4.7612 reviews

What is the Bureau of Credit Registration and what does it do?

Written on July 27, 2019 by Björn de Haan LL.B.
  • Trial lawyer
The BKR

The Bureau Krediet Registratie (BKR) is a private foundation in Tiel that monitors and registers loans and credit. In this article, we take you through:

  • What kind of organization is the BKR?
  • What is the purpose of the BKR?
  • What data does the BKR have on you?
  • How many people have a negative BKR registration?
  • What are the consequences of a BKR registration?

The BKR offers lenders access to the credit data of consumers who want to take out a loan or credit. The BKR keeps records of credits and loans on an individual basis. Payment arrears outstanding for more than 60 or 90 days are also registered. Lenders (for example, banks) can request information from the BKR to determine whether a consumer is creditworthy. This allows the lender to easily see if someone is in arrears or has been in arrears for up to five years. Lenders are also required to register a new loan with a minimum value of €250 with BKR.

What is the purpose of the BKR?

The BKR was originally created to prevent overindebtedness. Overcrediting means that consumers do not borrow more than their wallets will allow. The BKR system thus helps prevent problematic consumer debt. It is required by law that organizations that extend credit must be affiliated with a credit registration system. Currently, the BKR is the only organization that performs registrations. This makes the BKR a monopolist.

Offering a range of services to its customers, the BKR has outgrown itself. The BKR's customers are lenders and financial service providers affiliated with it. The BKR's customers have access to the BKR's system. This system is called the Central Credit Information System (CKI). A small sample of the BKR's product range are, BKR score, BKR test, BKR screening, BKR sanction test and fraud prevention.

The goal of the BKR is twofold. On the one hand, the BKR wants to serve its customers as well as possible by registering more things like student loans. On the other hand, the BKR's system ensures that problematic debts can be prevented.

The BKR provides only objective information. Based on the credit data, the lender makes a decision whether or not to provide financing to a consumer. Thus, the BKR does not decide whether or not consumers can obtain financing.

 

What does the BKR know about you?

The BKR only knows the things about you that are important for providing credit. For example, they know information such as your name, date of birth and your address. They know what kind of agreement you have with the lender and in many cases the amount of credit. They also know the start and end dates of the credit. Did you pay off earlier than initially agreed? Then that too is registered with the BKR. The actual end date and expected end date are on your BKR statement. Also, if there are any particularities (payment arrears) during the term of the credit, these are registered with the BKR.

So the BKR has the data relevant to objectively record your loan or credit and then pass it on to organizations that want to query your credit status.

What does the BKR not know about you?

The BKR is not aware of your income. They also do not know if you have debts with your rental order or the IRS. They also do not know about unpaid bills with businesses. Nor is student debt registered with the BKR. In fact, all these debts do not result from closed loans.

You will have to take these debts into account when you apply for a mortgage, for example. Although these debts are not registered with the BKR, they can significantly reduce your monthly disposable income. A lender will therefore not always take this into account when assessing whether you will be granted financing, but debts with the tax authorities or DUO can prevent you from meeting the obligations of a new loan.

What can the BKR do for you?

Consumers (under the AVG) can access their BKR data free of charge. The BKR provides you with an overview of current and terminated credits and loans registered in your name. Terminated loans remain visible on your statement for five years after the termination date. It also records details such as arrears and charge-offs.

It is common for the BKR to show you registrations that you were not aware of. For example, did you know that being allowed to be in the red on a current account is already registered with the BKR? This is a positive BKR registration. It is wise to request your BKR statement before taking out a new credit. This way you can see the credits registered in your name and know if you have any negative registrations.

Get your BKR information for free here.

Specifically, what does this mean?

When you buy a new sofa set on installment from a mail order company, for example, it is a form of a loan. After all, you are paying off in installments and this means you are taking out a loan. Before the mail order company engages with you, they will check with the BKR to see if you are negatively registered.

A negative registration on your BKR statement is a warning to the mail order company: you have previously been unable to meet your payment obligation. If your BKR statement is free of negative registrations, you will be able to close the credit.

The mail order company will then make a report to the BKR that you have entered into credit. You will then be positively registered. This is just a formality. Do you miss several payment deadlines? Only then will you get a negative BKR registration. This can have serious consequences when you want to take out your next credit.

How many people are negatively registered with the BKR?

The total number of persons recorded by BKR in the Central Credit Information System (CKI) was nearly 11 million at the end of 2018. Compared to 2017, this is an increase of over 350,000 persons. This increase can be explained by the fact that telephone loans are now included in the CKI. Of these 11 million persons, 6.2% were negatively registered. This amounts to about 682,000 persons with a negative BKR registration.

If these 682,000 persons are divided into age categories, those between the ages of 31 and 40 have the most negative registrations. 10% of them have negative registrations in the CKI. In second place is the 25-30 age group.

Of them, 9% have a negative BKR registration. In the age group of 71 and older, only 1.5% have a negative BKR registration.

What are the consequences of a negative registration?

A negative registration with the BKR may prevent you from taking out a loan. Now that may not seem like a big deal, but so you may not be able to get a mortgage or lease a car. Once you pay off the loan, an expiration date is posted by the lender. Note that the registration will remain for up to 5 years after the credit is repaid. Do you want to buy a house or lease a car sooner? Then Dynamite Netherlands can help you remove the BKR registration.

Dynamite bkr

4.7 612 reviews