A Credit Agreement is a legal contract issued by a lender which sets out the terms of extending credit to the customer for a specified amount of time, in accordance with strict requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

How do I find my Credit Agreements?

Your reported Credit Agreements will appear on your Credit Report, giving you a detailed list of your current and past lenders, amounts owed, the status of the accounts, and more.

As there are three UK Credit Reference Agencies that hold account information – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – you must check your reports at all three to ensure you’ve seen everything they hold about you. As they are separate organisations, your reports at each of them may well differ.

checkmyfile makes the process of checking your full Credit Report information quick and easy. Your Multi Agency Credit Report collates your complete information from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, onto a single, easy-to-use platform so you can easily see your reported Credit Agreements, just as a lender would.

You can try checkmyfile free for 30 days, then for just £14.99 per month. Cancellation is hassle-free online at any time.

How do my Credit Agreements affect me?

The main result of taking out a Credit Agreement is that you are required to repay a certain amount of money, usually each month, until the outstanding balance has been settled.

But your Credit Agreements are much more than just a monthly outgoing. Any of your Credit Agreements that have been shared with the Credit Reference Agencies, thereby appearing on your Credit Report, will directly influence your Credit Rating. Whether a Credit Agreement helps or hurts your Credit Report depends on how the account itself has been managed. In general, having plenty of Credit Agreements that show you paying on time and in full will boost your Credit Rating, while having accounts littered with late payments or defaults will damage it.

It’s therefore important to understand not just which Credit Agreements you have, but also how they have been recorded on your Credit Report. Having healthy account repayment history is key to obtaining further finance, such as a mortgage.

Can a Credit Agreement be cancelled?

You might be able to pay off any remainder of a loan to end it early, depending on the terms of the agreement. Some will charge an additional fee for doing this, but if you decide you no longer want or need a loan within a 14-day period of taking out the loan, you may be granted a grace period that allows you to return the money borrowed and cancel the loan.