Being listed as a "bad payer" can be detrimental, whether it is to obtain a mobile phone subscription, a lease for a car or to find an apartment. It is necessary to check your creditworthiness before applying for a lease or credit, because in the event of a refusal, you will have to wait a year before you can reapply for it. But who manages this data? How can I check my creditworthiness? Can I have my data cleaned up in order to become solvent again?
What are the registers that list defaulters?
In Switzerland, there are about twenty registers that we can divide into two categories, economic intelligence companies and associations.
These credit companies receive your contact details and other information about you through your creditor.
Among the most well-known companies:
Crif offers an online platform that allows you to consult the creditworthiness of companies or private individuals.
The debt collection office, which lists all the legal procedures for collection that have been taken by creditors.
The ZEK and the IKO, these two associations, are generally more consulted than credit companies, but only banking institutions have access to them.
The ZEK, the central credit information centre, stores all data arising from the credit activities of natural or legal persons. Whether you are a good or bad payer, the ZEK stores information on credit, leasing, credit cards, liabilities and creditworthiness of borrowers.
The IKO, the information centre for consumer credit, records the data of credit and leasing companies of natural persons.
The Meaning of Bad ZEK Codes
To find out the status of your data, to know whether you are a good or bad payer, the ZEK has set up a code system. Each code corresponds to a situation, whether positive or negative.
- Code 03: You are behind on your payments
- Code 04: A bank had to take action against you
- Code 05: A bank has suffered a loss on one of your contracts
- Code 06: Your file has legal problems, often related to falsified documents
- Code 21: Your credit card is blocked or cancelled
To learn more about the meaning of the ZEK codes, you can read our article on the subject.
How long is my data stored?
There is no law that mentions a specific period for data retention, we only have a retention period provided by the ZEK. We find the durations according to the facts. Here are a few examples:
- For a rejected loan application, the ZEK will keep your data for 2 years
- For a rejected card application, your data will be kept for 3 years
- For a card that is blocked due to total or partial loss, the ZEK will keep your data for 10 years
For its part, IKO keeps your data until the end of your contract. Once you have terminated your contract, your data will be deleted within 14 days. If you have more than one contract, only the last contract that was terminated is stored in the database.
How do I view and have my data deleted?
According to the law, and if you request it at any time and without reason, credit agencies are obliged to provide you with the data they process about you within 30 days. It is possible to have inaccurate data corrected, but it is not possible to have justified information about you deleted.
Regarding the ZEK and the IKO, you can request an extract of your data free of charge through their online forms. It is possible to have an entry removed or corrected from the database only if it is an error or if it is inaccurate.
It's not always easy to know where to start and how to get ahead with these institutions. That's why we exist. We can help you along the way.