When having a credit check carried out how far back are they checking history?

Question

Having a credit check carried out by the letting agency which im applying for to rent a flat. Worried about failing the credit check, does anyone know how far back they check when doing this and what thay are checking for?

Answer 1

five years I think. As far as i know personal data cant be kept for more than five years,

Answer 2

They're supposed to be able to go back up to 7 years. Some things may stay on your record further, but I think if that's the case, you just have to write the credit reporting agency and have that removed.

I had an issue where an old debt that was in collection for a long time was paid off, then 3 years later, they decided to report it to the credit companies as being paid. So the debt that should have been gone from my credit report was still showing up 3 years after is was supposed to have been removed. The credit card companies are unscrupulous (sp)

Answer 3

I am renting a property at moment, i had these checks carried out by the letting agent, the credit check they do is very basic, they just make sure you have no ccjs and are not bankrupt, I have plenty of late payments for my credit card but id didnt show cos i still pay my bill every month, they check the last 3 years history. I even had a default on my credit history but it did not matter. good luck

Answer 4

Credit information stays on your report until it is dropped. Negative credit information can stay on your report up to 10 years from the date last active. Recently, laws were put in place to stop creditors from continuing to report bad debt after it had been settled. This was rolling the date and keeping information on credit reports much longer than allowed which continued to drag down credit scores. You don't care if good information stays but you should always make sure that the negative information is removed after the time limit is up. Anyone reviewing your credit is looking for payment history on previous credit, deliquencies and how often and how late, and any collections.

Answer 5

If you have negative information on any of your credit cards, that information will be on your credit report 7 years from the date of last activity. It will be visible to any body who is doing a credit check on you.

Answer 6

its 6 years

Answer 7

it'll be your most recent but there will be credit ratings off 5 yrs ago.....they are checking you have paid your creditors regularly with no missed payments or out standing debts not paid, also if you have used credit cards to get cash instead of purchases because that also puts your ratings down.

Answer 8

I think that if you have been living at your present address for 3 yrs or more they won't check at your previous one.

They are checking that you have paid all of your bills on time in the past and don't have large arrears.

Answer 9

They go back up to 6 years
they look for
defaults
late payments
ccjs

Answer 10

7 years, in america...i believe. i'm not sure in other countries