According to its own statements, SCHUFA is the “leading solution provider of credit reporting and information services for companies and consumers”. The company has data on 68 million individuals and 6 million companies. It serves as a source of information for companies and consumers to provide clarity about the financial situation of the opposing party when concluding a transaction. Information is accessed around 490,000 times a day at SCHUFA. These are used in situations such as financing a car, paying in installments for furniture or electronic items and when buying on account in online shops. Our data records at the credit agency thus have a noticeable impact on everyday private life. It is therefore important to ensure that they are correct.
request self-assessment
Once a year, every person has the right to inspect their own file at the credit bureaus free of charge. SCHUFA does not issue any information letters about the existing data sets. The application for self-disclosure can be made by post or electronically. It is important that a copy of the ID card is added to confirm your identity. In the “meineSCHUFA” portal, the company also offers consumers a continuous view of the files. However, this service is chargeable, so that a monthly basic fee has to be paid by the users.
However, people can also find out about a SCHUFA entry in an unpleasant way. The Finanzcheck website describes how, for example, a potential business partner “rejects a contract with reference to the database in the credit agency due to a negative SCHUFA entry”. However, this should not be the norm. A company is obliged to announce a SCHUFA entry. A negative reference may only be made after two warnings. However, information must be sent to the person concerned at least four weeks in advance. Without a notification, a new entry is ineffective.
Incorrect entries
Negative entries arise due to non-contractual behavior. However, they do not always have to reflect reality. SCHUFA can also make mistakes. Given the abundance of data, many names appear more than once. Careless mistakes quickly lead to confusion. In addition, the credit agency is dependent on the correct transmission of the contractual partner. If they pass on incorrect data, errors also creep into the files. This can, for example, be due to excessive amounts owed or loans that have already been repaid.
If an incorrect entry was identified, the facts must be corrected in the first step. Proof of this must be provided with supporting documents. SCHUFA can then be requested to correct or delete it.
delete entries
SCHUFA has precise deletion regulations for certain incidents. Documented false entries must be removed immediately. This ensures that the data is up-to-date and correct. In most cases, the incorrect information is outdated personal addresses, terminated accounts, or incorrectly reported or paid claims.
However, other entries at SCHUFA can also be deleted. It is possible to have minor debts up to a maximum of 2,000 euros removed upon application. This leads to an improvement in the SCHUFA scoring. However, there are three prerequisites for this. On the one hand, it must not be a legal claim and the outstanding amount must have been paid within six weeks of the report. On the other hand, the creditor’s consent is required for the removal. If all conditions are met, SCHUFA will immediately correct the situation.
Titled claims arise when debtors do not comply with multiple requests for payment and the creditors obtain an enforcement order. The debtor is thus condemned to pay the claim. In order to have this ugly entry deleted by SCHUFA, the outstanding amount of money must first have been paid in full. A removal from the register of debtors is then applied for at the district court. You can then contact the credit agency. However, here again the consent of the creditor is absolutely necessary. If the latter does not agree to deletion, the entry will remain with SCHUFA.
Basically, all SCHUFA data has a specific retention period. According to the website financer, most entries are automatically deleted after three years.
Editorial office finanzen.net
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