Terms and Conditions

1. Use of this website is subject to the laws of England and to these terms and conditions which do not affect your statutory rights.

  

2. Payments made for online services, such as our Single Agency Report, Triple Agency Reports or Unlimited Access services are not refundable. This is because the information provided is delivered to us immediately and prepared on an individually personalised basis for you at the time of your order. The supply of such services fall within the exemption to the right to cancel as defined in clause 13(1)c of The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. Please see clause 27 for details of our Refund Policy relating to other services.

  

3. If you use our online credit report services or credit finding services you further agree to appoint Credit Reporting Agency Limited as your attorney for the specific purposes of the exercising of your statutory rights to obtain details of all information held against you and for vetting credit applications so that we may advise you of lenders who are most likely to lend to you.

  

4. If you subscribe to our subscription services, (such as our Unlimited Access service) you further authorise us until further notice to charge your nominated card or account with the renewal subscription at each appropriate interval after your initial purchase. The renewal subscription may increase from time to time in which case we will inform you via our regular emailing before the new subscription rate comes into effect. You can cancel your Unlimited Access subscription to all 3 agencies any time after the first quarter, or after two months for the single agency subscription, simply by phoning us on 01872 308637. We will give you a confirmation reference number, take no further payments and will no longer refresh your reports after cancellation.

  

5. When you accept these terms and conditions, you agree to receive emailings from us for marketing purposes. Using the relevant link which appears on all marketing emails from us, you may opt out of receiving emails at any time. We do not sell or disclose your email address to any third party.

  

6. Registration to checkmyfile.com is free. Our Free Credit Score, Credit Rating, Find A Lender, Debt Advice Centre, Check your Postcode, Free identity Theft Check services are all free. There is no obligation to purchase any of our other services.

  

7. We provide credit reports on a simplified basis to make it easier to understand the contents. If you are using our services to check the accuracy of your own file, you acknowledge that a credit report from us is not the same as the file you would receive if you exercise your statutory rights to obtain a copy of your credit file from any credit reference agency at any time upon payment of the statutory fee of £2. Further details about credit files generally can be found in the Information Commissioner's publication 'Credit Explained'. You agree that you will not use any of the information we provide to you including credit scores as the sole basis for any decision you may make.

  

8. Searches we make of credit reference agencies that you pay for will leave an enquiry footprint both in our records and at the credit reference agencies we search. These are for your protection so that you may see who has been searching your credit file and when. Such enquiry footprints are not the same as those recorded by lenders when you apply for credit and do not affect your ability to get credit. Uses of our Free Credit Score, Find A Lender, Check your Postcode and Free Identity Theft service do not leave search footprints on your credit files.

  

9. From time to time it is not always possible to obtain your information from one or more of the credit reference agencies. This is usually because your address recorded at the credit reference agency may be indexed slightly differently from the one you have provided us. If we cannot obtain your credit file from a credit reference agency, it is highly likely that lenders using that credit reference agency will also have difficulty obtaining your credit file, as the systems we use are very similar. We will tell you if this happens and will try to resolve the problem, as unless resolved this could affect your ability to get credit.

  

10. If you subscribe to our Unlimited Access services, please note that credit reports are made up of information from several different sources which are updated at different time frequencies. Lenders send an update of the status of accounts reported on your credit file to the credit reference agencies not more frequently than once each month. For this reason, credit reports are not updated more frequently than once a month.
    
    Unlimited access means that you can view your credit reports as often as you like, and they will be stored for you to access, but you will not be able to refresh the content of a credit report unless the most recently refreshed credit file is more than one month old. We shall remind you on screen when a report requires updating. If you do not refresh the credit report by clicking on the appropriate update button, we shall automatically refresh your credit report every three months whilst you continue to pay the quarterly fee.
    
    In the event that the quarterly fee is not paid for any reason, we shall notify you by email that our attempts to obtain payment have failed and we shall make further attempts to obtain payment of the fee at regular intervals. During this period, the automatic quarterly refresh of your credit report will be suspended. Once a successful payment attempt has been made, we will obtain your credit report, make it available for you to view and resume attempts to obtain quarterly payments thereafter.
      
    
11. We purchase information about individuals, properties and neighbourhoods from other companies. We refer to these companies as 'our suppliers'. Together with our suppliers, agents and employees, we take no responsibility for the contents of any report we provide, its completeness or its usefulness. Other customers may provide us with feedback on postcode classifications on our Check your Postcode search service which we publish on the website. Feedback is posted by individuals acting in their own right and does not necessarily reflect our own opinion, nor do we warrant that such feedback is accurate or reliable. If you post feedback for any postcode, you agree not to post any defamatory or libelous feedback or information that may promote commercial activity or reveal personal details of either yourself of any other person. You agree that we shall not be liable for any statement, misstatement, inaccuracy or omission of any type for any feedback submitted by any individual. We reserve the right to remove or edit any feedback posted at any time and for any reason.
      
