Press Information
Why we launched annualcreditreport.co.uk
annualcreditreport.co.uk was launched in June 2006 by Credit Reporting Agency Limited, the UK's leading online supplier of credit reports to consumers. Even today, this remains the only website where consumers are able to check their credit report now, and every year, completely free of charge and without having to give up credit card details.
Credit report information is used by lenders, landlords, employers, mobile phone companies, mail order companies and many others to make important decisions about consumers. Components of credit reports are also likely to be used as the basis for the proposed National Identity Card scheme.
Our survey in Spring 2006 revealed that consumers had found errors on their credit report, but had not followed through to correcting them. This would potentially deny credit, a job, a home or, at best, costing hard-earned money in higher interest charges. Although errors on credit reports are comparatively rare, they do have a disproportionate impact on the lives of those affected. This inspired us to launch annualcreditreport.co.uk, to give consumers the ability to check the quality of information held in their name and to give expert advice on how to put any errors right.
Everyone in the UK has had the right, since 1974, under the Consumer Credit Act, to see what credit reference agencies hold about them. Typically, exercising that right involved writing to a credit reference agency, sending them £2, and then waiting seven to 10 working days for the postman to deliver a paper printout.
Because of the increasingly wider use of credit reports in society, we believe it vitally important for everyone to have free, easy and regular access to credit report information. By delivering credit reports online, the internet enables us to provide credit report more quickly and more securely than is possible thought the old postal route.
With identity fraud becoming a growing concern, annualcreditreport.co.uk also gives the public the opportunity to monitor for any of the tell-tale signs of having fallen victim to this crime, without having to pay for expensive subscription services. Coupled with free online access to lifestyle checker, Identity Theft Expert System - ITES - consumers can check if their personal habits are leaving them exposed to fraud.
The type of information to be found on credit reports includes:
- Credit agreements taken out by individual consumers.
- Credit payment history, showing if payments have been made on time or not over the past six years.
- Electoral roll information.
- County court judgments, decrees, and all forms of personal insolvency.
- Fraud warnings registered against UK addresses - well over 100,000 UK addresses are currently registered with CIFAS - the credit industry's fraud buster.
annualcreditreport.co.uk is another first for Credit Reporting Agency. It was the first company to provide UK consumers with online access to credit reports in 2000. Credit Reporting Agency was also the first company in the World to explain credit scores to consumers. It was also the first to turn the tables on lenders, by using credit scoring to match consumers to lenders, to dramatically reduce the risk of being declined credit, and find consumers the cheapest credit available.
About our Customers
The following high level statistics are available. The distribution of gender amongst our customers is strongly biased toward males taking 62% of the share.
The average income of our customers (provided by Nielsen) is as follows, and shows that the vast majority of our customers earn in excess of the average salary in the UK.
The distribution of customer age shows a very wide range with a bias toward customers under 45.
Our Executives
Barry Stamp - Founder and Joint Managing Director
Barry has wide experience of consumer and corporate credit, gained initially at NatWest and Barclays, then as Mortgage Manager of US insurer Lincoln National, Director and General Manager of Business Loans, Director and General Manager of The National Mortgage Bank, Senior Executive and Head of Free Trade Investment at Bass and Director and General Manager of Experian. He is an advisor to the Institute of Credit Management Technical Advisory Committee, which gives feedback to the Government on credit issues and an expert advisor to the National Audit Office in 2004 and 2008 on their reports on the management of tax debt. Between 2000-2005 he served as Co-Chairman of the judging panel for the prestigious Credit Today Awards. His published works include the legal and consumer credit chapters of Tolley's Effective Credit Control, the ICM's Advanced Credit Management, the professionally acclaimed handbook Identity Theft - Prevention and Victim Assistance and Lawpack's Identity Theft Self-Help Kit. Barry is also a trustee of the charity CHICKS - Country Holidays for Inner City Kids.
Peter Kent - Founder and Joint Managing Director
After reading Mathematics at Bedford College, University of London, Peter's initial background was as a programmer with stockbrokers L Messel & Co, followed by spells as a Systems Analyst with Leeds Permanent Building Society, and a European Systems Manager at Sperry Vickers. He joined National Home Loans Corporation at its inception to devise the strategic IT direction and run the IT, HR and Facilities functions for the group. A Director of NHLC and trustee of its Pension Fund, Peter was also appointed Director of Midlands Residential Corporation before joining Prudential Banking, where Peter was responsible for the development of the IT and operational vision for Egg and the successful implementation of the www.egg.com website. He has also played a major part in the definition of the Egg IT architecture and the due diligence inspections for Egg's acquisition programme.
Press Enquiries
For further media information please contact either Richard Catlin or Barry Stamp on 01872 308645.
