Central Credit Register – Important Update

As you are aware, as per the Credit Reporting Act 2013, it is a requirement that all financial institutions and asset finance houses must enquire through the Central Credit Register (CCR) against all borrowers which are referred to as Credit Information Subjects (CIS) by the CCR.

What impact does this have on me and my customers?

When submitting a New Application Enquiry to the CCR, your customer’s information is recorded in the database and it is of the utmost importance that the details used to run the enquiry reflect those shown on your customer’s official identification documents.

It is important to ensure that the subject data used at enquiry is the same subject data used at drawdown.

This approach will ensure the consistency and integrity of the information held for your customer on the CCR database and will also dramatically decrease the number of errors and time spent resolving errors across the industry – Resulting in a superior service for you and your customers.

Section 21 of the Act sets out that a Credit Information Provider (CIP) ”shall take reasonable steps to verify that the information which the credit information provider obtains from credit information subjects is accurate and complete.”

We’re highlighting the importance of collecting and recording accurate customer information to help:

• Avoid delays for both you and your customers’
• Eliminate the possibility of losing the car sale completely, due to inaccurate information

Best Practice

The CCR Guidance states that we must validate the CIS against reliable documentation.

Due to the number of inconsistencies experienced with incorrect information being submitted, the IAIFA encourages you to ensure that the Name, Address, Date of Birth and PPSN are accurate and validated against the applicant’s Anti-Money Laundering documentation, at  proposal stage, as Best Practice going forward.

We’re here to help and support you and your dealership with industry updates and guidance and we hope that you’ll agree that getting this information correct from the offset will be of huge benefit to us all.