Have you ever ordered and received goods before ever
paying a cent? Do you enjoy the convenience of paying for
purchases with your credit card? Have you ever taken out
a loan for a major purchase? We buy whatever we need,
and treat ourselves to things that make life that
little bit sweeter. We travel with our credit card, get finance
for our car, order online and pay on account. Easy, safe
and straightforward. Thanks to SCHUFA.
SCHUFA makes contracts quick and easy to conclude as it
provides its contracting partners with the information they
require.

There are some 4,500 SCHUFA contracting partners, including
not only banks, building societies and leasing companies,
but also retailers, energy suppliers, telecommunications
companies and collection agencies. Other companies
with a proven, legitimate interest (such as insurers) also
count on SCHUFA for risk control and customer relationship
management services.
The SCHUFA system is based on reciprocity: our partners
pass information on to us or ask us for information on or
an assessment of the economic risk of a transaction. Thus
we provide the necessary trust between business partners,
and simplify and accelerate business decisions.
In this way, we are supporting the sales of products and
services to consumers, retailers, freelancers, small business
owners and the self-employed.
But we also contribute towards the arrangement of loans
and help to prevent finances from spiralling out of control.

 

Information that makes business life easier

A widespread misunderstanding.
Lots of people think that SCHUFA only stores data concerning
individuals who have defaulted on a loan. But in fact
the opposite is true: we have only positive information on
about 93 percent of people – that is to say, information
that shows that someone is active economically, and handling
these activities reliably and carefully. And – again
contrary to popular belief – we do not keep information on
people’s jobs, wealth, income, nationality or marital status.
What is positive, and what can
sometimes be negative.
Positive information includes: the registration of a current
account with overdraft protection, a credit card, a cell phone
calling plan on a limited time contract, a leasing agreement,
a loan or a mail order account that allows you to be billed
later. All these transactions show that companies trust you. A
loan that has been called in by the bank, however, is an indication
of behaviour that contravenes the contract. But
thanks to positive information, by far the majority of all credit
activities are carried out quickly and uneventfully.

Who is allowed to request and pass on
information?
Information about individuals may only be passed between
SCHUFA and its contracting partners if there is a “vital
interest” in the sense of the Federal Data Protection Act.
• Among other things, the matter must be of a reasonable
scope and associated with an economic risk.
• Information may only be requested or passed on if
an individual wants to agree a contract with a
company, or if a contractual relationship already
exists.
• With regard to credit, authorisation to pass on
must have been given – the SCHUFA clause accepted
by you.
SCHUFA works with foreign partners to process inquiries
submitted by companies located in other EU member
states.
We undertake random tests to ensure that our partners are
observing the terms of our contract.

We have no secrets

SCHUFA’s data inventory comprises 384 million items of
information on 63 million people. A credit report will tell
you what we know. Everything we know. At any time.
New – Get your SCHUFA credit report online!
Enjoy maximum transparency and view your credit information
whenever and wherever you want! After you
register, you will receive your personal login information
so you can sign in. Since we put a premium on security,
we use the latest authentication methods to protect your
data online.
What does SCHUFA's online credit report have to offer?
A lot: detailed explanations of your data, the ability to
request corrections at the push of a button and a slew of
additional features. 

Order it online – receive it by post.
The quickest and easiest way for you to see your credit
report is to go online and ask for it. And you’ll hear from
us in just a few days. How does it all work? You can find
out at our consumer portal, www.meineSCHUFA.de. Just
visit the section entitled "SCHUFA-Auskunft" ("SCHUFA
credit report").
Order it in writing – receive it by post.
Don't have an internet connection? You can also ask for
your credit report by more conventional means – in a letter.
No lengthy explanations required; just use the form in this
brochure. Your credit report will then be sent to you.
Nice to see you – at a consumer service
point.
Or come to one of the 14 SCHUFA consumer service
points. To find out where your nearest one is, just go to the
list in the back of this brochure. Please don’t forget to
bring a valid passport or other form of identification with
you. So we can be absolutely sure that the right information
is going to the right person! We will be pleased to
send you a printout for your personal information for a
small charge of EUR 7.80 – either by post to your home or
through one of our consumer service points. You can also
get an online account for as little as EUR 7.80. And you
can go to one of our service points and have a look at the
information stored about you – free of charge.

