Checkmate - it's surprising

Four in ten people are surprised by the amount of information held on their credit files and nine out of ten would recommend checking your credit file to a friend.

Research carried out by credit report provider MyCallcredit also revealed the most popular reason for checking what details are on your credit file was simple curiosity.

This was followed by being turned down for credit; being concerned about the details and people checking to make sure their ID had not been stolen.

And among people who have checked their credit file 96 per cent said they would check it again with 42 per cent of those saying it would be part of looking after their finances.

MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson says:

"People used to think the only reason someone would check their credit file was if they'd been turned down for credit but our research shows the main reason is curiosity.

"It does make sense for people who are buying a house or shopping around for a credit card to know what the lenders will see about them when they apply for credit. It also empowers the individual, if they're a good credit risk there's no reason why they should accept anything but the best deals."

Key Findings

30 per cent of people who check their credit file have been turned down for credit.
42 per cent of people were surprised by the amount of information on their credit file
93 per cent of people said they would recommend a friend check their credit file.
96 per cent of people who checked their credit file said they would do so again in future.
3.2 per cent of these people anticipated they would check their file when they split from their current partner.
20 per cent of people said they would check their credit file again before applying for credit.
9.7 per cent of people said they would check their file before they moved home.

Editors Notes

The research was carried out via email among a representative sample of MyCallcredit's customers in September 05.