Linked Addresses

Fergie76

How long do/should linked addresses remain on your credit file?

I have lived in my present address for 9 years and been on the electoral role the whole time, however I have just checked my credit file with Noddle and they have my old addresses going back almost 18 years. The information is correct and is not really affecting anything, but I just find strange that a financial record will only stay on their 6 years from settlement/default, but an address that I lived at 18 years ago is still on there.

GingerBob_3

An interesting question you raise there, Fergie. I didn't initially respond because I was hoping, forlornly, that the Experian rep might offer an explanation for this illegitimate practice; no surprise that he didn't.


Let's clear up some details first. Each of the three (yes, mad, isn't it?) credit reference agencies hold credit-related and miscellaneous other bill paying data against you for six years. After this time the records are supressed and one assumes archived at some point. After six years the normal contributors and other assorted snoopers don't get access to the data. Only state-sponsored snoopers will get access after this time, I'm guessing without a warrant.


After six years you can't, for the most part, be chased for debts, and due to the six-year suppression rule, potential creditors won't find out about any blacklisting events held against you by the CRAs. Why then, is there a need to keep un-supressed address history indefinitely? And just to be clear, it is held indefinitely, and visible - at least I think it is visible to all comers; the remainder of this post assumes so.


I can think of no legitimate reason for doing this. The practice is, of course, an invasion of privacy, but needless to say the majority "nothing to hide" brigade won't be bothered about this. So how about illegitimate reasons for keeping a lifetime address history? There are plenty.


It allows creditors to match old addresses with their own records and thereby impose a lifetime surveillance on their customers. It allows debt collectors to send out speculative threats to other addresses. It allows state sponsored snoopers to carry out a range of investigations against you, linking the CRA address database to their own and other filched datasets. Importantly, it allows local government and national government, with their unfettered access to CRA data, to chase you for tax, council tax and a whole manner of other monies to which they think you might not be entitled. Have I missed any here?


OP; if you're concerned about this I suggest you contact the ICO and ask them how they justify allowing the CRAs to keep this ostensibly irrelevant data against you. I would be very interested in any reply.


One last thing; a linked address doesn't actually mean you've lived there, or even had credit from that address. The likes of Experian harvest address data from various sources, including the Royal Mail Redirection database. So linked addressing is one of the "great lies" published by CRAs.

Fergie76

Thanks for the reply Bob.

I have 4 addresses on my file going back to 99 and they are all addresses that I lived, so like I said in the OP, the information is correct. Just found it strange that information that is no longer relevant is retained and surely breaches the 5th DPA principle - Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

I'm on holiday at the moment, I may starting asking a few questions. Like causing mischief... lol