Payment default entry

Not paying your debts or bills may lead to a bad credit record or a payment default entry in the credit register.

Simply paying a bill late will not lead to a payment default entry; one will only be recorded if you still do not pay your debts or bills after receiving payment reminders and demands for payment. A creditor must inform a debtor or at least attempt to reach the debtor if a payment default entry is about to be recorded for the debtor. The administrator of the credit register always informs the debtor in writing of the first payment default entry made.

In addition to not paying debts or bills, a payment default entry may be recorded based on a debt on which a court judgment has been issued, submitting an application for debt adjustment, a wage garnishment that has lasted for more than two years, or when a debtor is deemed insolvent in enforcement proceedings.

Effects of a payment default entry

A payment default entry affects your general creditworthiness. It makes it more difficult for you to receive new credit or be allowed to pay for purchases in instalments, and often also complicates renting an apartment, getting a mobile phone plan or taking out insurance. It can also prevent you from getting a job if the job includes financial responsibilities.

A payment default entry has no effect on rent agreements, mobile phone plans or home insurance policies if these agreements were made before the entry was recorded and you pay the related payments on time.

The validity periods of payment default entries vary, but most often an entry remains in the register for two to three years. More information about payment default entries and their expiry (oikeuspalveluvirasto.fi).

Credit registers

You can check effective payment default entries and their validity periods from your credit record extract. The information may be checked for free once each year. The register administrator may collect a fee for requests to view your information submitted more frequently than this.

Self-imposed credit ban

A self-imposed credit ban is a limitation that you set in advance that makes getting new credit more difficult and may help with stopping a debt cycle. It also prevents other people from taking out loans in the name of the person who set the ban. This is especially important if you have reason to suspect that your personal data has ended up in unauthorised hands.

The parties maintaining credit registers each have their own systems. It is recommended that you set a credit ban with all of them. A credit ban in the Positive credit register is free of charge, in other parties’ registers you must pay for the ban.