The Consumer Credit (Credit Reference Agency) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke (with savings) the Consumer Credit (Credit Reference Agency) Regulations 1977 (“the 1977 Regulations”). They supplement sections 157 to 160 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (“the 1974 Act”) and section 9(3) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act”), which relate to the disclosure to consumers of information about their financial standing held by credit reference agencies and the correction of such information where it is found to be wrong or incomplete.

Section 157 of the 1974 Act requires a creditor, owner or negotiator to disclose to a debtor or hirer on request the name and address of any credit reference agency he has consulted about the debtor’s or hirer’s financial standing, and these Regulations prescribe a period of seven working days during which such a request must be complied with (regulation 3).

Sections 158(1) and 160(3) of the 1974 Act (as amended by section 62 of the 1998 Act) require credit reference agencies to give specified information to partnerships and other unincorporated bodies of persons (not consisting entirely of bodies corporate) on request, and these Regulations prescribe a period of seven working days during which such requests must be complied with (regulation 3). Sections 158(2) and 160(3) (as amended) require accompanying statements of rights under the 1974 Act to be given and these Regulations prescribe the form of such statements (regulation 4(2) and (3) and Schedules 2 and 3).

Section 9(3) of the 1998 Act requires credit reference agencies to give individuals statements of their rights under section 159 of the 1974 Act (as amended by section 62 of the 1998 Act) when complying with requests to disclose information. These Regulations prescribe the form of such statements (regulation 4(1) and Schedule 1). The prescribed form incorporates a statement of certain rights under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Finally, these Regulations prescribe the manner in which applications under section 159(5) of the 1974 Act (as amended by section 62 of the 1998 Act) must be made (regulation 5). Two sorts of applications are made under this section: applications by individuals and other consumers to the Data Protection Commissioner or the Director General of Fair Trading (“the relevant authority”) for an order where a credit reference agency has not given notice that it intends to include a notice of correction drawn up by the consumer on its files; and applications by credit reference agencies to the relevant authority where they think it would be improper to include such a notice of correction on their files.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the costs and benefits which will result from these Regulations has been prepared. Copies have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and can also be obtained from the Consumer Affairs Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry, Room 407, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET.