The Imbecility of the Credit Reference Agencies

ejr2403

This topic could have been placed in credit cards or bank accounts but I've decided to stick it here

Who on God's great planet are these credit reference agencies, these Experians/Equifaxes?
Who gave them the right to hold sway over our lives? Why is the information they hold on us so often inaccurate, outdated, erroneous?

Who gve them the right to sell my information to third parties ie like banks WITHOUT contacting me first to seek my permission and check with me that the information is correct

Why do I have to pay for their snappily designed credit service facilities to try and rectify incorrect information, held on me against my will?
Is this why Banks so often make imbecilic decisions, rejecting perfectly creditworthy people because the computer says no?

These fat, money making private enterprises should be immediately regulated or abolished. They are like personal injury claims an Americanism that does not work over here and should not be allowed.

They are preventing the flow of lending money in the UK. They are preventing the housing market from moving and they make money selling our information. #


Why do we let this sort of thing take over our lives. They are not elected, they are not Public Servants they are just businesses selling our information and getting rich on it

My axe to grind? I have none. but I can see the damage they are doing.... Get them out of the UK. lets get back to personal banking.
Petition anyone?

mortgage_wannabe

I think you'll get a bit of stick for that post but I agree to an extent. I probably won't be able to get a mortgage for a year because I have a Default of £184 on my Credit file from over 5 years ago.

I can totally see the need for credit checks etc but to refuse someone a mortgage based on a mobile phone contract from more than 5 years ago, when they have had said several lines of credit since and never had issues?

It's daft really.

ACG

Im not going to give you stick but you only have yourself to blame...

Whenever you sign up for credit, you allow the lender to check credit reference agencies. The credit reference agency then records the search and they update it with information they receive from... the company you requested credit from.

As for selling your information on, they dont/cant sell it without your permission.

If you dont want your information on a credit file, dont use credit.

shonzyd

The problem i see is once your out of school, its all well and good going into uni college or whatever but noone ever teaches you about money management etc.

i didnt even have a clue what a CRA was when i was 18, didnt even know they existed and you have no real idea of how mis management of credit will affect you later down the line let alone 6 years to come.

Credit becomes instantly availble at 18 without any proper education about it. So i dont blame the CRAs.

mortgage_wannabe

shonzyd wrote: »

The problem i see is once your out of school, its all well and good going into uni college or whatever but noone ever teaches you about money management etc.

i didnt even have a clue what a CRA was when i was 18, didnt even know they existed and you have no real idea of how mis management of credit will affect you later down the line let alone 6 years to come.


Credit becomes instantly availble at 18 without any proper education about it. So i dont blame the CRAs.

I totally agree with that. I made some mistakes a few years ago because I simply had no idea how the world worked in terms of finances and credit.

One of the main things i'll be looking to teach my child growing up is the value of money, not only in terms of how you have to earn it etc but how you need to avoid credit apart from things such as mortgages.

There should be something in the national cirriculum about it but then again the government want people to borrow money for the economy so they don't really care.

shonzyd

I echo your previous comment completely. At 18 alot of people may see credit as free money. And i remember when i was 18 about 8 years ago the checks on people to get credit were pretty much non existant. I had 3 mobile phone contracts on the go earning a part time wage of about £150 per month. I dont even think they checked you were working back then.

Nobody informs you that if you default you may get blacklisted for the next 6 years, during which time you will have most certainly wised up.

Education about money management is a must!

Chickabiddybex

I have to say I agree with the OP. Hope its ok if i hijack yout thread!
I have zero debt, full time job, on electoral register, have paid typical bills (water, phone, sky, etc.) without missed payments and I just got told by O2 that I can't switch to them without a £200 deposit because of my credit history!

I'm sorry but its only £22 a month! Someone on £60 a week dole can technically afford this!!!! Orange had no problem with me setting up a contract with them 2 years ago! My circumstances have only improved since then! (I was in my overdraft at the time)

So I tried to look at my credit with Equifax (who O2 told me they use) and it said it "we think we found you... You took a mortgage out in 2001, who was it with? In 2007 you got a loan was it for 4k, 5k, or 6k?" And other such nonsense!
I don't have a mortgage and I don't have a loan! I've never taken out a loan. All I have is a credit card (with no debt on it) and an overdraft (that I'm not using) so I reckon there are some serious mistakes on there! It wouldn't let me see it though as my card isn't registered to my current address. (Ill get to this later)

So... Does anyone have any idea what could have happened? Maybe the landlord at my last address has debts or something?

Re: card not registered to my current address - it is registered to my mum's address. I only want to change it when I own my own home. Long story. Aaaaanyway, does this mean there is no way to look at my credit score online to see if there are any errors?

Help MUCH appreciated. I'm going to be applying for car insurance paid monthly soon. I need to get this sorted and I have no idea what to do

ILW

mortgage_wannabe wrote: »

I totally agree with that. I made some mistakes a few years ago because I simply had no idea how the world worked in terms of finances and credit.

One of the main things i'll be looking to teach my child growing up is the value of money, not only in terms of how you have to earn it etc but how you need to avoid credit apart from things such as mortgages.

There should be something in the national cirriculum about it but then again the government want people to borrow money for the economy so they don't really care.

Which bits did you not understand?
Basic finance and credit are actually pretty straightforward.

olly300

It is very easy for:
1. The credit reference agencies to confuse you with someone else of the same name
2. Someone to link themselves to you if they live in your postcode area
3. If you live in rented accommodation for someone to steal your ID

The third you can deal with by reading the non-forum parts of this site by searching for identity theft.

The second can be dealt with by checking your credit files a minimum of every year.

The first is a nightmare and to sort it out involves using the courts to enforce the Data Protection Act.

olly300

mortgage_wannabe wrote: »

I totally agree with that. I made some mistakes a few years ago because I simply had no idea how the world worked in terms of finances and credit.

One of the main things i'll be looking to teach my child growing up is the value of money, not only in terms of how you have to earn it etc but how you need to avoid credit apart from things such as mortgages.

There should be something in the national cirriculum about it but then again the government want people to borrow money for the economy so they don't really care.

You obviously never listened in your Maths classes.

Why did you think you were taught about percentages and fractions from a young age? Why did you get taught about compound interest?

Oh and if your child wants to have a good credit rating it's worth teaching them to buy something expensive on a credit card for section 75 protection and then paying it off in full two days later.

Thrugelmir

ejr2403 wrote: »

Petition anyone?

Without them you'd find credit far harder to obtain........;)

For business they provide an invaluable tool reducing bad debt.