The Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) is the biggest credit-referencing agency in Ireland. It is not a state body - it is owned and financed by ICB members, which are mainly financial institutions. The bureau is an electronic library or database that contains information on the performance of credit agreements between financial institutions (for example, banks and building societies) and borrowers (the citizen). A credit agreement can include a mortgage, car and personal loans and leasing and hire purchase agreements. Credit card details are included in the ICB library. Overdraft agreements, with the exception of overdraft agreements that are the subject of legal proceedings, are not monitored by the ICB.
Lending institutions register information with the ICB, usually on a monthly basis. Each time you apply for credit from one of these lenders, the lender accesses your credit file to find out about your performance under previous credit agreements with other lenders. Typically, your payment profile history over a 24-month repayment period is included in this credit report. All loans are registered with the ICB, including instances where you may have missed payments in the past. If, however, you have come to an agreement with your lender to postpone payment of a previous loan, this will not affect your credit rating.
You can view a sample credit report (pdf) of the kind kept by the ICB.
The ICB does not score citizens on the basis of their credit history. It simply records information and passes this information to lenders who make their own credit assessment based on the details available on the files.
In the past, information was mainly supplied by the lenders only where credit cards were revoked or cancelled. Now lenders have the option of supplying full information about opening and closing balances to the ICB. Your card repayment performance will be measured by the ICB on a monthly basis but due to the nature of credit cards, you also get an additional 30 days before negative information about your record is recorded.
Members of the Irish Credit Bureau send information about to the loans they have given to their customers to the Bureau. Therefore, information about a loan will be kept on the ICB database for the full term of the loan whether this is a 3-year personal loan or a 30-year mortgage. The ICB Member records the customer's performance on the repayments and this information is then sent to ICB where it is also recorded.
When the loan is completed or when it reaches a frozen state (that is when it is Written Off) the 5-year retention term clock starts ticking. In other words, regardless of what the customer’s performance on the loan was like, once the loan is terminated in its current state - it will then stay on the ICB Database for 5 years from that date.
If you are concerned that the credit information stored about you may be incorrect or out of date, you are entitled to inspect your own personal record under the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. In addition, if the information stored about you is incorrect, you are entitled to have this information amended and in certain circumstances, you may also have the right to have this information removed from your file.
If your request for access to your personal credit information is ignored or your request for a correction of inaccurate information is refused, you can complain to the Data Protection Commissioner. The Data Protection Commissioner is appointed by Government and has legal powers to ensure your rights are protected.
In addition, if you suffer damage through the mishandling of personal information held on computer, you may be entitled to claim compensation through the courts.
It is possible to add a personal declaration (statement) to your own credit record to clarify your credit record. For example, if you have incurred significant costs (following the breakdown of a relationship, a bereavement, an illness, accident, etc.) you may add these details to your credit record.
The text of the note must be less than 200 words, must be relevant to matters contained in the record and must not be frivolous, vexatious or denigratory.
This personal declaration is then attached to your file by the Irish Credit Bureau and can be viewed when your data is accessed. Remember that a lender is not obliged to take your statement into account while reviewing or checking your credit history when you are being assessed for a loan.
All records remain on the ICB database for 5 years once the account has been completed. This is the situation irrespective of whether you repaid the debt or you failed to complete payments.
You may, but only if these details are incorrect and you are seeking to amend them. All banks and financial institutions in Ireland are obliged to provide an honest and truthful record of your credit agreements and transactions. If an honest and truthful record includes details of bad debts or failures to repay, then these are included on your record. You should be aware that when you initally apply for a loan of any kind in Ireland, you are required to sign a consent form which essentially states that you are aware that a history of your repayments on this loan will be kept and will form part of your credit history.
However, the details of your credit record with any financial institution/bank are between you and that institution. If your credit record was bad a long time ago but has now been rectified, you may be able to have this information removed from your record. However, this is only if the bank/financial institution agrees to this - they are not obliged to by law, nor required to do so as part of their own policy. Check with the financial institution involved. Some financial institutions may operate discretionary powers and if for example, the debts were incurred due to exceptional circumstances or extreme hardship, they may be willing to assist you.
If you want to inspect your credit record data, the fee is €6. Fee must be accompanied by the application form.
Citizens can inspect their credit records by completing an application form from the ICB. You can apply online for details of your credit record. (Note that your credit record will be posted out to you and will not be emailed to you (for security reasons)). You also need a credit or debit card to apply and pay online for your record.
Alternatively, you can download a Personal Enquiry Form (pdf) and use it to apply for details of your credit record. You can request an application form for details of your credit record. Send your completed application form with the appropriate fee to the address below.
Only 1 search can be conducted per application.
Processing time begins from the time the ICB receive your form and usually takes approximately 3 or 4 days.
When you receive your ICB report, it will display a unique reference number. You then may contact ICB to discuss your report, but remember to quote your unique number. You cannot discuss your credit report with ICB by telephone until you have received your report.
If you wish to have inaccurate information on your credit record amended, contact the ICB.
ICB House
Newstead
Clonskeagh Road
Dublin 14
Tel:(01) 260 0388
Fax:(01) 260 0390
Homepage: http://www.icb.ie