Unknown address link in Credit report

Karma67

I have just bitten the bullet and have got a free online credit report for me (aarrgghhhhhh) from a free online 30-day trial..for Experian....

A few surprises......not good ones .....but my main concern is that apparently the Bank of Scot,land have linked me to a different address from my home address.....I have never lived at this address so I have NO idea what that's all about....the addressis about 16 miles away from where i still live...


What is this all about and how can i rectify it??

Also....according to Experian, I apparently owe 2 mail order companies some money ..... Grattan 39 and Littlewoods£40 .......... How do i go about sorting this out??


ALSO...another one is marked as 'satisified and not updated since 17/12/2000 but still marked as an [8]....what does that mean....as it saying satisfied aswell as defaulted???


But apart form that no other 'bad' things (as if these weren't enough!)


TIA

WiseSteward_2

Hi Karma

You can query any info on a credit report if you don't understand or agree with it. Click this link to go to Experian's FAQ page.

Sometimes people can get credit in your name or at a former address of yours or one that you have been associated with in some way. It is always worth challenging any detail that doesn't seem right. You will probably be asked to produce some evidence, such as dated bills showing your name and address covering the period or address being queried.

It is worth sending any response and documentary evidence by Recorded or Special delivery so you can prove it has been delivered. This can checked online at www.royalmail.com by clicking the 'Track & Trace' button.

Hope this helps. Best wishes, Graham B

Karma67

Thanks for the advice Graham B but why would they put link address to the same address on 3 seperate occasions all on 1 day?,

So would 4 defaults and/or this linked address stop me getting credit??? Or could be the reason for me being refused card applications last year?

One of them i am aware of and i am paying it off through a collection agency regularly. Another one is satisfied (but still has an [8] rating and not updated since 17/12/2000), and the other two i was unaware of, AND were updated last month but are small amounts, so i can pay them off when i can figure out how to contact them!

All four have the symbol [8] by them which isn't good! in the rest of my report there are no court judgments, bankruptcies or individual voluntary arrangements..also

5 seaches in past year,
1]Experian for Application type: Identification Generic Check
2]CAPITAL ONE BANK for Application type: Credit Card
3]Another one with : Application type: Unrecorded Enquiry
4]ADMIRAL INSURANCE SERVICES LIMITED Application type: Unrecorded Enquiry
5]Then the same as above but on a different date

Hope someone can enlighten me!!

WiseSteward_2

Hi again Karma

If there are any debts to or searches by companies you don't recognise or haven't had any dealings with you should explain this to Experian and ask for full details, as it is possible someone has used your details (the unknown address on the report could have been given as a delivery address for something ordered by mail order!).

The link in my previous post will take you to a page on Experian's web site which gives an option to query anything on your credit report online or you can download or request a form to fill in and send back by post.

Don't forget to keep copies of everything and send any post by Recorded or Special Delivery so you can prove they have received it.

Regards, Graham B

Karma67

thanks once again!!
I will query the linked address, and i suppose one goodthing is that no recent searches so up, using that address, but .........would they divulge searches/accounts, under that unknown address, if i hadn't actually supplied that address to Experian when i signed up for online report??

Sorry to keep asking questions, but i can't find an answer to my last question anywhere on their website!!

WiseSteward_2

Hi again Karma

It is my understanding that, once you have provided sufficient info to accurately identify yourself and current/recent addresses, you will receive your full credit report containing all current information and credit details for the past 6 years. If someone else, pretending to be you by using your name and a previous address of yours, has supplied a different address (such as a delivery address) to a creditor that address may then become linked with your details and added to your credit record.

The above situation happened to my wife shortly after moving from our previous address 12 years ago. We obtained a credit report after being refused a new current a/c. The report showed an unpaid mail order debt dated from a few months after we had moved house. We eventually discovered that the young woman who moved into our formerly rented house a month or two after we left had opened and used the mail order a/c using a mail shot application addressed to my wife which had been delivered after the mail redirection period had ended. She then moved about six months later and didn't pay off the outstanding balance.

We were able to prove the date we changed address and also found out from neighbours where the young woman had moved to. We passed this info to the mail order company and our credit record was amended. We were then able to open the new current a/c.

This is a simple illustration of how easy these problems can arise but also how they can be rectified. I realise it's not always as straightforward as that.

If you go to the Experian FAQ page again, click 'FAQs - Find answers to general queries' and then look at the last two items listed, i.e. 'Identity Fraud' and 'About Experian' you will find much more info about this type of problem and how to get your record put right. It also mentions that the other two credit reference agencies, Equifax and Callcredit, may hold slightly different info so it would be worth getting a report from each of them (£2 fee).

Hope you get this sorted out soon.

Best wishes, Graham B

Karma67

Thanks yet again Graham

I WILL investigate further as it's obvious that something is up and hopefully get it removed form my credit file!!

digp

Or contact the company that placed the linked address, as long as they are satisfied it is an error [in the broadest sense of the term], they will remove it