Credit file that I didn't know I had

torbrex

I have no interest in credit ratings or what they stand for but NS&I were needing to check my identity on the phone today so they got security questions from Equifax to ask me.
I have never dealt with Equifax in my life so I thought "this should be good"
First 2 questions were straightforward enough but the third one kind of threw me a bit :eek:
You opened a new current account in 2007 can you tell me which bank that was with?
As I have had the same account for over 30 years and that also means the same sort code and account number, I was not sure how to answer the question.

Thankfully I remembered that The Bank of Scotland changed the NAME of their current account at that time by adding the word 'reward' for marketing purposes, nothing to do with me but it showed up on my file as a new account.

A very good reason for me to continue to keep my distance from these people.

Archi_Bald

Unless you have been living under a rock or outside the UK for the last couple of decades, you will have a credit history with one or more of the 3 UK credit agencies. It is in your interest to keep your credit history in a healthy state as you might not be able to get everyday things such as a phone or broadband contract if you have defaults or missing information on your history.

I do think though that those random questions about historic events in people's credit history are most unreasonable, and probably unfair, as very few people will readily remember what shows in their credit history on a given date half a decade or more ago. Heck, I can barely remember all the userids and passwords I need on a daily basis, never mind the date of opening a bank account years ago. If I was asked a detailed question from my credit history, without being granted free access to all my credit history files 24x7, I would immediately lodge a formal complaint and take it all the way to the FOS if the bank didn't climb down on it.

torbrex

I pay cash for most things, clear my credit card balance every month, have had no debt of any kind for nearly 10 years, no desire for a phone contract, already have broadband and I'm more than a little solvent, tell me again why I need to keep an eye on something that I have no use for.

SuperHan

torbrex wrote: »

I pay cash for most things, clear my credit card balance every month, have had no debt of any kind for nearly 10 years, no desire for a phone contract, already have broadband and I'm more than a little solvent, tell me again why I need to keep an eye on something that I have no use for.

Because if someone uses your identity for fraudulent purposes you wouldn't know, and may be detrimentally affected when you want a new credit card/mortgage.

While you may not be dealing with Equifax, they are dealing in your information without you, and it's always sensible to make that your business.

torbrex

SuperHan wrote: »

Because if someone uses your identity for fraudulent purposes you wouldn't know, and may be detrimentally affected when you want a new credit card/mortgage.

While you may not be dealing with Equifax, they are dealing in your information without you, and it's always sensible to make that your business.

I don't have a mortgage, I paid it off, I have enough credit cards already without wanting any more.

I have survived to 55 without needing to access any kind of credit file thank you very much, I am not going to start now.
if some company wants to waste their time, money and effort keeping a file on my financial dealings, that is up to them, not me.

If someone uses my identity and affects that said file then it still wouldn't bother me as until today, I didn't know that it even exsisted and the information they do hold is wrong anyway.

Sparx

torbrex wrote: »

I don't have a mortgage, I paid it off, I have enough credit cards already without wanting any more.

I have survived to 55 without needing to access any kind of credit file thank you very much, I am not going to start now.
if some company wants to waste their time, money and effort keeping a file on my financial dealings, that is up to them, not me.

If someone uses my identity and affects that said file then it still wouldn't bother me as until today, I didn't know that it even exsisted and the information they do hold is wrong anyway.

I see your point. However I believe SuperHan's point was your view will change if you are ever the victim of fraud and the debt collectors are round at your doors, asking for a balance to be paid on a credit card or loan you never knew you had. Resulting in a whole world of stress and pain...

torbrex

Sparx wrote: »

I see your point. However I believe SuperHan's point was your view will change if you are ever the victim of fraud and the debt collectors are round at your doors, asking for a balance to be paid on a credit card or loan you never knew you had. Resulting in a whole world of stress and pain...

They can ask all they want but they have to prove that it is my debt, I don't have to prove that it is not and no amount of me checking my file is going to change that.

People have been brainwashed into thinking that they can't get by in life without checking their credit file, I'm sorry but I am living proof that you can.
There is too much reliance on crap like that, there should just be more focus on staying out of debt, that is how I live my life.

thebritishbloke

Firstly, you've been living under a rock if you had no idea that you had a credit file, in fact you have 3.

You might not want it, but how do you think you've been accepted for all these credit cards, mortgages etc in the past? You've only been accepted because lenders had access to your credit file, which showed that you were a responsible lender.

This forum is dedicated to people wanting to save money, partly through high interest current accounts, 0% CC deals etc. Credit files allow them to see the data that is held against them, and whether they may be eligible for such deals to save money!

If you're not happy with it, tough luck, you're stuck with it. If you don't care about it, move on with your life and stop trying to irritate people who do.

suse*

I agree with what the others have said it is good to check it once in a while to protect yourself, as I've had to get errors corrected before due to a family members account getting mixed up with mine.

You can get free 30 trials and even go through quidco, so you can get cash back for checking so it isn't like it needs to cost you anything to do it. Otherwise you can just pay £2 for a copy you don't have to sign up for a year at £15 a month or anything. One of them call credit/ noddle you can access all year round for free.

You might not need credit at the moment but god forbid something happens and you have a health issue, or are in an accident and need a credit card for something, or to move the ones you have to a 0% deal, you might regret not checking it every couple of years.

torbrex

thebritishbloke wrote: »

Firstly, you've been living under a rock if you had no idea that you had a credit file, in fact you have 3.

You might not want it, but how do you think you've been accepted for all these credit cards, mortgages etc in the past? You've only been accepted because lenders had access to your credit file, which showed that you were a responsible lender.

This forum is dedicated to people wanting to save money, partly through high interest current accounts, 0% CC deals etc. Credit files allow them to see the data that is held against them, and whether they may be eligible for such deals to save money!

If you're not happy with it, tough luck, you're stuck with it. If you don't care about it, move on with your life and stop trying to irritate people who do.

I have never lent money to anyone.

Why the abuse?

Have you even read your own signature? :rotfl:

suse*

torbrex wrote: »

Have you even read your own signature? :rotfl:

There is a difference in believe a high credit score number means you'll automatically get approved for something, and then protecting your own record.

We're not suggesting you check it just to see what your score might show as but just to check your file is correct, as it is one of your first lines of defence against identity theft. Considering there are ways to do it for free or even get paid to check it why wouldn't you want to make sure your record isn't mixed up with someone else at least, and not have the hassel of the wrong debt collectors coming after you. Especially as it really doesn't take long to sign up on the webites and check through it all.

thebritishbloke sig is more for people who come asking about people asking how to improve their credit score, or are confused when they have a high one they get turned down for something. There are scam companies that offer to improve your score for a fee which isn't possible and that is what he is trying to warn people against.

If you're that wealthy that you can deal with all the hassel and stress of having debt collectors chasing you if you identity is stolen, or you file is mixed up with someone with the same name, then sure ignore our advice. A lot of services do credit check people though so just as you might not need a contract phone or car insurance or something right now doesn't mean you won't need it in the future.