Credit bureau

A credit agency is a privately held company for the purpose of notification economically relevant data on individuals and businesses to business partners.

Working methods and principles

Business information will be provided only to companies that use them in the context of credit checks. A legitimate interest in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act must be demonstrated on the part of the requesting company. The credit is set 2 5 BDSG committed pursuant to § 29 para to make random sampling checks of legitimate interest.

Reasons that entitle the holder to demand information, include:

  • New business development
  • Forderungseinzüge
  • All kinds of purchase, rental and lease contracts.

The information provisioning takes into consideration and adherence to the strictly regulated Privacy Policy, which are intended to prevent, inter alia, the misuse of personal data.

Corresponding data protection officers are the credit reporting agencies internally or externally to the side to check, for example, request the reasons for their permission to go. They monitor compliance with the regulations of the Federal Data Protection Act and also act as neutral experts in data protection issues and dispute cases.

Data sources

The credit bureaus operate in the context of its work in gathering information, both the self-questioning of companies and individuals, as well as official and semi-official bodies. Generally accessible sources provide this telephone and address books, publications in the Federal Gazette and other publications on bankruptcies, comparisons, business establishments and public registers, such as trade or club register dar. addition, sometimes there is a survey of stakeholders, business partners and neighbors. In addition, the credit bureaus rely on a network of data pools, which also include the recording of information about the payment practices of affiliated companies. Furthermore, there is a close cooperation with collection agencies.

Content of economic information

Information about company

  • Communication data Company name, address, post office box, phone and fax numbers, email address and website
  • Legal form Form of society, activity status, founding dates, the Commercial register of registration in data, shareholders, acting and adherent persons of the company
  • Purpose of the Company Industry classification (according to the Federal Statistical Office) langtextliche playing field of activity
  • Offices and operations
  • Shares of the company to another company
  • Assessing the financial position of the company Payment experiences, assessment of the business relationship, the maximum credit proposal Assessment of the financial situation on the basis of rankings, or credit indices Playback of archived "negative characteristics " (eg: detention orders, Affidavits, collection methods, etc. )
  • Real estate Type of property, value of the property, ownership
  • Bank accounts Indication of the bank, together with the account numbers
  • Company Key Sales, profits / losses, equity ratio, operating and office equipment, number of employees, etc.

Information about individuals

  • Communication data Name, first name, postal address, possibly secondary residence, date of birth, phone and fax numbers, e -mail address and homepage
  • Marital status
  • Activity
  • Assessment of the financial Payment experiences, assessment of the business relationship Assessment of the financial situation on the basis of rankings, or credit indices Playback of archived "negative features "
  • Real estate Type of property, value of the property, ownership ( rental / ownership, etc.)
  • Investments Value of investments, ownership, (possibly seizures)
  • Bank accounts Indication of the bank, together with the account numbers
  • Data at current ( checking ) accounts, loans, leases, cell phone contracts and other transactions

Credit report

Since 1 April 2010 there is a legal requirement for all agencies to provide information about the data stored in them. The query is, however, this limited exclusively to information about themselves. Consumer advocates complain that the industry has not developed a standardized method for credit report, so that at each credit reporting another approach is needed. In addition, only basic information is free of charge callable, the full profile of a private individual or a company, however, often only for a fee. Some third-party providers make it possible to combine the credit profile of several bureaus about themselves and others.

Examples

  • Reference agency Credit Reform Association, Germany, company information, private information to persons, debt management, risk management, direct marketing, rating, factoring, system solutions
  • Hoppenstedt Holding, B2B business information to more than 4.6 million active German companies
  • SCHUFA Holding AG, Germany, information about individuals
  • Biirgel Business Information, Germany, information on individuals, companies information, direct marketing, credit management, accounts receivable management
  • Arvato Infoscore, Germany, information on individuals as well as direct marketing and collection services
  • Dun & Bradstreet, a global credit
  • Credit control, global information on companies and individuals, receivables management
  • Credit Safe Germany, German and international companies information with a fixed price option
  • Delta Vista, Germany, information on individuals and companies, as well as risk management system solutions
  • Scoredex, Economic information companies from the weak or non-regulated markets

Besides these there are a number of other agencies, including those that are active at regional level or in a specific industry.

Bundesanzeiger Insolvency List of company registers Types of business entity Possession (law) Integrated Authority File
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