MSE News: Rent payments on credit files 'should help social housing tenants'

Consumerist

Seems to me that it won't be too long before your neighbours will be able to access all your financial data.

dodger1

ahxcjb wrote: »

Depends how it was dealt with. If the offence was dealt with by a court, then that is a 'criminal conviction'. However, the offence of 'speeding' is not recordable so it wouldn't appear on a CRB check (or ACRO certificate). That said, you should just simply answer the question as asked taking into account the ROA 1974. So if you were convicted in court of exceeding the speed limit 3 years ago, and you were asked to declare any criminal convictions, you should declare it.

If you were given a FPN for the offence of speeding, that is NOT a criminal conviction and should NOT be declared.

But surely you'd have to declare it if you were after a driving job as it could affect the employer's motor insurance premium.

Candy53

If landlords did sign up for this, would tenants full payment history be put on the credit files from the beginning of the tenancy, or just from the date they start doing it?


Candy

Building_Surveyor

The article talks about social housing tenants and housing associations getting on board. i cant see it make reference to private rentals...

Pesto2606

I know no one has really commented on this in a while but I actually googled this today in hope that I would find my rent agreement would be reported.

Though I'm only with a small letting agency who probably wont do join which is a shame.

As someone suffering with a average credit and trying as much as possible to get it on the up and keep my accounts in order I would be grateful for my report to show I have consistantly paid the £650 per month rent perfectly for the last 2+ years. It would make a big difference to the way my report currently looked.

Also, In the past I've been to the bank to talk about obtaining credit and they've mentioned that because I generally tend to spend most of what I earn leaving not much in the account come the end of the month they are less likely to borrow to me as it appears I wouldnt be able to repay the payments. If that's what they would say to me when approaching them for a mortgage I could at least prove via my credit report I'm capable of meeting those payments every month.

phoneguy

You can (and should) opt-out IMHO - contact your HA.

This is about making money from your rent records by selling the data to a commercial organisation.

With Experian (the sleazy company behind email spammers 'Cheetah', and formally known as CCN systems), I'm gravely concerned about how they will flag weekly rent payments as being late if your rent day is officially Wednesday, but you are pay every Thursday.

Screwing people who are some of the most vulnerable already stinks and housing associations should be ashamed of this. And to think a Homeless 'charity' is payrolling this, unreal.

Are HA's now 'licenced credit brokers' then?

sarah_in_glasgow

My housing association has notified me of the rental exchange scheme and I went down to see the manager and told him I do not wish my rental payments to be given to Experian. I have a letter from the housing saying they have asked that my details be taken off Experians database. I also contacted the Scottish Housing Regulator and the manager there had not heard of the scheme, and was concerned that tenants data was given to this company without tenants permission, also I called Experian at their Edinburgh office and was told they have all my housing association tenants details, names addresses flat numbers. The scheme has not gone live here yet, and they do not have a go live date. I'm furious my details have been passed to a CRA without me being in arrears or giving my permission. I'm not letting this matter go, and if I find my details are still with Experian I will be taking it further. I would urge everyone to read any newsletters they get from their housing provider and act accordingly.

princeofpounds

Seems to me that it won't be too long before your neighbours will be able to access all your financial data.

Given that most landlords are just the boomer down the pub with a couple of flats he 'snapped up' then that's pretty much what this amounts to.

This right doesn't exist. If you withhold rent, you could find yourself with a CCJ.

It's true that the right to withhold rent doesn't exist. There is however a right to refuse to pay future rent to settle a debt from repairs done by the tenant under the procedure outlined in Lee-Parker vs. Izzet 1971 aka the Tenant's Right to Repair.


It would indeed suck majorly if such things ended up on credit records. We all know that Experian et al are often rather difficult about setting right mistakes made by its customers; 'oh we'll put an explanatory note on that marker that has destroyed your credit record'...


There are plenty of vindictive landlords out there, particularly at the lower end of the private rental market, who would love to have this leverage over people. There are vindictive tenants too, but no-one is proposing to allow them to write people's credit records.

As someone suffering with a average credit and trying as much as possible to get it on the up and keep my accounts in order I would be grateful for my report to show I have consistantly paid the £650 per month rent perfectly for the last 2+ years.

Unless you have a missed payment on record it is not some long and arduous path to build credit, whereupon you achieve the holy grail of the mortgage amen. Two years of rental payments - what do you want, a medal and a brand new Barratts slavebox home as a reward?


Just use some credit products moderately and sensibly and you'll have no problem.


Ultimately, I think the big problem here is that rental payments are simply not a financial credit product. We might as well have to report our utility bill history before we can get water, or our restaurant paying history before we get seated in a restaurant; "yes, sir, if you will just wait a moment whilst I run a credit check and then I will take you to your table"...

Lobell

phoneguy wrote: »

You can (and should) opt-out IMHO - contact your HA.

This is about making money from your rent records by selling the data to a commercial organisation.

With Experian (the sleazy company behind email spammers 'Cheetah', and formally known as CCN systems), I'm gravely concerned about how they will flag weekly rent payments as being late if your rent day is officially Wednesday, but you are pay every Thursday.

Screwing people who are some of the most vulnerable already stinks and housing associations should be ashamed of this. And to think a Homeless 'charity' is payrolling this, unreal.

Are HA's now 'licenced credit brokers' then?

You must be exhausted from jumping to all those conclusions

Rent arrears are treated exactly like mortgage arrears in terms of flags being applied. Someone is only considered to be in rent arrears if they owe more than 4 weeks rent to allow for those tenants who prefer to pay monthly rather than weekly.

The Big Issue has not put a penny into this, Experian are 'bankrolling' it in terms. It is also free for social landlords to participate so no profit for Experian there either and Experian do not pay the HAs for the data so nothing is being 'sold'.

If you understood anything about the vulnerability of social housing tenants, you'd know that they are among the most financially excluded groups in the country...low income, lack of savings, debt problems, no assets etc means little or no access to mainstream credit services. So, what are they to do when the cooker breaks down and they don't have the savings to go out and buy a new one and don't have the credit history to get a low interest finance deal? What options does that leave them? Doorstep lenders? Payday loans? Brighthouse? Loan shark? The Big Issue recognised this and developed the Rental Exchange in place to begin to tackle the inequality between social housing tenants and homeowners. They invited commerical organisations to tender for the provision and funding of the service and Experian won the tender exercise.

I have consulted with a great many social housing tenants about this scheme and, once they have the CORRECT information, they see the benefits for themselves and people like them...people who, broadly speaking, pay their rent as required and feel they deserve the same opportunity of access to mainstream financial services as they would have if they owned their home. Which is refelected in the low opt-out rates (~1%)

I do not represent Experian or Big Issue, by the way...before anyone jumps to that conclusion I do a lot of work on financial exclusion and vulnerability, however.