    
12. Some credit reference agencies report significantly more information than others through online links, both to us and to the companies that use them. To our knowledge, no company can provide more information online from all three credit reference agencies than we can. The information we provide may not be identical to that which can be obtained elsewhere. For example, we do not provide lender names for credit reports based on Equifax data, nor account information for credit reports based on Experian data, as the respective agencies do not supply this information to us, (or to lenders, in the case of lender names), but that information can be obtained in most cases by exercising statutory rights. Currently, not every type of data is available online from every credit reference agency.
      
    
13. When we compare our prices with that of other companies, we do this as a guide for your ease of reference. As mentioned above, the content of services offered by those companies may be different from those offered by us for the reasons set out in clause 12. Some subscription services may include credit scores (such as those offered by us) whereas some other companies may make additional charges for credit scores. The data content made available directly from a credit reference agency may be more, or less, than that made available from our website.  
      
    
14. You agree that you will not hold us, our employees, or any of our suppliers liable for any direct or indirect damages, costs, losses or expenses of any nature resulting from the use or misuse of the information delivered by us. You agree not to hold our suppliers liable for any delay in delivery or if we fail to supply you or if we omit any information for any reason. You agree to indemnify and keep indemnified us, our employees and agents and our suppliers against any claim or action made against them for any losses damages costs or other expenses in connection with your use of our services.
      
    
15. Our suppliers and we will take care to exercise reasonable skill in providing accurate information to you. The information supplied to you is provided to our suppliers and us from other companies whose accuracy we do not control or influence. We do not limit nor exclude any liability we may have to you for death or personal injury caused by negligence but in any other instance you agree that our liability to you is limited to the amount of purchases you have made over the past year.
      
    
16. You agree that you will not use the information provided by us in any way that might be detrimental to us or to our suppliers.
      
    
17. We take substantial steps to protect the privacy of an individual when providing information over the Internet. You acknowledge and understand that there is always a remote possibility that criminal actions may result in unauthorised access to credit reports. We take no responsibility if confidential information is unlawfully intercepted, hacked or stolen and subsequently disclosed. You agree that you will not disclose your password and user name to any one at any time. You agree that you will not distribute or make available any information supplied by us to any third party. If you become aware of any unauthorised use of our services, you agree to inform us immediately in order that steps may be taken to protect confidential information.
      
    
18. We have installed security devices and follow procedures that are designed to prevent unlawful access to information. From time to time we may have to temporarily suspend access to our services to enable us to protect this information. You agree that we may terminate supply of information to you at any time and without notice and for any reason that we will not disclose or discuss.
      
    
19. We depend upon our suppliers to provide information to us on demand. This means that when any of these are unable to provide information to us, we are not able to continue to provide an immediate service to you. We will always use our best efforts to supply information but we can give no assurance on the continuing availability of any or all of our services.
      
    
20. We continually try to improve the services we offer and may change the contents of credit reports or any other reports, this web site, the suppliers of information and any other aspect of our products and services without notice. If renewal subscriptions for our Unlimited Access services are varied, we will advise you before the new rate comes into effect via our regular emailing.
      
    
21. We provide links to other sites on our website including those which will enable you to apply for credit. These are provided for your convenience. We have no control over the content of the linked web sites and assume no liability or responsibility for their accuracy, completeness or otherwise.
      
    
22. We give general advice on matters relating to credit and debt and in particular on how to fix errors found on credit files. We can give no warranty that our advice is always correct in every detail. You agree to take independent professional advice before acting on any of the remedies mentioned in our Debt Advice Centre, which you acknowledge are intended as a general guide to the options available to you. We can give no warranty that errors will be successfully removed from your credit files, as we may not know all the facts and amendments to information databases are always at the discretion of the ultimate owner, and not us.
      
    
23. We provide credit scores with some credit reports. The method of calculation of credit scores is a commercial secret and is not disclosed. We make no warranty and take no responsibility for the accuracy, relevance or otherwise of credit scores. Subject to the exclusions and limitations set out in clause 9 above, you agree not to hold us liable for any losses or damages you may incur either directly or indirectly from the use of credit scores supplied by us.
      
    
24. In the event of any dispute between us regarding the interpretation of these terms and conditions or the rights and obligations of either of us, as an alternative to any right you may have to take legal proceedings in England, you may choose to submit the dispute either to the arbitration of two parties (one selected by you and one selected by us) or to a mutually agreed umpire in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1996 or any subsequent amendment to that law.
      
