Credit Reports & Marketing Material

James · 24 January 2007 at 11:26AM

I used the free facility at www.annualcreditreport.co.uk to check my credit file and found there was an error ont The Electoral Roll Confirmation Page.

I opted out of having my details made available via the electoral register to marketing organisations.

My local Town Hall has been very good. They checked and confirmed that I had opted out. They are in the process of emailling the 3 Credit Reference Agencies and having them put this right.

If you're registered with the Mailing Preference Service and wonder where the junk mail etc is coming from - this could be one source.

Hope others find this useful.

Is this a DPA breach?

jonnyb · 14 February 2007 at 12:13AM

James, I'm curious - what was the error ?

jonnyb · 14 February 2007 at 12:33AM

OK, can't wait, coz I've jumped to a conclusion and have to get it off my chest. If I'm coming at this from the wrong angle, feel free to correct me.

The only "error" I can conceive of is that your credit report shows you on the voters roll, even though you opted out.

That is not an error. When you request a credit file from a credit reference agency, they will show you the details of the voters roll for your address. Also, companies searching you for the purpose of consumer credit and authentication will also see your name on the voters roll.

The only people / companies who will not see your name on the voters roll will be those not engaged in consumer credit lending (e.g. marketing companies).

There are 2 versions, the full and the edited register. Consumer lenders get to see the full register, so opting out makes no difference.

If you have opted out just to avoid junk mail, consider this - you will still get junk mail, only now it will be addressed to "the occupier" and not be targeted at you specifically.

My personal opinion is that opting out is a waste of time, and can sometimes cause more problems than people expect.

James · 14 February 2007 at 9:34AM

The error was I opted out. The council recorded I had opted out and somewhere along the line of input into databases it was changed to opted in.

This was recified quite quickly thanks to the council's email to the CRA. I asked the CRA for an explanation but none came. I did received a FREE credit report though.

I'm of the opposite opinion. You should automatically be opted unless you choose to opt in.

jonnyb · 15 February 2007 at 12:55AM

How did you know there was an error ? I'd like to know what to look out for in the future.

Credit Reports & Marketing Material

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