May 28, 2023, 12:10 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
A Schufa entry is often equated with debt, insolvency, or low creditworthiness. However, that’s not entirely accurate. On the contrary, Schufa data can even be helpful. We debunk the myths and explain how you can access the data Schufa has stored about you.
A Schufa entry is often equated with debt, insolvency, or low creditworthiness. However, that’s not entirely accurate. On the contrary, Schufa data can even be helpful. Besides the often-mentioned negative entries, there are also entries that positively impact the score. For example, when individuals regularly and reliably pay loan installments or contract fees. Such positive entries actually make up the majority of the data stored by Schufa. Whether positive or negative, the fact that Schufa collects extensive data on individuals has been repeatedly discussed in court. As a result of these proceedings, Schufa significantly reduced the storage duration of certain data in spring 2023.
Overview
Schufa has a reputation that is mostly negative among the majority of Germans. After all, possessing over a billion pieces of information on nearly 68 million citizens and six million companies inevitably arouses mistrust. Additionally, Schufa Holding AG is not a regulated authority but a private German credit bureau. However, Schufa is not a data monster greedily devouring all information about us. It is a company whose shareholders come from the financial sector and trade, founded in 1927. The abbreviation stands for “Schutzgemeinschaft für allgemeine Kreditsicherung” (Protection Association for General Credit Security).
What is Schufa and what data does it collect?
Schufa holds creditworthiness information on individuals and companies. This can include negative information, such as contract breaches or garnishments. However, it also includes positive information, such as when individuals open a bank account, have customer accounts with telecommunications providers, or have credit agreements.
However, Schufa also stores due claims or the misuse of accounts and credit cards. Additionally, it supplements its information with public databases, for example, if someone has filed an affidavit or applied for personal bankruptcy. Lastly, Schufa also knows typical contact details such as name, date of birth, or current and previous addresses.
From all this data, Schufa calculates a score that indicates how creditworthy a person is. For a long time, the company remained silent about how exactly the score is calculated. However, Schufa has now provided insight into the process. Problems arose in cases where the company accessed apparently outdated data. Debtors complained, among other things, that Schufa continued to store negative entries about a completed personal bankruptcy, even though the corresponding entry in the public nationwide insolvency portal had already expired. Unlike insolvenzbekanntmachungen.de, Schufa did not store the data for six months after the completion of the bankruptcy but for up to three years. This led to various lawsuits. Against this backdrop, Schufa has now also reduced the storage duration for a completed personal bankruptcy from three years to just six months.
Read more about it: Schufa shortens storage duration for personal bankruptcies
The assessment of a person’s creditworthiness may initially sound harsh, but it can also be a helpful support for quick and unbureaucratic contract conclusions. According to Schufa, over 90 percent of all stored individuals have exclusively positive information. This facilitates, for example, purchasing on account or financing a new car when the dealer receives a positive Schufa report about the customer.
Which data is not stored
In contrast, Schufa does not collect data on assets or income. It also does not have information about occupation, club memberships, marital status, religion, or nationality. Nor are marketing data, such as purchasing behavior or information from social networks, stored.
Simulate Your Own Schufa Score–This Website Makes It Possible
Sensitive financial data of millions of users freely available online
How to request your personal information
When you apply for a loan at a bank, the bank requests information from Schufa to check your creditworthiness. The focus is on the so-called score, which indicates the probability of a loan default. The lower the score, the higher the risk of a loan default. According to Schufa, the score is a statistical forecast that provides insight into how likely it is that a person will meet their payment obligations in the future. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve a Schufa score of 100 percent, as this would be equivalent to an absolute payment guarantee. Particularly creditworthy individuals usually achieve a score of 95 percent or higher.
To find out what data Schufa has stored about you and what your score is, users can request personal information under Art. 15 GDPR. This information is free once a year. The request can be made online at www.meineschufa.de. You should ensure that you only fill out the mandatory fields marked with an asterisk (*). All other data in the input mask is optional. Users only need to provide:
- First name, last name
- Date of birth
- Street and house number
- Postal code and city
- Country
Information on birth name, place of birth, previous addresses, and/or a second residence is not required and is optional. You should handle the data sent to you carefully, as it contains sensitive personal information such as bank and credit card data.
Beware of online scammers who want to charge a fee for the free personal information. To avoid such traps, you should request the personal information directly on the Schufa website. However, this can only be done online, with the data being sent by mail to the applicant.
Also interesting: Did you know what the tax office knows about you?
Paid Schufa services
In addition to the free personal information, Schufa offers other services and information for which you have to pay. This includes the offer at www.meineschufa.de, which costs a one-time activation fee of 9.95 euros and is available monthly from 3.95 euros. This is the compact subscription of the service. For 4.95 euros (Plus) or 6.95 euros (Premium) per month, you receive a protection package, where Schufa scans the internet and even the dark web and warns users if sensitive personal data appears.
With the account, you mainly get daily access to your data, essentially the digital personal information, which can then also be requested without limit. A personal telephone consultation is also available for questions. Additionally, there is a credit report for 29.95 euros. It contains only the data relevant for a specific contract conclusion, for example, if a landlord wants to check your creditworthiness. This way, landlords gain the assurance of getting solvent tenants, while your chances of getting the desired apartment increase–provided the entry is positive. Since Schufa is not free from errors, you should regularly request the annual free personal information.