People who ‘buy’ a telephone as part of a mobile phone subscription may now be asked by their phone firm to provide information about their earnings and living expenses because of new rules on credit.

Since January, phone ‘debts’ of more than €250 have been added to listing at the Dutch credit registration agency BKR. In phase two of the switch from May 1, phone firms are now responsible for checking that clients can meet the payments.

The change comes because the financial services sector regulator AFM has decided to treat the part of a phone subscription which covers the phone itself as a debt, if higher than €250.

Since December 1, all credit greater than €250 which has been used for more than one month has been included in the register. This includes shop cards and credit cards, as well as short overdrafts.

Banks and other cred providers use the BKR to check if clients are financially able to take on major commitments such as a large mortgage or other loan.