Non credit account on CRA's

Sparky111

Morning all, just wondering why banks now seem to report basic current accounts onto credit files. I recently opened a secondary bank account as a safety in case anything should happen to my primary (fraud, lost/stolen card). I opened it with Santander with no credit facility, just a debit card and enough cash in it for emergency use should I lose access to my main for a month or so. It has no overdraft and is a free account, but now appears with all the agencies. I thought only accounts with credit allocated could be reported or am I being too fussy and a little naive? Thanks.

[Deleted User]

Possibly the latter. Current accounts, whether with overdrafts or not, have appeared on credit files for many years. Presumably because, even without an authorised overdraft, you still have the ability to go overdrawn.

Managed well, there should be no reason to worry about it.

GingerBob_3

Yes, this is a well-known abuse of the credit reporting system. The banks do it because they can. it's just another strand of the financial surveillance regime we're all under.


The ethical thing to do would be to only report accounts with an overdraft facility, but ethics and banks don't sit well together.


Not sure about all current accounts, but my son has one with no o/d facility (NatWest) and he cannot go overdrawn. The debit card won't permit a purchase if there's insufficient funds in the account. I bet it's still reported though.

pappa_golf

coop and Lloyds banks basic accounts with no overdraft are also reported

Anthorn

Sparky111 wrote: »

Morning all, just wondering why banks now seem to report basic current accounts onto credit files. I recently opened a secondary bank account as a safety in case anything should happen to my primary (fraud, lost/stolen card). I opened it with Santander with no credit facility, just a debit card and enough cash in it for emergency use should I lose access to my main for a month or so. It has no overdraft and is a free account, but now appears with all the agencies. I thought only accounts with credit allocated could be reported or am I being too fussy and a little naive? Thanks.

Probably too fussy. The point is not that they have credit but that they have potential for credit. If a current account goes overdrawn whether arranged/planned or not it has credit/debt.

pappa_golf

a basic account (coop/Lloyds) cannot and will not allow credit , but are still reported to the CRA s

GingerBob_3

pappa_golf wrote: »

a basic account (coop/Lloyds) cannot and will not allow credit , but are still reported to the CRA s

As I mentioned, the banks are working the system. They can do so due to a lack of proper regulation in the credit reporting industry.

DCFC79

GingerBob wrote: »

As I mentioned, the banks are working the system. They can do so due to a lack of proper regulation in the credit reporting industry.

Then why not champion to get it chaneed, start a petition on change.org.

A4445

I've got a basic account with Natwest and the Coop and both are on my credit files.

GingerBob_3

DCFC79 wrote: »

Then why not champion to get it chaneed, start a petition on change.org.

How do you know I'm not?

DCFC79

GingerBob wrote: »

How do you know I'm not?

Then that's good.