
A CIFAS entry on your credit report is a fraud warning. It will mean that any application for credit or other services from the address may be subject to further checks to validate the details given and to confirm the identity of the applicant.
Once these details are confirmed, the application will be assessed for credit in the usual way, without any further regard for the existence of the CIFAS entry. No one is permitted to be refused credit simply on the basis of a CIFAS warning.
You may see the two following CIFAS Case Types on your credit report - Protective Registration (if you have purchased this service from CIFAS or from another provider), or Victim of Impersonation (if you have been the victim of identity fraud and if your lender has filed this for your own protection).
Other information that can be included on the credit reports that lenders see relate to instances of fraud, deception or the exaggeration of application form details. An individual who wishes to know whether any such information is held in his or her name can make a Subject Access Request, preferably using the form available by a link from this page of the CIFAS website.
A CIFAS entry on your credit report will mean that your credit applications cannot be automatically processed, so you may be subjected to delays because of the entry. The length of time the warning remains on your credit report is variable depending on several factors connected with the actual or attempted fraud. If you purchase a Protective Registration, this will remain on your credit report for 12 months and must be renewed (upon payment of a further annual fee to CIFAS) if for any reason you wish the warning to remain for longer than 12 months.
See also the Hunter jargon entry.
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