somebody has a detrimental report, they can still be put through with a guarantor, but that would depend if the agent you are using offers that. I wouldn't worry too much, I have processed applications for people with little or poor credit and have always managed to get them accepted. Good luck!

They can only see information that is a matter of public record such as CCJ's or bankruptcies. Access to full information is restricted to a list of potential lenders.

I'm not sure if they can see notices of corretion though. Can't seem to find a definitive answer to that.

Experian offer a month's free trial which will show you exactly what they can see

Should have added Noddle (Call credit) offer a free for life credit report service for you to check your own record. Excellent as most of them charge at least £7.99 a month.

I hope they don't ask for a guarantor- I don't have anyone that I could ask. :(

Basically, if you're borrowing money, the credit check is far more in depth and your score will need to be higher. For a letting, they're just looking for a fair to middling score, which suggests you aren't bankrupt and generally pay your bills on time. One small payment missed a while ago should have been cancelled out by all the on time payments. You gain points by paying bills on time, living at the same address a while and being on the electoral role, having mobile phone contracts paid on time, not exceeding credit limits on cards, not going overdrawn without an authorised overdraft etc. You lose points for missing payments recently, moving house a lot etc. Stuff only tends yo stay on your file for 5 years anyway so I'm sure you'll be fine.

If it helps, I was declared bankrupt 5 years ago (thanks aresehole of an ex-dp!!) and have a fair-good credit rating now, despite still having 6 months til it stops showing on my credit file. I've got a credit card, normal bank account with a £2k overdraft facility, phone contract and passed the checks when I rented this place, 3 years ago :)

Jenna, from what you've said I doubt you'll need a guarantor. If applicants don't have one, we usually ask for a larger deposit, but to be honest, this is a very small percentage of the applications I process.

It will only be a 'soft search' but from what you say. I don't think you will encounter any issues.

Thanks for all your advice everyone :)

I have accessed my credit report from one agency and it looks OK. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they go via the same credit agency because I have heard that different agencies can often report different things on the credit files.

I've had a summons for late payment of council tax (not intentional, I thought they knew I was paying by installments but apparently I did it wrong ffs), and still pass credit checks usually. I think you'll be fine!

Council tax arrears do not show up on credit files. In fact, nothing related to council tax is reported to credit referencing agencies.

If you want to check the other agencies, you can check them online, for 2 pounds per report:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#files

I can't check those reports instantly for complicated reasons.

By the time I can access those reports, it will be too late to do anything anyway.

I can't even get a mobile phone on contract but i passed the credit check with my letting agent no problems.

Dizzy- what kind of issues do you have on your credit file, if you don't mind my asking?

Would it help if I sent a copy of my credit score to them? or do you suppose they would still conduct an independent check?

I've never checked but off the top of my head I owe the bank over a grand, i owe o2 and orange money because i refused to pay o2 after they randomly cut my service and took 3 more payments without ever turning it on, and orange because they sent me an £800 bill the first month i had the contract citing internet use (Even though i had unlimited internet use and had only been browsing facebook). I owe an electricity company money but can't remember who it is, don't know if that counts. I had a payday loan i never paid back too.

Oh gosh, that's a lot of complications! Thanks for sharing though :) I feel reassured that I probably will pass the credit check now!