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Credit databases: what credit agencies store about you
Before you get a loan, a mobile phone contract, the option to pay by invoice or a flat, many companies check your ability to pay (creditworthiness). To do this, they make enquiries with credit reference agencies. These agencies collect information from debt enforcement proceedings, payment histories and public sources.
What is permitted
The Federal Act on Data Protection permits credit checks but sets clear limits (Art. 31 para. 2 let. c FADP):
- no sensitive personal data and no high-risk profiling,
- disclosure only to companies that need the data for a contract with you,
- data no more than ten years old,
- only about people who are of age.
How to check your data
- Request access: send the larger credit agencies an access request. The information is free of charge (Art. 25 FADP).
- Have errors corrected: inaccurate or outdated entries – such as a paid invoice still listed as outstanding – must be corrected (template). Enclose supporting documents.
- Note of dispute: if it cannot be established whether an entry is accurate, you can request that it be marked as disputed (Art. 32 FADP).
Debt enforcement register
Debt enforcement proceedings appear in the extract from the debt enforcement register – including unjustified ones. If you have filed an objection (Rechtsvorschlag) and the creditor has not started proceedings to have the objection set aside within three months of the payment order being served, you can ask the debt enforcement office not to disclose the proceedings to third parties any more (Art. 8a para. 3 let. d DEBA).
Good to know
A credit agency may not prohibit you from requesting access and must give reasons if it restricts the information it provides (Art. 26 FADP). If it does not respond, you can inform the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) (template).