    
25. In the event that you charge back a credit card or debit card transaction for any reason, you agree that we may record details at a credit reference agency (which may or may not include us, as we are a registered credit reference agency ourselves) together with your name and address and date of birth details, so that we and other organisations who search that credit reference agency may use such information for the purposes of payment risk assessment, money laundering and fraud prevention. The sharing of information in this way helps to reduce bad debts and credit fraud.
      
    
26. You acknowledge that we may be required to reveal information about you or your credit files under compulsion of law or by a Court Order. In all other cases we shall keep your information confidential unless you agree otherwise.
      
    
27. Refund policy  
    
    For the reasons given in clause 2, payments made for online services, such as our Single Agency Report, Triple Agency Reports (whether purchased singly or through the Unlimited Access service), are not refundable.
    
    Triple Agency Reports
    
    If you purchase a single Triple Agency Report and we are unable to obtain a successful search from an agency, we will refund you automatically with one third of the cost for the first unsuccessful search. If we are only able to obtain one successful search, you will be charged the price of a Single Agency Report and refunded the difference. If we are unable to obtain a successful search from all three agencies during the quarter, we will refund you in full. Refunds will be made automatically, either directly to your card, directly to PayPal, or by cheque to your registered address, depending on the payment method you used when you purchased.
    
    Unlimited Access
    
    If you purchase our Unlimited Access service, we will continue to try to resolve the reasons for unsuccessful searches during your subscription period. If we are unable to obtain a successful search from any agency after our attempts to resolve, upon your application we will refund you proportionately per unsuccessful agency per quarter, or in full if we are unable to obtain a successful search from all three agencies. In addition, you may cancel your subscription at any time after the first quarter, by phoning us on 01872 308637 as set out in clause 4. To keep things simple, there is no refund for any unutilised portion of any quarterly subscription period. If you have taken an annual subscription for a single agency, we will refund you £2 for each full month remaining in your subscription period up to a maximum of £12. If you have taken an annual subscription for Triple Agency Reports, we will refund you £5 for each full month remaining in your subscription period up to a maximum of £30. Once you cancel, no further credit reports will be made available to you. If your subscription payments are not paid for any reason, your credit reports will no longer be updated until payments are restored. You agree that we may continue to try to take payment until you cancel your subscription. If we are successful in obtaining payment after any lapse in subscription payments, we will advise you that we have updated your credit reports. You agree that we may use the telephone numbers provided by you to contact you about your payments in case of need.
    
    Publications and other non-personalised goods
    
    For goods that are not prepared on a personalised basis, you have the legal right to cancel your order and return the goods you have purchased from us within seven business days of the date you receive them, as long as they remain in their original condition. This does not apply to any publication, packaged product or software product where the security seal or packaging has been removed or tampered with. Goods should be returned to us in secure packaging, with the correct level of postage affixed and must include your own name and address details to enable us to refund you. We strongly recommend that you use a recorded delivery service to ensure the goods arrive safely. We will notify you when we have received the returned goods and will refund the price you have paid within 30 days of receipt of the returned goods.
      
    
28. Governing law and jurisdiction  
    
    We operate this website from our registered office at Chynoweth House, Trevissome Park, Blackwater, Truro, Cornwall, TR4 8UN, England. In common with most websites, this website can be accessed from almost anywhere in the World. If you are not accessing the website from England or Wales, the laws that apply to your country may well differ from those of England. In accessing this website, you agree that these terms and conditions and your use of this website shall be governed in all respect by the laws of England, without regard to conflict of laws or other regulation and in particular shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods. You also agree to process, store and keep confidential all information as if you are subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 You further submit to exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England for all disputes, cases and controversies regarding this website, your use of this website and your relationship with us, subject only to your option to use the dispute resolution process set out in clause 18 above. We make no representation that materials on this website are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Accessing this website from territories where the content is illegal or unlawful is prohibited. If you choose to access this website from other locations then you agree that you do so entirely at your own risk and that you are responsible for compliance with local laws including any laws regarding the transmission of data exported either from England or from the country in which you reside, or from the country you are in when you access the website.
      
    
    

Complaint?

If you wish to make a complaint, please email us. Our complaints policy is that:

• We will acknowledge your complaint usually within 24 hours and always within 2 working days.
• We will deal with it confidentially.
• We aim to provide a fair response within 5 working days.
• If your complaint requires detailed investigation we will keep you advised regularly by email of the progress we have made.
• If you are unhappy with our response, you can appeal to our Joint Managing Directors for a personal review of your complaint, by writing to us at Credit Reporting Agency Limited, Chynoweth House, Trevissome Park, Truro, Cornwall, TR4 8UN
• If your complaint is still not resolved after following the above steps, you are entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.