Young Wrexham

Credit check

Credit is when you borrow money and a creditor or lender is the person who is lending you the money.

If you have applied to borrow money, the creditor may run a credit check on you. This credit report shows your financial history and will help them decide whether or not to give you the money.

A credit check will be run on you if you are applying for:

• A credit card or store card
• A Hire Purchase agreement
• A charge card
• A mortgage
• A mail order catalogue
• A loan or overdraft from a bank or building society
• Membership of a credit union
• Credit reference agencies store information on everybody's financial situation and run credit check for lenders

They will hold details including:

• The electoral roll
• Your credit agreements, including balances and payment histories
• Home repossessions and failure to pay your mortgage
• Money judgements in the county court
• Bankruptcy orders and voluntary arrangements
• Previous credit searches
• You may also be given a credit scoring by the agency, where points are awarded according to your marital status, where you live, your job and your salary
• You are entitled to check your credit file to see if it is correct - this may incur a small fee. Contact your local credit reference agency (the three main ones in the UK are Experian, Equifax, and Callcredit)

If you are worried about your credit file or applying for credit, contact the Citizens Advice Bureau, which has details of all credit reference agencies.

The Money Advice Service has an excellent section on debt managment including:

• Talk to the people you owe money to
• Where to go to get free debt advice
• How to prioritise your debt
• Help if you’re struggling with debt
• Quick and easy debt health check

You can contact the Money Advice Service on 0300 500 5000 (or 0300 500 5555 for Welsh) Mon - Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-1pm. There’s also an online chat function on their site.

You can contact Meic for free via online chat, text (84001) or phone (080880 23456).