Bank Account / NI Electoral Roll

James1980

Hi All,

A friend is trying to upgrade their bank account and every time he requests Santander reject it and say its because he is not registered on the Northern Ireland electoral roll.

they told him to get a credit report and check the details on there, so he has very little banking and accounts etc but the Credit Report did confirm as he already knew that yes he was not registered on the Northern Ireland Electoral Roll.

so he registered back in Feb 2013, and checked his credit report a last week and it is still showing as not being registered. he contacted the Northern Ireland Electoral office and they said "we only update the credit report information once a year, in December"

can anyone confirm if this is true..

my friend provided Santander with a letter to show he was registered and Santander gave him a extremely slight upgrade to his account from basic to basic plus..

I guess my main question here is...

DO THE NI ELECTORAL OFFICE ONLY UPDATE THE CREDIT REPORT ONCE A YEAR?

cifpower

That's not true.

The NI Electoral Office update in December after the annual canvass.If you update your details on what's called the "rolling canvass" you will be added to the register at the following times:

http://www.eoni.org.uk/Register-To-Vote/Registration-FAQs#q30

[Deleted User]

They update monthly if I remember rightly. Although it can then take a few months for this to appear on the files held by the CRAs.

irishjohn

The electoral register is published in full each year on 1st December and a full copy is sent to each of the credit reference agencies.

The Northern Ireland Electoral Office have not carried out a full canvass since 2006 and have depended on the electorate to keep their records updated when required. They have still published the full register annually as this is required by law.

Every other month of the year the credit reference agencies receive the updates for the previous month and it is down to them when they apply the update data.

The Electoral Office will always provide written proof that you are on the register if you request this but again its up to the banks to accept this and take action as a result.

The electoral commission were somewhat critical of the accuracy of the register in Northern Ireland in a recent report and this year there will be a full canvass in October where everyone who is eligible will be required to complete a registration form to ensure they remain on the register.

James1980

thanks for the information all, very helpful.

it was apparently someone within the offices in Belfast City Centre that explained to my friend that they only update the CRA once a year in December.

Maybe just a lazy person unwilling to help or they just did not know.

James1980

cifpower wrote: »

That's not true.

The NI Electoral Office update in December after the annual canvass.If you update your details on what's called the "rolling canvass" you will be added to the register at the following times:

http://www.eoni.org.uk/Register-To-Vote/Registration-FAQs#q30

yes this would be adding to the register but not how often they update CRA.

I guess if he gives it time then he will appear.

irishjohn

James1980 wrote: »

thanks for the information all, very helpful.

it was apparently someone within the offices in Belfast City Centre that explained to my friend that they only update the CRA once a year in December.

Maybe just a lazy person unwilling to help or they just did not know.

They can be a bit pedantic and make statements rather than listen and ask the customer - so I have no doubt they just came out with the standard statement to say the full register goes to the credit reference agencies once a year - and never thought to add the bit about updates being sent monthly.

irishjohn

James1980 wrote: »

yes this would be adding to the register but not how often they update CRA.

I guess if he gives it time then he will appear.

The cut off date for registration is usually about 2 weeks into the month - if he was added early Feb he should be on the register from 1st March, if it was late February then it should be the 1st April. The letter provided by the electoral office should show on what date he appeared on the register.