Credit File error

johnreeves999

I'm after some advise regarding a credit reference agency mess up. I have been aware for past couple of years that Experian credit reference agency have not shown me as living at my current address and not being on the voters register despite being assured by the council and Call credit that I was on the list. After years of fob offs from the and taking the complaint to the top at Experian they have just admitted they have made a huge mistake and have now amended the file. The problem I have is I have been turned down by my bank for various credit over the last few years and after digging further I was informed it was because I was not on the voters list as the reason for the rejection. Can I take this complaint higher or to a governing body and do you think I am in a position to claim compensation from them ?

Candyapple

Why has it taken you years to resolve this issue? All you needed to do was ask your local council for a letter confirming your electoral roll confirmation and then writing to Experian to add this information to your file.

Have you checked what agency your bank used?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/credit-reference

If you have a letter from your bank specifying that the reason you were declined credit facilities was down to you not being on the electoral roll and you also have proof in the form of credit reports from both Equifax and Call Credit dating the time periods you applied for credit at the bank which shows you were on the electoral roll and also a letter from the council stating the same, then by all means, you could seek compensation from Experian but you would need to demonstrate what financial hardship this caused you in a monetary sense of not receiving said credit facilities.

Without any of the above, you have no chance.

Tixy

Have experian confirmed to you in writing that they made an error and accepted responsibility?
did they give an explanation as to why the error occurred?
How long from your first formal complaint to them to them actually sorting out the problem?

In practice it is usually impossible to prove that the only reason you were declined for a particular credit product is because of a particular error on your credit file.
And usually impossible to quantify a financial loss because of an error.

Where lenders have made errors on people's credit files they typically may be offered a small goodwill gesture as compensation (think £50-£100). I can't recall reading cases where experian have paid out, but they may be prepared to offer something similar.

fermi

Depending on what you can show or quantity, it may be worth complaining and then taking to the FOS if your don't get what you feel is sufficient repartitions

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

Hard to say if it will get anywhere, but if you do nothing you certainly won't.