Council of Mortgage Lenders

The Possessions Register was established by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) with the two major credit reference agencies, Experian and Equifax.

The Register was primarily set up and organised to prevent mortgage fraud. This is to prevent cases where a borrower applies for an additional mortgage but does not tell the lender after having already fallen into arrears on the primary mortgage.

What type of information does the Register hold?

The specific information held on the Register includes:

• Name of the lender
• Mortgage account number
• Name of the borrower
• Date of possession
• Type of possession (court order or voluntarily)
• Whether or not any outstanding debt on the mortgage has been paid
• Address of the property taken into possession
• The previous and current addresses of the borrower (if known)

The mortgage lender will provide this information directly to the credit reference agencies. These details are then held on the Register for exactly six years from the date the possession took place. Details are then automatically removed after this period of time.

Am I on the Register?

The Register is operated by the two main British credit reference agencies, Experian and Equifax. You can identify if they hold any credit information on you (fee of £2.00).

If the information held on you is incorrect, the Data Protection Registrar has a free leaflet called No Credit? which explains how to get incorrect credit reference information changed. This booklet can be obtained by writing to:

No Credit Leaflet
PO Box 99
Nelson
BB9 8GS

or by phoning 0870 4421211.

Can my name be removed from the Register?

No. The information held on the Possessions Register can only be changed if details have been added to it by mistake, or if the information held is incorrect.

If I am on the Register, how will this affect me getting a mortgage in the future?

Your past credit history will not necessarily stop you from getting another mortgage. However, if you have an outstanding mortgage debt this will be taken into consideration by the lender.