Frequently asked questions about emergency payment freeze

Questions Answers
How do I qualify for an emergency payment freeze?

What is an emergency payment freeze?

If you are at risk of not being able to meet your financial commitments as a result of reduced pay, illness from coronavirus or because you no longer have a job as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, you can contact your credit provider directly to request an emergency payment freeze

The emergency payment freeze means you have agreed in advance with your credit provider that you will not be making repayments for an agreed length of time e.g. 3 months

It is important to realise that you will still owe the amounts that you haven’t repaid during your emergency payment freeze and that these will have to be repaid at a later date.

Your credit provider will be able to explain to you how that will work.

I can’t get hold of my credit provider to set up an emergency payment freeze can I just cancel my direct debits?

If you miss a payment without agreeing to an emergency payment freeze with your credit provider this may be shown as a late payment on your credit report and could have an impact on your credit score.

For information on the factors that influence your score visit our Knowledge Centre

What happens to my credit score if I take an emergency payment freeze?

Once you have an emergency payment freeze agreed with your credit provider they will suspend future payments and freeze the repayment status of your account at the point the emergency payment freeze was agreed.  They will then continue to report this repayment status to the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) for the period you are on an emergency payment freeze.  This should minimise any impact on your credit score. 

However other changes to your credit information may have an impact on your credit score; e.g. making multiple applications for credit in a short period of time, or how much of your available credit you are currently using.

Please be aware that if you miss a payment without agreeing an emergency payment freeze with your credit provider this may be shown as a late payment on your credit report and could have an impact on your credit score.

For information on the factors that influence your score visit our Knowledge Centre

What happens to my credit report when I take an emergency payment freeze?

Once you have an emergency payment freeze agreed with your credit provider they will suspend future payments and freeze the repayment status of your account at the point the emergency payment freeze was agreed.  They will then continue to report this repayment status to the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) for the period you are on an emergency payment freeze. 

For example;
If you were in one month’s arrears before the emergency payment freeze starts your repayment status will continue to show one month in arrears. Unless you make an additional payment to clear the arrears.  In which case your status will show as ‘up to date’

If you were up-to-date with your repayments before the emergency payment freeze starts your repayment status will show ‘up to date’, and will continue to show this status whilst you are on an emergency payment freeze

You can find the status of all the credit agreements in your Equifax Credit Report by

  • Logging into to your Equifax Account
  • Selecting the Equifax Credit Report tab
  • Selecting the Credit Agreement section within your Equifax Credit Report
  • Each account has an account information table and the repayment status can be found on the right hand side of the table.
My information on my credit file doesn’t look up to date, why is that?

Due to the high volumes of emergency payment freeze requests to credit providers it has been agreed between the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) and the companies that provide them with monthly updates that these updates can be deferred for a period of time.  This is to ensure that the credit providers can process all the emergency payment freeze requests they are currently dealing with.

Therefore if one of your credit providers has not updated their credit information as part of their monthly update to the CRA your information on your credit report will reflect your repayment status from the last month that we have information from that credit provider.

Who tells the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) that I am now on an emergency payment freeze?

Credit providers provide monthly updates to the CRAs that include a status code that is reflective of your repayment status.  Once you have an emergency payment freeze agreed with your credit provider they will suspend future payments and freeze the repayment status of your account at the point the emergency payment freeze was agreed.  They will then continue to report this status for the period you are on an emergency payment freeze.
Please note there is no flag to indicate that you are on an emergency payment freeze.

If you need an emergency payment freeze on more than one of your credit accounts you need to speak to each of your credit providers directly to see how they can help you. 

If I have an emergency payment freeze on one of my credit accounts, will I automatically have an emergency payment freeze on all of my other credit accounts?

Will my other credit providers know that I have obtained an Emergency payment freeze on some of my credit accounts.

If you need an emergency payment freeze on more than one of your credit accounts you need to speak to each of your credit providers directly to see how they can help you. 

There are no specific flags or markers that indicate the presence of an emergency payment freeze.

Once you have an emergency payment freeze agreed with your credit provider they will suspend future payments and freeze the repayment status of your account at the point the emergency payment freeze was agreed.  They will then continue to report this repayment status to the CRA’s (credit reference agencies) for the period you are on an emergency payment freeze.

For example;
If you were in one month’s arrears before the emergency payment freeze starts your repayment status will continue to show one month in arrears. Unless you make an additional payment to clear the full arrears.  In which case your status will show as ‘up to date’

If you were up-to-date with your repayments before the emergency payment freeze starts your repayment status will show ‘up to date’, and will continue to show this status  whilst you are on a emergency payment freeze .

You can find the status of all the credit agreements in your Equifax Credit Report by

  • Logging into to your Equifax Account
  • Selecting the Equifax Credit Report tab
  • Selecting the Credit Agreement section within your Equifax Credit Report

Each account has an account information table and the repayment status can be found on the right hand side of the table.

Will I have to pay interest later or will my loan term be extended when the emergency payment freeze is up?

You should speak to your credit provider directly to find out how they will manage your account after the emergency payment freeze has come to an end

Can I ask for an extension beyond the initially agreed period for the emergency payment freeze if I am still experiencing financial difficulties after it comes to an end?

You will need to speak to your credit provider to see how they can continue to support you.

What if I am renting, how do I ask my landlord for a rental holiday?

You should contact your landlord directly to request a rent payment holiday.

What proof do I have to provide to a credit provider/landlord that I qualify for a credit holiday?

Your credit provider/landlord will confirm the information you need to provide.

What other information is there to help me?

Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority – mortgage holiday FAQ’s

Money Advice Service – A guide to mortgage payment holidays

UK Government information on mortgage holidays

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