Vodafone credit checks
A credit check is a review of your financial history.
We run a credit check to:
Confirm your identity
Check your creditworthiness - how likely you're to repay your debts on time
Understand if you can afford our products
Trace and recover debts
Prevent criminal activity
When we'll run a credit check
We'll run a credit check if you:
Apply for a new Pay monthly device or plan - including broadband plans
Upgrade an EVO Device Plan. A Device Plan is any device bought from us under a credit agreement, like a Phone Plan, Watch Plan, Tablet Plan or Laptop Plan
Apply for a Flexi-upgrade before the end of your minimum contract period
What happens during a credit check?
When we run a credit check, we'll:
Gather your information
We'll ask you for some financial and personal details, like your current address. We'll then check your personal details against the electoral roll and confirm your bank account details using third-party data services. We may ask about your monthly income and expenses so that we can understand what you can afford.
Run the credit check
Once we've confirmed your details, we'll share your information with the credit reference agencies we use - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They'll run a credit and identity check on you. They’ll also give us information about you, like your financial history.
Things we consider when you apply
When we're considering your application, we'll use our independent scoring system and/or automated decision-making systems based on the information we have and are allowed to collect from others. We aim to make decisions as quickly, efficiently, fairly and correctly as possible, based on what we know.
How our check affects your credit file
When we run a credit check, the agencies will make a record of it on your credit file - known as a 'search footprint'. This may be seen by other lenders.
We'll continue to share information about you with credit reference agencies while you have a relationship with us. Find out about the information we'll share
Why you might fail our credit check
We use our own scoring system that's separate to the one that credit reference agencies use. This means that you might fail our credit check, even if a credit agency has given you a high score.
We look at more than just your credit history when offering credit. You might fail our check because you don't have a UK bank account and a UK address. Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Overseas Territories aren't considered part of the UK.
We recommend you check your credit report for any tips about why you've been declined.
The details of the credit check aren't shared with our sales advisers - they'll only be able to tell you whether you've passed or not. They'll be able to let you know if there are other plans you can take out (for example, you might be able to take out a SIM only plan rather than an EVO plan with a loan).
Having lots of credit checks can affect your ability to borrow and may make it more expensive to borrow in the future.
What you can do if you don't pass our credit check
You can still join us - we don't run a credit check on:
Pay as you go Plus plans
Our Pay as you go Plus plans are open to all - there's no contract to sign or credit check to complete. You can also pause or cancel anytime.
Pay as you go data-only SIMs
Pop a data-only SIM card into a mobile broadband device. Then buy a data pack to get online.
If you want to appeal the decision
You can appeal a credit check decision, but only a small number of appeals are successful.
To prevent fraud, we can't share details about what would cause us to change our decision.
Before you appeal, make sure you check your latest credit report for any tips about why you've been declined. You can check your statutory credit report through the three credit reference agencies we use:
If you’ve checked your report and would still like to appeal, fill out our credit check appeal form
Get more help
We understand how important it is to stay connected. If you've missed a payment or are struggling to pay your next bill, head to our bill and payment support page
There are lots of organisations that can help you with your finances, including how to improve your credit score. If you use these links you'll leave our website, we're not responsible for the content on any third-party websites.
Money Helper
Debt Advice Foundation
Money Saving Expert
How we handle your data
We may use the information you give us for:
statistical analysis or testing to make sure the products and services we're creating are accurate, or for account management purposes. If we use this information for either of these reasons, it won't be recorded on your credit file. It won't be viewed by other organisations, and it won't impact your chances of getting credit in the future
debt tracing and claims assessments
Your details may also be used if you've given us specific permission, or as required by law.
When we might share your details
We may share your details with:
companies in the Vodafone Group
fraud and theft prevention agencies. Information held by fraud prevention agencies may be shared with other organisations to help them make decisions about other credit applications or insurance claims made by you, your business partners or anyone in your household
credit reference agencies. If you're unable to repay an outstanding debt in full and on time, we may tell the credit reference agencies, who'll record the outstanding debt
If you don't become a customer
We'll continue to hold information about you for two years, for customer enquiries, legal purposes and to prevent fraud.
Credit reference agencies we use
We use three credit reference agencies to run our credit checks:
Experian Limited
Post: Experian, PO BOX 9000, Nottingham, NG80 7WF Tel: 0800 013 8888
Equifax
Post: Equifax Limited, Customer Service Centre PO Box 10036, Leicester, LE3 4FS Tel: 0800 014 2955
TransUnion
Post: TransUnion, One Park Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS3 1EP Tel: 0330 024 7574
Commercial credit applications
As part of the commercial credit checking process, we'll look at both your personal and business credit records. However, the check that's carried out against your personal credit file won't be recorded by the credit reference agencies.
