Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) closing - impact on mortgage applications?

[Dave Vanian]

I read here that the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) plans to close its doors at the end of this year, having been effectively made redundant by the Central Credit Register (CCR). I also read that the CCR only provides repayment data on an existing loan to a lender going back two years.

Does this mean that if one had a bad credit issue and sorted it out fully, they can now apply for a new mortgage after two years?

 

[JD2021]

Morning, I saw this also, I was actually trying to request a personal credit report over the past few days, just gathering info for a resolution process I'm hoping to enter into. The online process basically won't work, error message showing at stage we're you submit, the helpline bizzarely operating from 2pm to 5 according to a voice message, tried after 2, same message. I've since got the info I needed from CCR, just surprising no mention of application issues noted on the ICB website albeit I may have missed something.

 

[MrEarl]

Looks like a convenient way to give a sizeable part of the nation a clean credit record, which they otherwise might not have, doesn't it!

 

[Dave Vanian]

Looks like a convenient way to give a sizeable part of the nation a clean credit record, which they otherwise might not have, doesn't it!

Indeed it does. In my mind it raises the debate about how long a person should have to remain in purgatory before being absolved of their financial sins of old, and becoming born again. In this way, it reminds me of the decision to shorten the period during which a person is bankrupt. Any opinions on whether or not two years is too short?

 

[Introuble83]

Open to correction but my understanding is while it only shows 2 years activities it also shows closed accounts up to 5 years old. So if you had a bad loan 4 years ago it will show the closed date and will be coded as a bad debt / written off etc . Also if you have a bad loan from 20 years ago that is still open by the lender it will also show this regardless of the 2 years rule . You only get a clean slate 5 years after the loan is cleared / account closed .

 

[Dave Vanian]

So if you had a bad loan 4 years ago it will show the closed date and will be coded as a bad debt / written off etc .

Interesting. Thanks. Any idea what the case would be if you had a loan which was in arrears but was eventually paid in full (with no write-downs) three years ago?

 

[Introuble83]

Interesting. Thanks. Any idea what the case would be if you had a loan which was in arrears but was eventually paid in full (with no write-downs) three years ago?

I’m not 100% to be honest . Maybe apply for a loan just to see if you get approved. Your not obliged to go ahead with it if approved.

 

[lff12]

Interesting. Thanks. Any idea what the case would be if you had a loan which was in arrears but was eventually paid in full (with no write-downs) three years ago?

I think anything paid off more than 2 years ago would no longer appear. Legacy borrowing would only appear if it was not paid off.
They seem to have gone off the planet - I put in a request to get my report 6 weeks ago and got no response. I only was reminded after reading this thread.
If CCR carry out the same role there should be no issues for borrowers. Its the banks who provide the info anyway, and they frequently do get it wrong. From a consumer perspective it just means dealing with a different organisation to check and sometimes correct this info (which means advising your bank that it is incorrect). Its important people with past histories of debt do this as banks can and do make errors here.

It happened to me more than 10 years ago. I had problems getting credit, and discovered that BOI had not updated a legacy loan I had paid some years previously, it looked like the last 2 payments had not been recorded. I got onto BOI and they sorted it. From the consumers perspective it is just a matter of talking to a different organisation. The same issues still apply about accurate reporting of arrears from the banks side, because errors in that have a lot of impact for customers.

 

[John White]

When I did a credit check about a year ago with the ICB I did not have the best record. My business went bust and I was guarantor on a business loan. I did a CCR check last week and they had no record of me. I don't know if that means I will have a clean slate again. Or can banks transfer loan details to the CCR at the last minute when the ICB closes.?

 

[time to plan]

Interesting. Maybe the banks will ask people to self-declare with the risk of mortgage fraud charges if they omit details.