National file of the irregular checks (FNCI)

Content of the national file of the irregular checks

The national file of irregular checks (FNCI) is a database held by the Bank of France, which can be queried by any person who may accept a cheque in payment of a good or a service, to check the regularity of the cheque he will accept.

This file comes from the law of December 30, 1991 on safety checks and payment cards.

The file records details of closed accounts and accounts whose holders are subject to a prohibition to issue cheques, numbers of cheques in opposition to loss or theft.

Data concerning the declaration of loss or theft are erased after 48 hours if this statement is not supported by an opposition made in writing to the banker.

Who has access?

• Access to the entire file

Cheque recipients (mainly traders) can have access to the entire file. They must be for this FNCI service managed by the Bank of France.

• Limited access to their own data

Anyone, who wished to know if the details of the account it holds are saved in this file and check the information.

This right of access and rectification may be exercised:

• By visiting a branch of the Bank of France, and by presenting their identification with photograph, as well as a bank statement (or a cancelled check),
• Or by writing to the FNCI, enclosing a photocopy of the front and back of the national identity card and a bank statement (or a cancelled check).

File of the incidents of repayment of the loans to individuals (FICP)

Content

The FICP is a national database managed by the Bank of France and powered by credit institutions and debt commissions. Through exchanges on internet, it is now updated and rendered in real-time.

In which cases is it registered?

The FICP is intended to save:

• Characterized payment incidents have occurred in the repayment of loans to individuals,
• Information about the situations of over-indebtedness communicated to the Bank of France by debt commissions and courts,
• The personal bankruptcy judgments in the departments of Alsace and the Moselle.

The registration is made following an incident of repayment of a credit or in insolvency proceedings

End of 2015, this file were nearly 2.7 million people for nearly 3.3 million incidents, of which 90 per cent had originated the consumer credit.

The registration process

Before declaring an incident of payment at the Bank of France, the creditor is required to inform the borrower that he has 30 days from the date of this letter (postmark being authentic) mail to regularize his situation.

This letter must specify the characteristics of the incident (of the unpaid amount, maturity,) as well as the terms of regularization (coordinates the service of recovery).

At the end of 30 days, if the incident is regularized (regulation or implementation of an agreement), there is no place to register.

If this isn't the case, the creditor informed the borrower by mail information about the incident will be sent to the Bank of France. It must do so within 4 working days following the end of the period of adjustment, under penalty of sanctions.

The creditor shall send to the Bank of France:

• The status of the borrower
• The nature of the credit which gave rise to the incident of payment
• The date on which the incident became reportable (which becomes reference date).

The maximum display duration is 5 years from the date of reference. Until November 1, 2010, this period could be extended to 8 or 10 years, including as part of a file of over-indebtedness. This is no longer the case.

Who has access?

Credit institutions consult the FICP to assess the creditworthiness of a person requesting a credit.

You can exercise your right of access to the file by going to a window of the Bank of France or by mail.

References

• The consumer code: L711-2 articles
• The consumer code: L711-3-L711-5 articles
• The consumer code: article L711-6

Order of settlement of claims

• The consumer code: article L712-3
• The consumer code: L751-1-L751-6 articles
• The consumer code: L752-1-L752-3 articles
• The consumer code: L761-1-L761-2 articles
• The consumer code: article L762-1 to L762-2
• Decree of 26 October 2010 relative to the national file of the incidents of repayment of the loans to individuals

More

See also the full article on the banking files