Credit Files and What Lenders See · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Know what lenders see about you

Life Skills · Money & Finance · ages 16-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. How should you obtain and review your own UK credit reports?

    • Request a lender's application decision and use it as your full report
    • Request agency statutory reports and check the recorded entries
    • Request bank statements and check their recorded transactions

  2. What can a UK credit report contain?

    • Reported credit accounts, their balances and their repayment histories
    • Income, spending and the repayments planned in your monthly budget
    • Savings accounts, balances and the cash purchases on bank statements

  3. For a UK default, the usual six-year credit-reporting period starts when the debt is repaid.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Why can a thin credit file make a lender's assessment harder?

    • It gives evidence of late payments that the lender must assess
    • It gives the lender little recorded evidence of past repayments
    • It gives a record of settled repayment problems instead of current borrowing

  5. Your report lists an address you never lived at and marks a paid debt as unpaid. What should you do?

    • Ask for a higher score, leaving the entries for the agency to identify
    • Contact the provider about the debt, leaving the address entry unchecked
    • Dispute both entries with evidence, then check the response and report

  6. Which pair of habits follows both the repayment-date and card-balance guidance?

    • Pay by the due date and keep balances low relative to card limits
    • Pay after the due date and keep balances low relative to card limits
    • Pay by the due date and keep balances close to the card limits

  7. Your salary rises but your credit-report information stays unchanged. Which statement distinguishes an agency's report-based score from a lender's affordability check?

    • Income can change affordability without directly changing that agency score
    • Income changes the agency score before the lender checks affordability
    • Income affects that agency score instead of the lender's affordability check

  8. You owe £300 across two cards, each with a £1,500 limit. You close the unused card. The balance stays £300. What percentage of the remaining limit are you using?

    • 10% of the remaining limit
    • 5% of the remaining limit
    • 20% of the remaining limit
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Know what lenders see about you W1-mt_SfwNy9cOjb-s1

  1. Request agency statutory reports and check the recorded entries · Use official agency access routes and review the reported entries. Your own report check is a soft search.
  2. Reported credit accounts, their balances and their repayment histories · A credit report can contain credit-account information reported by providers. A budget and bank statements describe different information.
  3. False · The usual six-year period starts from the default date. Later repayment updates the status but does not normally restart that period.
  4. It gives the lender little recorded evidence of past repayments · Limited history provides less information. It does not prove missed payments, and lenders may respond differently.
  5. Dispute both entries with evidence, then check the response and report · Explain each error and supply relevant evidence. Read the response and check the report rather than assuming correction by a fixed date.
  6. Pay by the due date and keep balances low relative to card limits · On-time reported payments and low balances relative to limits can support credit history. They do not guarantee a score or approval.
  7. Income can change affordability without directly changing that agency score · Salary is separate from the agency's report-based score. A lender can assess income alongside spending and other commitments.
  8. 20% of the remaining limit · One £1,500 limit remains. £300 ÷ £1,500 × 100 = 20%. The balance did not rise, but available credit fell.
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