 

What the credit report tells us

The credit report contains all the information that the
SCHUFA has on you. As well as your full name, date and
place of birth, current and past addresses, there is usually
also information passed on by contracting partners, such as:
• credit or leasing agreements with the amounts and
periods, as well as details of any early redemptions
• opening of a current account or approval of a
credit card
• opening of a telecommunications account
• store accounts
A note on an identity check shows that an e-commerce
business or online auction site has checked your personal
details such as name and address to protect themselves
and others against possible fraud.
Any behaviour that deviates from the contract may also be
included, such as:
• claims that are due, that you have been reminded
about and are not contested
• claims following a court decision and completion
of the same
• misuse of a current or credit card account after
being barred from using it

It may also include information from public directories and
official notifications, such as:
• statement in lieu of an oath, warrant for arrest for
a statement in lieu of oath
• opening of private bankruptcy proceedings
• Cases in which motions to file for bankruptcy are
rejected for lack of assets, or the bankruptcy proceedings
are abandoned for lack of assets
• Entry on the erasure of remaining debts
Who has access to what SCHUFA data?
Only you will see the information in full. Authorised
businesses will receive the information that is relevant to
them so they can make a decision: banks and building
societies, for instance, will see whether you already have a
current account, credit card or mortgage. They will also see
positive information from other industries, information on
non-contractual behaviour – and whether there were any
other requests in the last 10 days.
Retail and mail order companies see less: they are only
informed of any interruptions in payments. Telecommunications
companies receive all the information on non-contractual
behaviour and whether the person already has a
telecommunications account with another provider.
Names of companies will not be passed on to SCHUFA
contracting partners under any circumstances; that is
something only you will see!

Initial answers to your questions

We would be happy to help you and answer your questions.
We've already provided some answers below. There
are answers to even more questions online, in the
"Service" section at www.meineSCHUFA.de. We can also
assist you personally. There is contact information for
SCHUFA at the end of this brochure.
What is deleted when? – storage periods.
There are different legal requirements and deadlines for
the storage of personal data. On the one hand, these
deadlines serve the interests of the contracting partners:
companies have to be able to calculate business risks.
On the other, consumer interests are also taken into
account: information is deleted after an appropriate period
of time.
Some of the information that is removed:
• current and credit accounts when the account
is closed
• mail order accounts after notification of closure or
three years after receipt
• on loans three years after the year of repayment
• on non-contractual businesses, even after conclusion
of the same, at the end of the third year from
recording
• SCHUFA deletes information from court registers
of debtors after three years, and earlier if SCHUFA
is notified of the court’s deletion.
• Claims that have been recognized by a writ of execution
will remain on file for three years after
discharge

I’ve repaid the loan, but why hasn’t it been deleted –
or annotated as “repaid”?
SCHUFA contracting partners are trained to read credit
information and will see that a loan has been repaid in
accordance with the agreement. So there’s no need for a
comment. By the way, if you ever apply for another loan,
the repaid loan will be seen as something positive. It will
help you if you apply for another loan because you've
shown that you abide by your agreements!
Why are earlier addresses recorded?
It’s not unusual for two people with the same (common)
name to live on the same street, and even in the same building.
So an earlier address is useful as a further means of
differentiation.
Why is there some information missing from my
credit report?
There can be several reasons for this. It could be something
that a contracting partner can tell us, but doesn’t have to.
It’s also possible that you have taken out a contract with a
company that is not a SCHUFA contracting partner.

Why are queries listed in my credit report?
If you want to buy something from a company on credit,
the SCHUFA contracting partner will generally request
information about you. We store this query for one year. It
enables you to find out who has asked for what information
about you, when, and why. With regard to information
for contracting partners, queries are passed on for 10
days only.
My bank won’t give me a loan.
Has that got anything to do with SCHUFA?
SCHUFA provides information on individuals or estimates
regarding a business risk. In addition to that, a credit decision
is usually influenced by many other items of information
(such as your income) that SCHUFA doesn’t know
about. A loan-allocating company has to check every single
query carefully. Some companies are more careful than
others. We support decisions by providing information –
but we don’t make them.
Why do I have to submit another copy of my identification?
We may occasionally ask for a copy of an official form of
identification after receiving a request for a personal credit
report. This happens whenever the order address is not the
same as the address we have on file. There is no way for
us to know if another person has requested your information.
So to ensure your data isn't sent to unauthorized parties,
we ask you to provide an official document that identifies
your current address.

What can I do if any of the information in my credit
record is incomplete, no longer valid, or wrong?
Of course, any errors will be corrected immediately and
free of charge!
• If you have registered for SCHUFA credit reports
at www.meineSCHUFA.de, you can simply let us
know online! Just select the "Rückfrage"
(Feedback) button.
If you don't have a personal user account, please write to
us explaining the matter and your reasons.
• You can also write to us with your concerns:
Verbraucherservicezentrum Hannover,
Postfach 56 40, 30056 Hannover
• In a hurry? You can fax us:
fax no. +49 (0) 511 123 9770
• Or just come by one of our consumer service
points. The addresses and opening times are given
on Page 15.
Have you got any documents explaining the situation
(credit report, receipts, notification of cancellation or
similar)? A copy will help speed things up!
In order to clarify a query, we often have to contact our
contracting partner. We usually do so on the same day so
we can get a response as quickly as possible. If, however,
we find we have to wait a little while for our partner’s
response, your information will not be given to SCHUFA
contracting partners until we have received a response.