The Royal Bank of
Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank customers could face damage to their credit
ratings after payments were delayed by a technical error.
The Payment Council
said that it is working closely with banks and credit card referencing agencies
in an effort to ensure that customers’ credit ratings are not affected as a
result of the discrepancy.
Credit rating
agency, Equifax, has urged customers to check their credit file and issued
advice on how and when they could check their score. Equifax also warned that
the delayed payments might not show up for as long as eight weeks.
Neil Munroe,
external affairs director at Equifax said: “The concern for some individuals
may be that as a result of delayed transactions through the RBS Group
(including NatWest and Ulster Bank) last month, payments to other lenders may
have also been delayed and, as a result, this may go on their credit record and
affect their future ability to access credit.
“But it’s important
to note that due to the way in which data is supplied it can take up to 6-8
weeks for any payments on credit agreements from June to be shown on credit
reports.”
Customers who
believe they might have been affected by the technical error have been advised
by the Payment Council to claim back the cost of a single credit check from one
of the three referencing agencies by the end of October 2012.
A bad credit rating
could limit consumer borrowing options. Missed credit card payments, direct
debits and other financial commitments that are not paid on time could place a
mark against your name on a credit file and cause problems later down the line.
Poor credit ratings
can prevent you from taking out credit cards, personal loans and even
mortgages.
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