If you're making a commercial credit application, we'll also disclose information about your business and its owners to these agencies, who may create a record of the name and address of your business and its proprietors, if there isn't already one. If you, members of your household, or business partners you're financially connected to, make further credit applications then we or other organisations may use the information recorded on your personal or business credit file to help us make a decision.
It's important that you're aware that the information held about you by the reference agencies, or other business information providers, could be linked to existing records of your personal or business partners. So you should make sure you discuss this with them, and share with them this information, before lodging the application. Credit reference agencies will link your records together and these links will remain on your file and theirs until you or your partner successfully file for a disassociation with the credit reference agencies to break that link.
What you can do if you don't pass the credit check
You can appeal a credit check decision. To give us more information to support your application, complete our credit check appeal form
Make sure you have your extra information ready, such as your latest credit report from a credit reference agency.
How we handle your data
Every now and then we may use the information you give us for statistical analysis or testing to make sure the products and services we're creating are accurate, or for account management purposes. If we do use this information for either of these purposes, it won't be recorded on your credit reference file. It won’t be viewed by other organisations and it won't impact your chances of obtaining credit in the future.
We may share your details with other companies in our group as well as fraud and theft prevention agencies. Information held by fraud prevention agencies may be shared with other organisations to help them make decisions on other credit applications or insurance claims made by you, your business partners or anyone in your household. The information we hold may be used for debt tracing and claims assessments. If, for whatever reason, you're unable to repay an outstanding debt in full and on time, we may inform the credit reference agencies who will make a record of the outstanding debt.
The only other times your details may be used are if you've given us very specific permission or, in very limited circumstances, when required by law or where permitted under data protection laws.
If you don't become a customer of Vodafone Limited, we'll continue to hold information about you for customer enquiries and for legal purposes. It also helps in the prevention and detection of fraud.
You can request a copy of your credit reference file by writing directly to the agencies listed on this page. There's a small fee for this service and the files held by each agency may not be the same. Each of the agencies will be able to give you exact details of their charges when you contact them.
If we require more information
If we need more information relating to your application, we may contact you by email. We'll only use the following details when contacting you:
Emails will be sent from vbucreditassessmentescalations@help.vodafone.co.uk
Credit reference agencies we use
We use three credit reference agencies to run our credit checks:
Experian Limited
Post: Experian, PO BOX 9000, Nottingham, NG80 7WF Tel: 0800 013 8888
Equifax
Post: Equifax Limited, Customer Service Centre PO Box 10036, Leicester, LE3 4FS Tel: 0800 014 2955
TransUnion
Post: TransUnion, One Park Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS3 1EP Tel: 0330 024 7574
Open Banking - Consents.online
Consents.online provide a service that's used to connect your bank account with companies who need to verify your bank account information.
Consents.online are regulated by the FCA and provide you with a secure place to share your transaction data.
We also provide you with access to our free portal which will allow you to see what you have shared, control access to your data and revoke access at any time.
Consents.online will only be able to access your data if we have your explicit consent to do so.
Furthermore, once you have agreed to share your data, as part of the consents.online service, you will be able to revoke access at any stage.
A third party will only request the data it needs to provide their product or service to you.
You will always have the ability to make an informed decision or whether to share your data or not.
Consents.online is registered with, and regulated by, the FCA in order to act as an Account Information Service Provider.
This enables us to offer our services to you through the Open Banking scheme.
Security is at the heart of everything we do.
It is worth noting that Consents.online is required to meet certain criteria to be registered with the FCA in order to keep your data safe and secure. We also have to comply with the security standards that underpin Open Banking.
Finally, our company is pleased to note that it complies with the ISO 27001 global security standard.
When you give consent to consents.online to access your data on behalf of a financial services provider, you will go through a step where your bank/building society verifies your identity.
This is similar to how you access your internet or mobile banking services at the moment.
This process will inform your bank that you have securely shared your information with us as part of the Open Banking scheme.
You can opt-out of Open Banking services at any time you wish through the consents.online website or mobile app or through your bank/building society.
Either way, when you revoke access it will mean that consents.online and any services you previously granted access to will no longer be able to view your information.
No, it is completely free for all consumers.
Yes, Open Banking is a government initiative developed in partnership with the UK banking institutions.
The scheme has been developed with security and privacy at the front of the agenda and you can rest assured that it is perfectly safe for you to engage products and services as part of Open Banking.