(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke (with savings) the Consumer Credit (Credit Reference Agency) Regulations 1977 ("the 1977 Regulations"). They supplement sections 157 to 160 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 ("the 1974 Act") and section 9(3) of the Data Protection Act 1998 ("the 1998 Act"), which relate to the disclosure to consumers of information about their financial standing held by credit reference agencies and the correction of such information where it is found to be wrong or incomplete.

Section 157 of the 1974 Act requires a creditor, owner or negotiator to disclose to a debtor or hirer on request the name and address of any credit reference agency he has consulted about the debtor’s or hirer’s financial standing, and these Regulations prescribe a period of seven working days during which such a request must be complied with (regulation 3).