Help with your SCHUFA-Score

First of all: almost every private person in Germany is “in SCHUFA”. Initially, this only means that we have data about you. And by the way, over 90% of all people “in SCHUFA” have exclusively positive entries.

To the topics

Creditworth & Scoring

Scoring explained - go the Score Simulator here

The seven most important score factors – simulated in seven steps. That’s the Score Simulator.

Test now

SCORES & CREDITWORTHINESS

WHAT THE SCORE SAYS ABOUT CREDITWORTHINESS

Good score? Bad score? Companies decide whether they want to do business with you.

What generally applies: the higher the score figure, the better. Statistically, over 90% of all consumers have exclusively positive characteristics and good creditworthiness. But even a negative SCHUFA entry does not have to mean the end of a transaction. Every company decides themselves if they want to conclude an agreement with you and not SCHUFA

Why is my score not 100%?

The score depicts a statistical forecast. For example, it states how probable it is that a person will meet their payment obligations in the future. A score of 100% would mean that a payment default is absolutely and generally ruled out.

But it’s like this. Even if you have paid everything in your life contractually so far, situations could theoretically occur in the future that would prevent you from meeting your payment obligations. For example, due to an illness, the loss of your job or also death. Consequently, a score of 100% can never be reached, because there cannot be a complete guarantee of payment.

How and why does a score change?

The period during which a score changes depends on many different conditions. Payment problems indicate an increased risk and the score will fall. In contrast, if credit is paid off over a longer period of time without any problems, it will rise.

Important: Erasure deadlines also ensure that information can no longer be stored after a set period of time.

What is the difference between the Basisscore and Branchenscore?

The Basisscore is a percentage figure that expresses the statistical probability whether a person will meet their payment obligations. The Basisscore provides an assessment of creditworthiness across economic branches. It is not forwarded to companies.

We would think a good Basisscore is above 95%. However, every provider assesses for themselves whether and under which conditions they want to conclude a transaction with you. And they often also use their own data for this. As a result, we cannot say at which SCHUFA-Score a transaction will be made and at which it will not. The provider always decides this.

Branchenscores are tailored especially to the needs and risk appetite of different economic branches, such as the SCHUFA-Score for online retail or banks. The idea behind this is that there can be different payment priorities for the same person. This means, for example, that seen statistically, it is more probable that real estate loans will be paid back than instalments for a mobile phone contract.

HOW CAN I GET MY DATA

AND MY SCHUFA-SCORE?

Our tip. Keep an eye on your data!

Regularly check the data SCHUFA has saved about you. You can request a free data copy to do this. Or you can also use the fee-based access to our online portal to view your current data at any time.

SCHUFA data copy free of charge

If you want to find out what is saved about you at the moment, just request a free data copy through our website. Everything will be listed there. We’ll send it to you by post within just a few days. However, we recommend you do not forward the data copy to third parties, because it will contain information only intended for you.

To the data copy

OUR ONLINE PORTAL: MEINESCHUFA

Using our fee-based products at meineSCHUFA, consumers can get an overview of the data stored about them personally at SCHUFA and any changes made to the data at any time. In this way you’ll be able to see which contractual partners request data about you, or register and use the UpdateService by text message and/or email. Which means we’ll automatically notify you if your data changes. We can offer you three products completely customised to your needs with different services and costs.

To the online portal

I think there’s some information missing from my SCHUFA record. What can I do?

If, for example, an item of credit is not stored with us, this may be because the lending company does not work together with us. There are some isolated cases where a contractual partner has neglected to inform us in good time. We’ll be pleased to clarify this for you. How you can reach us:

As a registered user easily and conveniently via the personal area. You can register for fee-based online access at www.meineschufa.de here

By telephone on 0611 – 92780. You can reach us from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 7 pm (except on national public holidays in Germany).
By post to:
SCHUFA Holding AG
Privatkunden ServiceCenter
Postfach 10 34 41
50474 Cologne

You’ll find further information here.

How long will a negative entry in SCHUFA exist?

Depending on the characteristics, the deletion periods for negative entries can range between a few months and several years. You’ll find more detailed information here.

WHAT CAN I DO TO GET A

GOOD SCHUFA-SCORE?

The score is not formed by any single factor, but by the interactions between a large number of factors.

There are also a number of starting points for a good score. But what is clearly in first place here is that invoices and instalments must be paid punctually and of course – must not remain unpaid. You should also comply with credit lines. Such as an overdraft facility. All of this will have positive effects on the score. For the future, we are working on solutions that will help you to proactively improve your score. For example, if you want, you can send us additional information about your creditworthiness.

Not every move can be avoided and not every move is bad for creditworthiness

But statistically, frequent moves lead to financial burdens and increased costs that can affect repayment behaviour. This can be reflected in the score.

An accumulation of current accounts and credit cards can negatively influence the score.

Why is this? It’s mostly possible to overdraw a current account without any problems and credit cards are also often offered with a credit limit. If these possibilities have been fully exhausted, the household budget can be permanently burdened. Seen statistically, this leads to an increased danger of disruptions to the repayment of loans.

SCHUFA TIP 1

Keep an eye on your data stored at SCHUFA

Our tip – regularly check the data stored about you at SCHUFA. You can request a free data copy for this. Or you can also use one of the meineSCHUFA-Pakete online to view your current data. If you think the data stored at SCHUFA is not correct or is incomplete, please contact our private client service. If demonstrably faulty data has been used, this will be corrected or deleted immediately.

SCHUFA Tip 2

Protect yourself against data misuse & identity fraud

Internet crime, data misuse and identity theft are becoming increasingly common in Germany. According to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), there are well over 100,000 cases of cybercrime per year. Criminals get hold of credit card data or gain access to your online banking system and start ordering things. As long as an identity theft remains unnoticed, the invoices and reminders will start to pile up. This can lead to SCHUFA-Einträge and your score will deteriorate. We offer regular monitoring for these cases – in the internet, and also in the Deep Web and Darknet, including an early warning service.

SCHUFA Ombudsman

As the only credit bureau in Germany to do so, since 2010 SCHUFA has offered an ombudsman procedure for consumers – free of charge, quick and unbureaucratic.

To the SCHUFA Ombudsman

HELP WITH YOUR SCHUFA-SCORE

WE’LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS