Wrong address for many years

zzzt

For the sake of convenience I have kept the address on my current account as my parent's address for many years now despite not actually living there (I'm there for maybe a few weeks of the year). I continued to do that even after finishing uni. The thing is I have moved a lot and that is a fixed address where I can receive letters and means I don't have to keep updating my address. I've done it just for convenience.

Is it OK to do or have I done something wrong?

Does it affect my credit rating? When companies do credit checks on me I give them the address I'm living at now and I wonder what they actually see.

Do they track you by your address? Or do they see a history of places lived? Last time I had a credit check it was just after I'd moved again, and they said they couldn't let me order because the address on my credit check was wrong and they needed to get it updated.

I've never really thought about it until now when I was considering applying for a credit card and realised that during the credit check my bank may realise that they have the wrong address for me and have had for years.

grumbler

Stable address is good.
Get your files for £2 (or free) and check if it's the only address registered there.
Many companies report to CRAs (utilities, probably even letting agents recently) so, it's better to check than to guess.

someone

I wondered about this too. When living at Uni I had one account (my student account) down with a term time address just so I could get stuff delivered (not as bad these days but was harder a few years ago).

After uni I've moved back home but going to be moving out soon-ish. Not sure what's best, keep the address' as they are, move a few or move everything.

I'm tempted by the first option, you can even get royal mail to redirect the post for you.

UsetheFORCE

If your accounts are listed at your parents address, electoral roll etc then applying at a different address would likely make them wary that any application might likely be fraudulent.

zzzt

UsetheFORCE wrote: »

If your accounts are listed at your parents address, electoral roll etc then applying at a different address would likely make them wary that any application might likely be fraudulent.

I did get a postal vote at my parent's address at the same time as voting here. I think it must have been for local elections, but I didn't use the postal vote because I thought since I don't live there they shouldn't have sent it. I think I got myself removed from the electoral roll at my parent's address now.

someone wrote: »

After uni I've moved back home but going to be moving out soon-ish. Not sure what's best, keep the address' as they are, move a few or move everything.

I'm not sure what to do either. I'd like to just leave my main current account at my parent's address. I don't get paper statements so it's fine. Once every few years I can visit to retrieve the new debit card.

I have another current account on which I could update the address. It's a newer one and it does get paper statements.

I might get a credit check and see what they have on me. I think so long as stuff the bank sends to me gets to me then it shouldn't matter to them what address I give them... I don't actually have to be living there? It's not breaking the law and I trust my parents. The only problem is applying for new stuff. I think I have to give my valid current address for that.

grumbler

zzzt wrote: »

... I'd like to just leave my main current account at my parent's address....

I have another current account on which I could update the address. ...

If you care about your credit score, you don't want to have different addresses reported to CRAs.

UsetheFORCE

grumbler wrote: »

If you care about your credit score, you don't want to have different addresses reported to CRAs.

Definitely agree with this, I can't see lenders looking favourably on multiple addresses with active accounts at them.

rb10

It's fine to use your parents address for correspondence if you are moving regularly, but you need to be 100% consistent.

This means you either have everything at your parents address - bank accounts, credit cards, mobile phone contract, and be on the electoral roll - or have it all at your own address.

Don't try to split things up between addresses.

[Deleted User]

+1 for all this advice. The CRAs will piece together info about you from different addresses by name, date of birth, one company reporting two addresses for you, etc, but then will look dimly on why, after more than a few months, you've not informed some of the companies you hold accounts with that you've actually moved.