Will most ex pats in Spain be registered with a credit reference agency such as Experian and if so how do you get hold of a copy of you record?

Highly unlikely that experian would be able to access your Spanish details, and it's one of the problems expats face when returning after several years, no credit rating, difficult to rent without paying several months up front.

... but the original question remains, which is - is there such a thing as a credit rating database in Spain? If so, how can the individual get details of their rating?

I for one would like to know.

Probably difficult to do in a cash under the matress country.

Experian is in Spain and Telefonica use them. A few years ago we fell foul of them while we were fighting TF over phantom bills that they said we had ignored, even after they agreed that they were wrong and we were the ones owed 230€ they still got us registered with experion and believe me if you think its hard to get your name off the register in the UK its nothing compared to here.

Talking to a friend this morning who moved back at the beginning of April, he is having to pay six months rent upfront due to the lack of credit rating

Happened to us as well.

yes you are all correct.

I was turned down for a debit card in UK as I have no credit rating. As Exp don't know anything, unknown is as bad as bad credit history.

You have little chance of a mortgage or credit so be warned.

1st step is get on electoral roll.

Good luck!

Electoral roll.............we have been on the electoral roll for overseas voting for the last eight years based on our last UK address. How would this affect a credit rating?

It's because two of the primary checks are ; electoral role and paying 'poll tax'.

It might seem strange that being on the electoral role should affect your credit rating, but it does help them 'get a picture' of the individual.

So the fact that we have been registered as overseas voters on our electoral role should help.

People quite reasonably assume that their "credit rating" is meant to reflect how good they are with money, particularly at paying debt as quickly as possible. In reality, the credit rating companies (acting for the big money lenders) actually quite people who regularly get into more debt, and over-extend themselves. So long as they keep making repayments, and don't default, they're happy. The worst scenario for a lender is someone who normally pays off their credit card balance, or worse, doesn't have history of owning a credit card at all. Of course the credit check is designed to weed out those with a recent CCJ or extremely bad repayment history, but it also gives poor scores to those with little or no credit history.

Best way in UK to get a good cedit rating is to have kept a UK bank account, get a credit card from them, get on the electoral roll, start to pay Council Tax. Use that credit card for normal shopping, groceries etc, pay it off regularly, and the card company will keep upping your credit level, hoping you will not pay it off one month, that means money for them, but it will keep activity going and that is what is important.

I have a credit card linked to a UK address but obviously not the one on the electoral roll. Can´t pay council tax though.

Used to be the case that paying council tax wouldn't affect your rating -however it's definitely the case that you need to have been on the electoral roll. They normally ask you if you've been 3+ years in your current address - they prefer this as they can check the ER, and it can take time before your name turns up if you've recently moved. Plus, of course they can check CCJs against that address.