MSE News: Compare The Market reviews security following passwords probe

Experian_company_representative

Not all insurers provide credit facilities but they may still use identity checking services that consult credit report information. Where that happens you'll simply see an ID check footprint on your credit report. For checks like this the organisation wouldn't actually see your credit history data, just an ID score based on it.

James

VictimOfImpersonation

Experian Company Representative, would you mind telling us how the vagaries of all the data you let all and sundry place on your files in our name is relevant?

What really is the purpose of allowing companies like yours to grab so much of our personal data?

I ask, because I have an excellent credit score which in fact is almost perfect according to CRAs and apparently the only detracting feature is that I recently took a new credit agreement. The difficulty I have in my mind about the purpose of CRAs is flavoured by the fact that the new credit agreement was fraudulently opened in my name by an impersonator.

The date of birth given in my name for that application is on the CRA database. It is completely wrong, yet there it sits. No alert, no alarm, just a minor dent in my perfect score because it is a recent application and by the by it currently shows as overlimit.

What good purpose do CRAs serve that helps me? Are CRAs not part of the fraud problem if the suggestion is that part of their purpose is ID checking and yet here is THE most obvious mismatch and it has gone completely unnoticed by the card issuer and the CRA?

Experian_company_representative

Not all lenders choose to use our identity-verification and fraud-detection tools when they access and assess your credit report. We can only look at your report when you ask us to. If you [URL="mailto:identityfraud@uk.experian.com"]send us details[/URL] we'll gladly investigate for you.

James

dunstonh

I ask, because I have an excellent credit score

You wouldnt if companies like Experian didnt exist.

VictimOfImpersonation

Exactly. I don't need an excellent credit score and in any event I shouldn't have a better one than you, should I, dunstonh? I am sure you would agree that would be wholly incorrect

The CRA that at this moment contains my incorrect date of birth on a single fraudulent credit agreement alongside a multiplicity of other credit agreements with my correct date of birth can bloody well do an unbelievably easy data clean up operation and find it (and no doubt thousands of others they've missed because they can't even conduct the absolute most basic of personal data tasks). Everywhere else in the world, a date of birth could be used as part of a "unique key" - as it is called in database techno terms - to 100% confidently identify all records pertaining to one unique individual data subject. But no. Fraudulent and incorrectly processed turnover is big business in banks so whatever the bank tells the CRA isn't questioned too closely - especially not dob and incomplete full name irrelevances, eh? CRAs accept fraudulent and incomplete records just as easily as real ones so as not to upset any partner bank turnover applecart or cause any applecart turnovers I suppose. Bad business that, showing that the hand that feeds you all this luvverly data ain't even filtering it right. Not cricket to overly criticise the ways of members in ones own club, dontcha know?

The more I think about it the more unbelievable it is. When I develop a data input routine in a computer program, whether it be for user direct input or importing from another database, it contains filters which rejects and flags up impossible inputs and a useful error message is created which is communicated to whomever is attempting the input. I cannot believe it doesn't happen. What I can believe however is that the rejection part of the error routine has been overridden, and the error message probably languishes on a list no-one ever looks at.

I could do Experian UKs date of birth mismatch clean up on a laptop in a morning given the access to their databases that they probably give to some of the heroes at the banks who put the rubbish into the system. Experian Company Representative will probably argue there is some obtuse reason why he can't do it this weekend and sift out mine as one of those suspected thousands of data subjects with anomolous date of birth mismatches.

I am not going to contact Experian directly thanks, James. I'll let the bank and the Information Commissioner do it. They can have the job of asking what the bloody hell Experian are playing at by alerting no-one to the mismatch and consequently holding obviously false data against my name.

Experian_company_representative

We will happily investigate this and respond to your concerns if you get in touch with details. We do use date of birth as an identifier but we use other information too. If you raise this with the Information Commissioner's Office they are likely to ask you to try to resolve the matter with us directly first. If someone else is using your details our Victims of Fraud team can also give you advice on taking steps to shore up your identity.

James

VictimOfImpersonation

Not good enough James.

I have requested you, Head of Consumer Affairs at Experian, on an open internet forum to clean up your data in the simplest of fashions. I have told you exactly what to look for already.

You are clearly content for no clean up to happen until someone makes you do it.

Until you do clean it up, you are breaking the law.

Tiddlywinks

VictimOfImpersonation wrote: »

Not good enough James.

I have requested you, Head of Consumer Affairs at Experian, on an open internet forum to clean up your data in the simplest of fashions. I have told you exactly what to look for already.

You are clearly content for no clean up to happen until someone makes you do it.

Until you do clean it up, you are breaking the law.

Good grief - just fill in the blooming form and let the company rep investigate the matter.

Stop being such a drama queen.

stclair

VictimOfImpersonation wrote: »

Not good enough James.

I have requested you, Head of Consumer Affairs at Experian, on an open internet forum to clean up your data in the simplest of fashions. I have told you exactly what to look for already.

You are clearly content for no clean up to happen until someone makes you do it.

Until you do clean it up, you are breaking the law.

Do you really think it's James Jones actually posting on mse? :rotfl:

VictimOfImpersonation

Tiddlewinks wrote:

Good grief - just fill in the blooming form and let the company rep investigate the matter.

Stop being such a drama queen.

stclair wrote: »

Do you really think it's James Jones actually posting on mse? :rotfl:

Oh glad you two found your way over here. Can you find your way back unaided or do you need some more help?

I am sure he will discover what he's written soon enough in the morning.

I'll be testing their database again tomorrow evening to see if he takes it seriously.