Frequently asked questions about credit information
You can get a payment default entry in approximately two months from the payment's due date at the earliest. A payment default entry can only be made if you have received an appropriate payment reminder. A single debt can cause more than one payment default entry at different stages of debt collection:
- In case of a consumer loan, the creditor can report the payment default entry to the credit information register when payment of the loan is late by at least 60 days. The loan agreement must also specify that a payment default entry can be made, and a written payment reminder reminding you of the threat of a payment default entry must have been sent to you at least 21 days in advance.
- A payment default entry can be made by notification of a district court when the court has found the payment to be in default by a default judgment or final judgment, provided that the demand for payment has not been contested.
- A payment default entry can be made by notification of National Enforcement Authority Finland in the course of enforcement. For example, establishing lack of means and an impediment to limited enforcement will cause a payment default entry to be made.
- A payment default entry can be made if the Legal Register Centre notifies credit information companies of the start of debt adjustment for a private person.
A payment default entry will affect your life in many ways. Your card issuer can demand the return of your credit card because of the payment default entry. The entry may also make it more difficult for you to get a new loan, rental flat, telephone subscription or insurance. A payment default entry can make you ineligible for a job if the duties involve financial responsibilities or otherwise require special reliability from the candidate.
Credit information companies, that is, companies that keep credit information registers, are required to inform you of the processing of your personal data. When the first payment default entry has been made for you, credit information companies must also inform you of how paying your debt will affect the storage time of the payment default entry. The personal credit information companies operating in Finland are Suomen Asiakastieto Oy and Bisnode Finland Oy.
You also have the right to obtain information on your payment default entries from credit information companies by exercising your right of access to your personal data. As a rule, exercising your right of access is free of charge.
Address your request for the erasure or rectification of your payment default entry to the credit information company. Please note that you need to send separate requests to every company that maintains a credit information register. At present, the credit information register keepers in Finland are Suomen Asiakastieto Oy and Bisnode Finland Oy.
Specify precisely the payment default entries or other personal data stored in the credit information register that your request for erasure or rectification concerns. Also give a detailed and justified description of how the data should be rectified.
If the credit information register refuses to rectify information saved in the credit information register, it must give you a written decision to that effect. The decision must indicate the grounds for refusing your request. Once you have received the decision, you can refer the matter to the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman. Your request to the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman should also include a precise description of the data which your request concerned, how the data should be changed and the grounds for the changes you are requesting.
Payment default entries are typically kept in the credit information register for 2–3 years. However, the most common payment default entries will be erased from the register earlier if you pay off the debt on which the entry was based. In such cases, the payment default entry will be erased within one month of the credit information company being informed of the payment of your debt. A new payment default entry will not extend the storage time of previous ones. Every payment default entry has its own, independent storage time.
You typically need to actively inform the credit information register of the payment of your debt:
- When you have paid your receivable in enforcement, National Enforcement Authority Finland will notify the credit information companies of the payment upon your request. In other words, you must ask National Enforcement Authority Finland to inform the credit information companies that your debt has been paid.
- You may also personally request the credit information companies to record the payment in the credit information register. If you do, you must present reliable proof of payment to the credit information company. Please note that you will need to present the request and proof of payment to both credit information companies (Suomen Asiakastieto Oy and Bisnode Finland Oy) separately.
- If the payment default entry is based on the creditor's notification, the creditor must inform the credit information companies of the payment of your debt. In that case, you will not have to specifically request your creditor to notify the credit information companies that your debt has been paid.