Please help with Equifax report irregularities

len187

I wonder if any of you kind, knowledgeable people could help me out?

I just got a statutory credit report with Equifax for both me and my fianc!e. We have a joint savings account with HSBC.

On my fianc!e's report it shows a financial association with me for our HSBC account. Her report seems fine although no mention of her only current account with Halifax (not a big problem I guess).

BUT on my report it shows no financial association with my fiancee?! No mention of HSBC, none of my current accounts are shown (Barclays or Lloyds), and also no credit agreements (I have a Vanquis card for building my credit rating). To top it off it says I am not on the electoral roll, which I am and have been for a long time at the same address.
I also have done the free trial with Experian and have a score of 999 out of 999, and it shows I am on the electoral roll there and all my information on my accounts are correct (although no financial associations, but I assume HSBC may not report to Experian?).

What's going on? Is there a reason why they have no information of my accounts on my report? Why the financial association on one but not both of our reports? Can anyone help by telling me the simplest way to rectify my situation, as after speaking on the phone to them I've realised they aren't the most useful bunch.

If anyone can be of any help at all it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

jamesd

Try getting the free reports from Noddle. How does the information on those compare with what you have from Equifax?

Businesses aren't required to report to all credit reference agencies so it's possible to see different information on reports from different agencies.

Before about 2000 financial institutions didn't normally seek permission to disclose to credit reference agencies information about bank accounts that were being operated within the agreed limits. This means that current accounts fro before this date may not be visible unless the bank thinks that you have done something that gave them that permission later.

No financial association would be because there is no sign of the account that has the association on your credit report. When/if that account shows up on your report, there will be a reported financial association. Where there is a financial association a potential lender will get information about both of you when they search for information about one of you. This is mostly potentially harmful rather than beneficial so the lack of a visible association is not something to lament.

For the electoral roll it's worth comparing the form of your address given on letters about electoral registration and voting to the one you gave Equifax, to ensure that they are identical. If not identical, try the identical version to see whether that picks up your history.

len187

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

Callcredit has all the correct information from all of my current accounts, and credit agreements.
Except that I am not on the electoral roll, even though they have my address in the same format as my local council.

I just thought it was strange how Equifax could link me to my fiancee but not link her to me. I wasn't worried about that particularly it's just they seem to have no information on me, therefore I have a poor score with them. Almost as if I must have another name in which they have all my information stored under as it is too much of a coincidence for them not to have any of my accounts. I know businesses don't report to all credit agencies but I am sure at least a couple of those I mentioned do, I have read Vanquis report to them and at least one of Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC must also
My 2 current accounts were opened in around 2013.

Is there anyway to get them to add the Vanquis account at least, so my credit score looks better with Equifax?

jamesd

It's up to Vanquis to decide which agencies they want to report to. Not an agency decision. Somewhere on this site there are lists of which firms report to which credit reference agencies and that can be useful ni picking products sometimes.

With two agencies saying you're not on the electoral roll that appears to be something worth contacting them about.

engineer_amy

I was able to request a letter from my local electoral office that confirmed the date I was entered onto the electoral roll. Once I had that, I was able to raise a query with Call Credit/Noddle and show them proof that I was on the electoral roll.


It took them a couple of months to update, but they finally did.


Ask your council/electoral office for a similar letter then get in contact with the CRAs. That will be at least one of your issues solved

jamesd

It probably won't take a letter. Just asking for your voter number on the electoral roll should suffice and you can get that by phone or email.

len187

Thanks you both for your help! I have heard back from Equifax and they said my current accounts, credit agreements and electoral roll aren't showing due to them not having my address in the correct format, and that it would take 3 days to add my address to their system. Hopefully that will be problem solved when they have updated it.