What is a credit reference agency?
Credit reference agencies may hold information about your:
- credit agreements (including any arrears);
- rent agreements;
- county court judgments (CCJs); and
- electoral roll information.
A lender or landlord can only pass on information about your agreements with your consent. You usually give consent when you sign an agreement with them. Failure to obtain your consent is a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
If you believe your report is inaccurate, you can ask the credit reference agency to put a Notice of Correction on your report explaining why you got into debt or why you think information on your report is misleading. You may want to explain your financial circumstances at the time and why your situation is now different.
There are three main credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You should check the information held by each of these agencies. This is because the details held by individual agencies may differ.
How long is information kept on your credit report?
The credit reference agency will leave most information on your report for at least six years. Information held by agencies includes the following.
Missed payments (arrears)
If you do not make a payment on time or pay less than your credit agreement says you should, your lender may report this to one or more of the credit reference agencies. The credit reference agency will update your credit report to show that your account is in arrears. This information stays on your credit report for six years.
Arrears can continue to be recorded on your credit report even if your lender has temporarily agreed that you can pay less than your credit agreement says you should. Although, your lender can tell the credit reference agency to add a marker to your report to show that there is an agreed payment arrangement in place.
If you are in arrears for several months, your lender may take further action and tell one or more of the credit reference agencies that your account is in ‘default’. Usually, this will not happen if you:
- have agreed a temporary payment arrangement with your lender; and
- are maintaining the payments under that arrangement.
For more information, see Defaults.
Defaults
A default can be added to your credit report to show that you have broken the terms and conditions of your agreement. A default is usually reported by a lender because:
- you have missed payments under your credit agreement; and
- your lender has decided to close your account.
Although it will depend on the terms and conditions of your credit agreement, a default usually happens after you have missed between three and six months’ payments.
A default may be recorded on your credit report for other reasons, for example where:
- your supplier has taken steps to cut off a service;
- your account has been included in a form of insolvency, such as bankruptcy or an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA); or
- you have been sued for the amount in court.
Credit accounts in default will stay on your credit report for six years from the date of default.
A default reported on your credit report is not the same as a default notice issued under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. A creditor has to send a default notice before taking some kinds of action to recover a debt.
Settled accounts
These are deleted six years from the date the account is settled or when the last payment is made unless a ‘default’ was registered.
County court judgments (CCJs)
County court judgments are deleted six years from the date the judgment was made, whether or not they have been paid.
Complaints
You have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service about how a credit reference agency has dealt with your credit file. You will have to follow the agency’s complaints process first.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act 2018. They can look at issues such as:
- why a lender or credit reference agency has not corrected information on your file, or
- why a credit reference agency has refused to add a notice of correction.
Last Updated on June 10, 2026 by Ashford Advice