Letting agency "credit checks" and experian scores - fair?

scrimper88

Good now chill out and decide which way round you want your living room remember window glare on your TV is never a good thing

cainam

Hi, I've just put down a deposit for a flat but I'm a bit concerned about passing the reference checks as I have a default on my credit file. The letting agency uses a company called Leaseguard to carry out the checks and it states on their website that they will uncover any defaults a prospective tenant may have. After reading this thread it seems to contradict their claim, are they telling untruths?

nottoolate

yes they are telling lies. have reported them to trading standards as the asa for misleading advertising.

arcon5

If LLs and Agencies only see 'publicly' available data and as such the likes of Experian calculate a risk score based on that then surely this could also work against you.

Say for example, you have a CCJ recorded following a dispute you lost with a company who never reported to agencies, but nothing else. They may calculate you to be high risk without taking in to consideration the fact you've shown a history of always paying lenders on time with zero defaults. It can work both ways.

IMO they should also be able to see defaults and account types (maybe not lender etc though). As somebody defaulting on multiple accounts in say the last 12 months could flag alarms in terms of affordability if say you are moving to a more expensive property.

They need enough information about your financial history to judge you as a long term prospective tenant.

Of course we would all agree this should be taken in addition to other checks and risk assessments such as rental history. And of course common sense applied when looking at the defaults.

arcon5

CreditCrunchie wrote: »

I agree with you 100% and feel that all these shady CRA's should be outlawed. They provide horribly outdated information at best, and libellously dangerous misinformation at worst. If they were strictly regulated and held accountable for the mistakes they make then I could see it being a useful service. But as it currently stands they exist soley as a commercial venture to make money, and should be stripped of the monopoly of power they currently hold.

How'd you figure that one? If information is incorrect it can be corrected - if it's correct then it's not libelous is it.

AshenkaMalenka

Hello all,

Does anyone know if there has since been a change in the rights to information on your credit file that a letting agent has when 'credit checking' a tenant?

Is it still only public information?

Many thanks.

AshenkaMalenka

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

It's not really about consent. The credit data sharing we host is an agreement between all participants to exchange data with each other. It's like a club in a way. The rules of the club include having to share data to access data and also that you can only access the level of data you yourself share. So default sharers can only see others' defaults. As landlords don't currently share any data with other data sharers through this scheme they have no access to the pooled data at all. That's not to say this couldn't change in the future, but at the moment they are not data sharers so cannot access the credit account data on your credit report.

James

Hello, Are you able to help me please? (my question is in the post above this one). Many thanks!

Experian_company_representative

Hi AshenkaMalenka,

Thanks for your interest in James old post!

Yes- the information that James posted is still correct, he covered the issue in a bit more detail in an Ask James question in November 2013 here.

All the information that he provides is still relevant. I hope you find it useful!
Kind Regards
Neil

AshenkaMalenka

Neil, many thanks for your reply - that puts my mind at ease

bambilegs7

Hello
Could I just clarify that letting agents can still only see public information when they do checks and that any defaults do not affect the credit score that they generate as they do not have access to this information?
I am in the process on applying for renting a place but am worried current defaults which haven't yet dropped off my file will affect this.
Thanks