Experian and The Rental Exchange

annisimmy

Friend has just received notice that her Housing Association is pairing up with Experian to share her tenancy details and rent payment history and she has the option to opt out.

I'm a tenant of this Housing Association too so no doubt will be receiving the same letter info soon.

My query would be as this Housing Association seems to not understand the formula for working out Housing Benefit in that due to having to apply for Housing Benefit they have consistently over the last 9 months said at least every two weeks I am in credit then send me letters and phone calls then asking me how I'm going to pay off my arrears:mad::eek:
There are no change of circumstances or changes from original Housing Benefit application so this is frustrating to say the least happening most months with the promise of sorting it out but they never do.
So as they might report to Experian monthly there's a high chance of them saying rent arrears June good payments July oops carp August oh look it's ok September and omg look what's gone wrong in October..plus as my council Housing Benefit is paid in arrears four weekly so would this show as a consistent debt on the report?
So Experian rep could you answer my query please

boo_star

As bad as Experian can be this is one of the situations where they're probably not at fault.

If the council is reporting payments as late when they're not, it's up to them to correct it.

annisimmy

Hi
They have not started this yet, seems there sending out letters explaining what they are doing, expecting mine any day now, just was wondering as I have fought hard to keep my credit clean after a divorce and joint debts. I would not like the potential scenario that might/maybe happen

soontobemrsg

I get a small amount of HB and have exactly the same thing happen to me with my HA - I pay what I am due to pay but because HB is paid in arrears they say I am not running my account as they would like as I am consistently going into arrears, even though I'm not.


Thankfully my HA hasn't made any decision on reporting to CRAs as yet but when they do I can see it completely trashing my report and that of anyone who gets HB due to the nature of the way it's paid.


If you have an option to opt out then I would certainly take it unless there were assurances that anything due to be paid via a direct payment from HB was not considered in their reporting.

usefulmale

No brainer. Just opt out.

annisimmy

Thank you for your replies
Useful male I fully intend to opt out but there lies another problem, that mysterious blackhole inside the Housing Association administration /office where you hand over your documents, get a signed receipt then they deny ever having receiving said documents/information.
I intend making my opt out noticeable by making sure it is received by someone higher than the receptionist on the front desk, signed for and duly witnessed by them and photographed/recorded if allowed. A
Then I will be checking my Experian report every month and stand by and await the third party junk that comes through my letterbox from them having sold on there addresses en block.

As you can see my beef would be with the Housing Association not with Experian reporting only on what they are told by the Housing Association who do not inspire me with there ability to report correct financial information about my rent payments.

I have not always been financially astute in my life but as I get older I have realised that information held about you, financial and otherwise is not always correct and can affect you in so many ways.
Thank you for reading.

Brooker_Dave

Experian seem to be on some weird mission to create some big brother style black list of the entire popuation so they can then profit from what is supposed to be your life.

CRAs need proper regulation or closing down as they are not acting in the public interest.

Thrugelmir

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Experian seem to be on some weird mission to create some big brother style black list of the entire popuation so they can then profit from what is supposed to be your life.

CRAs need proper regulation or closing down as they are not acting in the public interest.

Reads like someone who has a chip on their shoulder.

Brooker_Dave

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Reads like someone who has a chip on their shoulder.

Do you think people's ability to find a home or a utility should be up to a CRA?

Experian_company_representative

Hi, Annisimmy

I appreciate your concerns regarding your council, the Rental Exchange has been set up so that a tenants credit report will be able to benefit from the regular payments that they make.

This will help to improve the credit report, and make it easier to get credit in the future, in the same way that those who have a mortgage benefit from having it on their report.

If a late payment is recorded that you believe is incorrect then we would be able to query the information on your behalf. As the council is sharing the information this may also encourage them to ensure that they are getting your calculations right, as they will be committing to only share information that is correct.

The council should be aware that your housing benefit is paid in arrears and so this should be taken into account when recording the payment details.

More information about the Rental Exchange and the benefits if can offer can be found here.

I would also like to reassure you that when you join the CreditExpert service or apply for your statutory report we don’t pass your details to third parties.

Kind Regards
Neil

annisimmy

Hi Experian Representative

My worry is not about what Experian report as they can only report what they are told from the Housing Association it is the journey to that information that has me worried.
My local council pay my Housing Benefit, but there has been monumental mistakes made over the last couple of years, resulting in no payments bieng made to my rent account at the Housing Association resulting in arrears which had The Rental Exchange scheme been in situ my credit report would have been trashed, the potential for it to go wrong is in my opinion a lot..but time will tell.

So I contacted my Housing Association this morning with my concerns, after a 30 minute conversation the gentleman said he was ending the conversation and would not answer my concerns.

I'm opting out , my worry is the damage they could do to my credit record through no fault of my own, I suppose time will tell...