how do they know your previous addresses?

lookingforthelight

Hi all,

How do credit reference agencies know your previous addresses, if you don't tell them.

Example - a person moves house and goes on to the electoral roll at the new address. Creditors are NOT updated with new address. The person then asks for a copy of their credit report from e.g Experian but tells Experian they have been living with their parents for the last 3 years. While 'living' with parents the person did not go on the electoral roll. Would old debts/history still picked up by Experian?

Is the only way of them detailing credit history by the person supplying their address history?

Thanks

Experian_company_representative

Your addresses are linked together by the credit reference agencies, either by you moving open accounts between addresses, by lenders carrying out credit checks at multiple addresses or by you providing your address history when you apply for your own credit report. Importantly, when you do check your credit report you need to make sure you tell us about all the addresses you have used in the past six years to make sure we retrieve and provide you with all of your credit history data.

James Jones

lookingforthelight

Hi,

Thanks. To clarify - when an address is changed for a bank account, (unrelated to any creditors), they update the credit ref agencies with the address change?

So basically, ANY address change advised to anybody gets passed on to the credit agencies?

Tixy

Yes, providing the bank reports your account to the credit reference agencies (and most bank accounts are reported).

Any address changes advised to anyone who reports to the credit reference agencies will get passed on to the credit agencies and any of your creditors who use that agency will then be able to see your new address if they search.

Also if you open a new credit account and give details of your previous addressess, then again that will link the address on your credit report.

Experian_company_representative

It's details of the current account element of your bank account that's shared with the credit reference agencies, because that is a credit agreement.

James