Have you ever missed a credit-card repayment? What about an overdraft, a car-loan instalment, your mortgage or money due on “buy now, pay later” plans?
It can happen for lots of reasons. Whether you did not have the funds that month or you just forgot to keep enough in the right account, it can feel a bit mortifying.
You will feel sheepish telling your partner the mortgage bounced. Fall behind on a car repayment and you probably will not tell your friends. You might not realise, however, that there is an all-seeing database keeping track of your financial messiness. Missed repayments do not go unnoticed.
The Central Credit Register (CCR) keeps tabs on your loan history over the preceding five years. Missing repayments can come back to bite you. That is why it pays to know more about the register.
What is the Central Credit Register?
The Central Credit Register keeps a record of all loans of €500 or more. That includes credit-card balances, overdrafts, mortgages, personal loans, hire purchase (HP) agreements, personal contract plan (PCP) car loans and local authority loans.
If you have a mortgage with AIB for example, a credit card with Bank of Ireland, a PCP with Volkswagen or use providers such as Klarna or Humm to “buy now, pay later”, then information such as the loan amount, who it is with, the term and your repayment history is tracked and stored in the register.
The law requires lenders to provide the data, typically monthly, on whether you have made a payment or missed it. If a lender has taken legal action against you then that is recorded too.
This is for your own protection, says the Central Bank of Ireland, which operates the database. It also says the CCR stops banks from irresponsible lending.
Before lending you money, firms can check your credit report, pulled from the register, to see if you are a safe bet. If your report shows you have got a spotty repayment record or are over-reliant on credit then the next lender you ask for money will probably say “no”.
Can I get a copy of my credit report?
Yes, you can get a copy of your credit report and you should, says Trevor Grant of Affinity Advisors and chairman of Irish Association of Mortgage Advisors.
“As a mortgage broker, we would encourage applicants to request it. When we say it to them, a large number of them are quite surprised that all of this information on them is available,” Grant says.
The report pulls together what multiple lenders know about you. From this “hive mind”, your multi-page credit report is distilled in a manner that brings you face to face with your finances. Seeing it can be a bit exposing.
So you missed two credit-card repayments in 2020, a mortgage repayment went unpaid in 2021, you missed “buy now, pay later” repayments on items unspecified and you applied for a new mortgage last year? The register may know more about your financial position than even your partner does.
“Many mortgage applicants aren’t aware of just how long adverse credit remains on their reports,” broker Aisling McNamara, of Mortgage123.ie, says.
There may be glimpses of the earlier you in your report, too. So you took out a credit card in November 1999 – that must have been before you went backpacking, you recall. Over time, the limit increased to €4,600, you made the last repayment in August 2020, paying off an outstanding balance before closing the account after 21 years.
The register may remember more of your financial dealings than you do.
Who gets to see my report?
If you apply for a loan of €2,000 or more in your own name, lenders are required to request a copy of your report. So, if you are borrowing for a car, a home renovation or a mortgage then a bank must do some digging before lending.
If you have a history of missing repayments, and you get into difficulty repaying their loan, they cannot say they did not know.
Lenders are not required to seek your credit report if you apply for a loan less than €2,000 in your own name, but they have the right to. The same is true if you are guaranteeing a loan to another person of €500 or more or if you want to restructure your loan, or one you have guaranteed, the Central Bank says.
If you have breached the limit of your credit card or overdraft, or a child has done so on one you have guaranteed, for example, lenders can request a copy of your report. Likewise, if you want to restructure a loan or are in arrears, they will probably want to see what is going on.
What are the ‘black marks’?
“Missed payments on a mortgage applicant’s Central Credit Register report are a negative, and can affect a lender’s decision on whether to approve or decline a mortgage,” McNamara says.
The “number of payments past due” column of your report tracks your repayment record over the past five years. Where loan repayments are met, a “0″ is entered in this column. If you miss a repayment, a “1″ is entered.
“Payments in the ‘past due’ column lag by a factor of one, so a person would in fact be two payments past due before it is reported,” the Central Bank says. “This provides some leeway in cases where there have been payment delays due to any technical issues beyond the borrower’s control.”
Most people have had a direct debit bounce at some time. Maybe there was a month where you or your co-borrower forgot to add a mortgage contribution to your joint current account. There is some wiggle room on this, Grant says.
“If you’ve missed a direct debit, but then it is re-presented a few days later and is paid [then] that doesn’t show on the register,” he says.
It is not just missed payments that can put a lender off. A riot of borrowing by overdraft, credit card and “buy now, pay later” services can make a new lender nervous, too, McNamara says.
“The register gives the lender an insight into the level and pattern of lending. If an applicant is heavily dependent on short-term debt, that can be a negative also,” she says.
As with other loans reportable to the CCR, your credit report will show the start date, the maturity date, the loan amount and repayment history of your car loan.
Overusing short-term “buy now, pay later” services like Klarna and Humm can signal cash flow issues and a penchant for discretionary purchases you cannot afford such as clothing, cosmetic procedures or even takeaways.
Your report will not show what you bought, but if you borrowed €500 or more this way then these companies are required to report it to the register along with interest or penalties charged, the Central Bank says.
Mortgage payment breaks
If you have agreed a payment break with your bank then that is fine. It may be part of the terms of your mortgage that you can do so. Any missed payment that you have not agreed to in advance, however, can affect your credit history.
“Events agreed as part of a financial distress management arrangement, such as a moratorium, or going ‘interest only’ on your mortgage would be recorded in the ‘restructure event’ column of your report,” the Central Bank says.
You might think once you have got your mortgage, the pressure to keep a clean slate is off. But banks will pull a credit report on second-time buyers and switchers too. You do not want missed credit payments, or to be leaning too much on your overdraft, to scupper your chances of switching banks for a better interest rate.
If you have applied for a mortgage or other loan, this is kept on your record for six months, the Central Bank says. Your record will not show if the loan application is rejected by a lender or withdrawn by a borrower.
Why should I request my report?
Getting a copy of your credit report can forewarn you of things that might make a lender wobble. This is particularly important for mortgage applicants, Grant says.
“Maybe there is a blip of one month on your credit card that can be explained; that’s why I encourage mortgage applicants to get their report upfront,” he says.
“If you missed a repayment for one month and it was just an isolated problem, you can address it.
“We would present bank statements and say, ‘Look, this is clearly a once-off. You can see that, at all other times, the account was conducted appropriately and you can see she had a few thousand in her savings accounts, so it wasn’t a cash problem, it was a timing issue'.”
You can request to put an “explanatory statement” on your credit report, too, to provide further information on your loan, Grant says.
The Central Bank relies on lenders to provide accurate information, but lenders can get it wrong.
Inaccuracies can include an incorrect outstanding balance or number of payments “past due” on a loan. This can have serious consequences for your ability to borrow and this is another reason to check your report.
You can request an amendment by e-mailing myrequest@centralcreditregister.ie. You will be required to provide identification documents.
In August 2023, it was also reported the Central Credit Register held on to personal credit histories for longer than allowed, possibly affecting the ability of people to seek loans from banks or other lenders. It is just one more reason to check your record.
If you have not lived here for three years or more, a bank will request a credit report from overseas, McNamara says. “Also, if a borrower has active credit cards or bank accounts in another country, a lender will request an overseas credit report.”
How can I apply for my credit report?
Complete an application form at centralcreditregister.ie to get your credit report. You must print, sign and upload it, along with photographs to prove your identity, address and PPS number. Alternatively, you can contact myrequest@centralcreditregister.ie.
