Schufa & Schufa entries

Many consumers wonder whether they can have a Schufa entry deleted that appears on their Schufa report. But when does it make sense to have a Schufa entry removed? If you want to take out a loan, the lender will usually request a report from Schufa about the borrower before approving the loan. Schufa is a company that acts as a credit bureau and stores all kinds of data and facts about private individuals and businesses. This storage is legal and is intended to protect contractual partners of consumers and companies from payment defaults.

Discover errors with a Schufa check - how to do it for free

You should check your Schufa entries once a year as a consumer to review the contents and, if necessary, have an incorrect Schufa entry removed. This is easy to do via an online form and is free of charge. You can find this report at Schufa under "Data copy (pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR)". This report contains information about all data stored by Schufa as well as the source of the data and to whom it was passed on.

Attention: Schufa also offers various packages from around €40 per year plus an activation fee for regular checks. For a detailed report, however, additional fees are charged even with a subscription. Generally, such offers are worthwhile mainly for businesses.

If errors occur, they can be reported directly to Schufa. It is important, however, that you can prove to Schufa that it is indeed an error.

It helps if you can refute the error with compelling documents and evidence. But what are the retention periods at Schufa?

Deleting a Schufa entry: retention periods

Schufa has a retention period of 3 years for the storage of certain data. Therefore, loans that have already been repaid may still appear in the Schufa file. While general personal details never expire or cannot automatically be deleted, completed payments are subject to a 3-year retention period.

If a loan has been properly repaid, Schufa must delete the Schufa entry 3 years after repayment. Information about old mobile contracts, accounts, or other payment obligations that the consumer has properly fulfilled must also be deleted after 3 years. However, this only happens if the contractual partners have reported the completion of the matter to Schufa.

If this is not the case, Schufa cannot delete the data from the Schufa entry because it is not aware that the matter has been settled. In such a case, the consumer must take action and initiate the deletion. Schufa refers to the telephone hotline, contact by post, or the paid login area for this purpose. It is important to have the deletion confirmed by Schufa, preferably in writing, to be on the safe side.

Also note: if Schufa data were requested by, for example, credit companies, this is stored—but only for 12 months.

Have a negative Schufa entry removed?

Not all entries can be deleted. Negative Schufa entries can only be removed if they are unjustified. Here too, the consumer bears the burden of proof and must be able to demonstrate their innocence to Schufa.

Since negative Schufa entries usually concern financial problems such as unpaid amounts or even payment and enforcement orders, you typically must apply to the court (central enforcement court) to have the Schufa entry removed. Otherwise, these entries can generally only be deleted once the debt has been settled.

A standard review takes place three years after the report of the payment default to determine whether the entry still needs to be retained.

Effects of a negative Schufa entry

If you have a negative record in Schufa, you may feel the consequences in many areas of daily life. Taking out a loan is often made more difficult, as is concluding a mobile phone contract or buying a TV on instalments. The Schufa check can therefore be problematic for the individual.

Fortunately, nowadays you can turn to alternatives and can even take out loans without a Schufa check or sign a prepaid mobile contract. There are also worthwhile alternatives in the area of credit cards that do not require a good Schufa score.

With all these options, however, it is always important to keep an eye on your debts and stay on top of them. Debts make everyday life considerably harder and are always a burden—not only financially but also mentally: if you live with the daily fear that a bailiff might appear at your door, you cannot relax and enjoy life.

Before it gets that far, it is better to repay accumulated debts with the help of a loan in small instalments; then they will soon be history and life will be enjoyable again.

How Schufa works

Schufa obtains the data from local courts or from contractual partners who report directly to Schufa. This happens, for example, when you open an account or sign a phone contract. Schufa also collects general data such as the consumer's name, date of birth and address. Loans, payment defaults and outstanding liabilities are also recorded in Schufa.

In general, a distinction is made between positive and negative entries. Positive entries are those that relate to personal details or account openings, credit card applications or phone contracts. Negative entries are added when you have not satisfactorily met your obligations.

To consolidate all this data into a result, it is classified in a table. Schufa thus creates a so-called score value, which is intended to indicate how creditworthy and reliable a consumer or a company is.

Schufa as consumer protection

Schufa does not only want to protect contractual partners. It also aims to protect consumers themselves from over-indebtedness. If the Schufa check is negative, it becomes more difficult to take out a loan or conclude contracts that involve payments. It is still possible, but as a consumer you then have to look a bit harder and find a suitable partner.

Thus, Schufa should not only be seen as a burden for many consumers, but also as a rescuer in an emergency. After all, this institution has certainly saved some consumers from falling into the debt trap.

Schufa is financed by its contractual partners, who must pay a fee for each query. Over the year, these fees add up and ensure the financial security of the credit bureau. However, not every entry stored at Schufa is correct. Incorrect entries can repeatedly appear—either because they were forgotten to be deleted or because they were assigned to the wrong person.

For this reason, it is highly recommended that consumers regularly check their own Schufa entries and verify their accuracy. Many incorrect entries can thus be deleted. If these erroneous entries are negative, they can lead to a poor score and make life difficult without reason.