Information Office…
Before going into a broader description, let’s unravel the abbreviations to get rid of the impression left by their pronunciation:
- BIK is the Bureau of Credit Information;
- BIG is the Bureau of Economic Information.
It is worth starting with the fact that BIK is a single institution, while BIGs in Poland at the moment we have as many as five. They are:
- BIG InfoMonitor (which cooperates with BIK).
- National Debt Register BIG
- National Bureau of Economic Information (KBIG).
- National Information on Telecommunications Debts (KIDT).
- ERIF Economic Information Bureau
Business Information Offices are competing entities between which there is no flow of information. This means that a consumer or businessman who wants to check on a counterparty or make sure that his own situation in terms of active or closed debts is clear should inquire with all BIGs.
Legislative acts for BIK and BIG
What data Credit Information Bureaus and Business Information Offices can collect and gather is governed by various regulations. For the BIK, the most important legal act is the Banking Law, and it is also partially affected by the Personal Data Protection Act and the Regulation of the Minister of Finance on the detailed scope of data to be exchanged between institutions established under banking law and lending institutions and other entities.
Business Information Offices are also subject to the Data Protection Act, but in addition, the Act on Provision of Business Information and Exchange of Business Data applies to them.
Data in Information Offices
Another important difference between BIK and BIG is the type of data collected by these entities.
What data does the BIK store?
The Credit Information Bureau aggregates data on active credit obligations – it is usually provided there by a bank or other financial institution to which the debtor owes money. BIK may store the following data:
- About active credits and loans;
- On closed-end loan commitments;
- About credit cards, limits and overdrafts;
- About installment purchases.
Data processing by BIK
If the loan or credit was repaid regularly and without exceeding the deadlines (a delay of up to 60 days is allowed), the BIK stops storing loan data as of the date of repayment of the last installment and transfers the collected information to the statistical database. This information is not visible to the banks, so if we want them to build our credit history, we must agree to process it.
In the event that the obligation is repaid with a delay of more than 60 days, the loan data will be stored for 5 more years in the BIK, and only after that time will it be transferred to the statistical database (from where it will disappear after another 12 years).
What kind of data do BIGs store?
In the BIGs, we can find the following information:
- On payments from any area of the economy;
- On unpaid receivables;
- On unpaid fines, court taxes and alimony;
- On payments regulated according to the schedule (positive information).
Data processing by BIGs
Data can be referred to one of the offices if the amount of receivables is at least PLN 200 or PLN 500 (for consumers and entrepreneurs, respectively), if the due date has passed at least 30 days earlier and a minimum of 30 days have passed since the sending of a payment summons containing information about the intention to transfer the debtor’s data to one of the BIGs (along with the bureau’s data).
If the debtor pays off the debt in full, the entity that referred his data to the BIG is obliged to remove the entry within 14 days. On the other hand, if the debt still exists, the Economic Information Bureau keeps information on it for 6 years (if the debtor is a consumer) or for 10 years (if the debtor is a business).
Use of collected data
The information we can find in the BIK and BIG is most often used to check contractors, verify creditworthiness and check entries about ourselves (for example, to avoid an unpleasant surprise when applying for a loan).
Banks and SKOKs can use data collected in the BIK without the consent of the person being checked – this is due to the Banking Law, as verification of the subject in connection with a credit application or for the purpose of monitoring the status of a pending loan is a so-called “credit check”. banking activities.
Data stored in BIG databases can be viewed by banks, SKOKs and other financial institutions, as well as offices, cooperatives, foundations, associations, businesses and consumers – the latter, however, cannot verify the debts of other consumers.
How do you check your situation?
The desire to take out a loan or to make sure that all payment information is submitted correctly can make us interested in verifying our situation with BIK and BIG. How to do it?
Downloading a BIK report
The Credit Information Bureau provides all consumers and businesses with the ability to generate a report on themselves. All you need to do is visit the BIK website and order a single report or an annual package of monthly reports – regardless of the option you choose, the report you receive will include the history of our credit obligations from the BIK database and financial obligations from the BIG InfoMonitor database (BIK cooperates with this office). In addition, the document includes a payment situation indicator and a credit score.
BIG verification
The situation is similar in the BIGs – in each of them it is enough to create an account, fill in personal data, send a scan of an identity document and download the report. Note: access to the report of any BIG on your own subject is free of charge, provided that you use it no more often than once every 6 months.
