forbearance due to coronavirus should not impact credit ratings. · petition

What the petition asks

Forbearance arrangements due to the impact of coronavirus are so far being treated as defaults. Legislation is needed to prevent finance providers marking missed payments as defaults.

The effect of coronavirus on the economy is already going to be severe. Once the crisis is over, the economy will rely on lending to repair and grow. As banks and other financial institutions mark missed payments as defaults, thousands will be unable to borrow. Legislation is needed to prevent credit scores being affected when forbearance arrangements are a direct result of this pandemic.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

The scoring of credit reports is a matter for individual credit reference agencies in cooperation with lenders, not the Government or Parliament. The UK's three credit reference agencies have all issued statements and advice about what people should do if they are facing financial difficulties as a result of the outbreak. You can find these here:

TransUnion: https://www.transunion.com/covid-19
Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/about-equifax/covid-19-and-your-credit-score/
Experian: https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/help-discover/discover/guides/supporting-you.html

You could start a new petition calling on the Government to encourage credit reference agencies to show consideration to any negative transactions that have occurred during the coronavirus outbreak.

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

Timeline

18 Mar 2020	Petition opened for signatures
8 Apr 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee