Credit agreements - getting information

 August 2014

Fact sheet no. 29

What rights to information do I have ?

Information:

Consumer Credit Act rights

You have the right to ask a creditor for a copy of your agreement and a statement of your account only if you still owe them money on the account.  If you have paid your debt in full, or if your lender has taken court action, you may not have these rights.  Contact us for advice.

You have rights to ask for personal information from creditors and other organisations because of two laws:

  • the Consumer Credit Act 1974; and
  • the Data Protection Act 1998.

The kind of information that you can get is different under each law. 

  • The Consumer Credit Act gives you the right to ask for a copy of your credit agreement and  statements of your account. 
  • The Data Protection Act gives ‘subject access rights’ to get personal information held by the organisation about you.

Which letter should I use?

Information:

how much will it cost?

The fee for asking for a copy of your agreement and statement of account under sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Consumer Credit Act is £1. There is no fee if you ask for a statement of your account under section 77b of the Consumer Credit Act.

There are three sample letters in this fact sheet which you can use to get different kinds of information.

  • Use the Information about your agreement under the Consumer Credit Act - sample letter to ask for a copy of your agreement and related documents, together with a statement of your account from a creditor. You might need to use this letter if you have lost your original agreement and want to check the terms and conditions such as the interest rate, the amount of credit and the total number of payments. You might want a statement of account to check what the creditor thinks you have paid on the account and when.  Use sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to make this request.
  • Use the Information about instalments still to pay under a credit agreement -  sample letter to ask for a statement of your account which shows what you have to pay in the future, including any missed payments. You can only use this letter if your agreement is for a fixed amount of credit, the debt is not secured on property and you pay it by instalments.  Use section 77b of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to make this request.

    • Information:

    how much will it cost?

    Organisations can charge up to £10 for sending you personal information under the Data Protection Act.

  • Use the Personal information under the Data Protection Act - sample letter to ask for specific information about you which may be held by a creditor, or a public organisation like your local council.  On the other hand, you might want to check what information the creditor holds about you (such as a record of a phone call) and how they may have used this to make decisions about you. Use section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 to make this request.