Request Schufa information online for free: that's how it works

Have you read the fine print of your mobile phone contract? Or the terms and conditions of the online retailer where you bought last? There is a good chance you have accepted the disclosure of your data – to a credit bureau.

Credit reporting agencies are companies that evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers. Banks decide with their help what interest gets a loan. The telephone companies deny the risk to potential customers of the contract. Online retailers decide who is allowed to pay on an account. And even the owners can be confirmed by credit bureaus the credit worthiness of prospective tenants.

Schufa is the best-known German credit reference agency; others are, for example, Crif Bürgel, Creditreform Boniversum or Arvato Infoscore. Their business model involves collecting consumer information: how many checking and credit card accounts a person has, how long these relationships already exist and whether a loan has already been properly repaid. Companies use this data to "burn" consumers, that is, to predict the likelihood that a person uses credit, for example. (Read exactly how Schufa's score works.)

Right to information

Every consumer has the right to know from the credit bureaus what information he has stored about it. This is governed by Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which entered into force in May 2018. However, it is not so easy to use this right: as Schufa prefers to sell paid information, the order form free DSGVO information is a little hidden on the website. You will find it by visiting this page and selecting "Data Copy (according to Article 15 DS-GVO)".

The free self-badessment lists all the information stored by Schufa on the consumer. These include the date of birth, the current and past addresses, the financial history of the person (current accounts, credit cards, mobile phone contracts, loans in progress, but also payment problems or registrations). in the bankruptcy register), as well as the requests made by other companies in the past twelve months. have.

That's how you understand your information

After the cover letter, which also contains the general personal data, follows a sheet with several paragraphs of text – the credit history. You can understand when the company submitted what information to Schufa.

the credit history must not be complete. If, for example, your bank is not a Schufa contract partner, the credit bureau will not investigate your current account. If you discover information that is out of date or even false, you must report it to Schufa.

This is followed by a sheet of scores sent by Schufa to the applicant companies last year. At first glance, the picture seems confused: the "score", the "ranking level", the "probability of achievement" and the "data types" are discussed.

Let's start with the six data types: Here you can clbadify schufa into risk categories. For example, a "++" under "Credit history length" means that consumers with relatively long trading relationships with their banks generally have a much lower risk than the average. And an "o" under "General Data" means that people with similar personal information (age, gender, number of addresses) represent a medium risk. Depending on the sector and the version, the risk categories may differ. The weighting of the underlying characteristics in the calculation of the score is a trade secret.

Now for Value Score: The Schufa returns to this numeric value if you have inserted your characteristics into Schufa's secret formula. In the scores of version 2.0 (calculation method introduced in 2008) and version 3.0 (introduced in 2017), scores are between 0 and 10,000 points. The higher will be the better.

The score is derived from the score rating level from. Depending on the economic sector to which the score is determined, the Schufa distinguishes up to 15 rating levels, marked by letters ranging from A (highly creditworthy) to P (non-creditworthy).

This letter corresponds in turn to a so-called probability achievement, C & # 39; is the percentage that is commonly called the "Schufa score". That's the likelihood that a consumer, according to Schufa, will properly repay a loan.

And for those who have too many numbers and shortcuts, the Schufa translates this into words in the last column: "low risk to manageable" is there for example.

On a separate sheet is finally the so-called basic coreIt is similar to the table's running probabilities, but it's not industry-specific. She is also sent if Schufa has not submitted a score to a company during the last year.

How to improve the Schufa score?

Although Schufa's formula is secret, there are some rules of conduct to get a good score:

• Pay bills on time: If you are reminded in writing at least twice, the creditor can report the late payment to Schufa. Therefore, always make sure to pay your bills on time. Use pre-authorized debits or standing orders to pay normal amounts.
• Number of accounts and contracts: The conclusion of account verification, credit card and mobile phone contracts is usually reported by the supplier to Schufa. An excessive number of accounts or contracts can have a negative impact on the score, even in the absence of payment problems. Therefore, avoid continuing to use accounts that you no longer actively use and determine if the cheapest rate combining multiple mobile contracts is worth it.
• Do not over-stretch the dispenser unnecessarily: The establishment of a disbursement credit and its amount can be reported by banks to the Schufa. It is not included in the calculation of the rating, according to Schufa. Avoid over-using your credit line. If there are pending requests for termination of the emergency loan, this may result in a Schufa entry.
• Pay the loan installments regularly: If you have difficulty paying your installments, be sure to talk to your bank quickly. If it is a termination of the loan by the bank, your Schufa score may be reduced.
• Keep an eye on the Schufa data: Use the free self-badessment to track the data you have stored. If false information appears in your information, you must immediately contact the Schufa and ask for the deletion of the entry. If you have chequing or credit cards in your information, you can ask your bank to add them. Especially if the Schufa has not yet registered any information about you.

Good information for finding accommodation

In addition to the current pay statements, homeowners often need a credit report to protect themselves against rent losses. To this end, Schufa offers fee-based information that succinctly certifies whether it contains only positive contractual information or whether negative entries are also stored.

If you do not want to pay for this, you can also use free personal information. But be aware that this contains much more information than the potential owner needs from you. It is recommended to black out confidential information such as bank account numbers or credit amount. Even in this case, the landlord learns, for example, the number of accounts and credit cards you have.

Disclosure: Schufa's competitor, Arvato, belongs to the Bertelsmann group. His daughter, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, is involved in 25.5% stake in SPIEGEL-Verlag. Whatever the case may be, the SPIEGEL report is, of course, editorial independent.