Am i due a refund??

thomson367

For two years I have had an account with experian to keep an eye on my credit rating. Just last week I joined the Credit Club on MSE site. When i got my credit rating from the credit club my score was completely different from the experian website, a credit rating of 888 as opposed to 999 shown on experian. I called experian up and asked why there was such a different in the scores and it turns out that experian have absolutely no records of any of my current credit cards, pcp finance, loans....even my current account with the TSB i've had for over 16 years and when they went to look for these files, they couldn't find them. So my question is, am i in a position to claim a refund for my monthly direct debit payments for my experian account that has been giving me a false score for all this time?

[Deleted User]

All the scores are false - they have virtually no meaning.

Do your credit providers actually report to Experian - or to one of the others? If they're not reporting, they won't show.

thomson367

Well this is where I'm confused. My credit rating and report through MSE Credit Club is done through experian. So i can't understand why my FREE experian report through MSE Credit Club can pick up all of my accounts, whereas my creditexpert account, through experian, which I pay for can't pick up on any of these credit providers.

[Deleted User]

Have you explained this to Experian? What are they doing about it? You need to raise a formal complaint.

In the meantime, cancel your monthly subscription. Just get your statutory report if and when you need it.

thomson367

Yes, phoned Experian up and enquired about it and the operator on the phone was just as confused about it all as I was. They are raising a complaint for me to the complaints department and have noted that I've been paying since 2015 for what seems to be a false credit score. Quite frustrating as I am in the process of applying for a mortgage and already had a rejection (my partners previous payday loan at fault). I wanted to keep on top of my score just to make sure the mortgage rejection didn't have a significant impact upon my rating.

Btw, thank you for the replies.

Candyapple

thomson367 wrote: »

For two years I have had an account with experian to keep an eye on my credit rating. Just last week I joined the Credit Club on MSE site. When i got my credit rating from the credit club my score was completely different from the experian website, a credit rating of 888 as opposed to 999 shown on experian. I called experian up and asked why there was such a different in the scores and it turns out that experian have absolutely no records of any of my current credit cards, pcp finance, loans....even my current account with the TSB i've had for over 16 years and when they went to look for these files, they couldn't find them. So my question is, am i in a position to claim a refund for my monthly direct debit payments for my experian account that has been giving me a false score for all this time?

In the 2 years you've been paying for the Experian account, did you not actually bother to check what was in your report?

Your score is not important - your credit history is what matters.

If you are applying for a mortgage you need copies of all 3 of your credit reports to get the full picture.

Call Credit (https://www.noddle.co.uk)
Equifax (https://www.clearscore.com)

If you have been rejected for a mortgage due to your partner's history that means you are both financially linked and chances are if you have been rejected now, it will happen again in the future until you are either financially disassociated (and the info is showing as such on all 3 credit reference agencies), or you resolve whatever issues are on your partner's credit files.

thomson367

I did yes. I checked it regularly but always (naively) presumed that everything it was showing me was the way it was supposed to be. I had never took any notice of credit ratings before this account with experian, so I never really thought much of it. Its only recently where i've been mortgage hunting that I've became more aware of it all.

Thank you for your help though, I'll have a look on all 3 sites and get the better picture. I do believe that the fact that my partner had a payday loan out last April is the reason behind our mortgage rejection, so i'm not really sure how to go about fixing that without going back in time and telling her no!

Again, thank you for your help.

Candyapple

If your partner has taken out a payday loan(s) then I'm guessing she is in debt/has a poor credit history and the payday loan is just the tip of the iceberg which caused the decline.

You could try a specialist mortgage broker - they would be best for seeing if they can place you with a lender despite these issues.

Did you not think it odd when you checked your Experian file and saw no mention of any of your accounts under each subsection?

Once again, this just goes to show how pointless the 'scores' are, when you can get 999 for having an empty file :rotfl:

thomson367

The payday loan was April last year and she hasn't touched one since. I've set up her own credit report since the mortgage rejection and it all looks good apart from the one application for the payday loan April 2016.

I did think it was odd but at the same time, thought it was just the way things were done. I'm on top of it now and have cancelled my direct debit with them. But yeah, i see what you mean about the scores.

Still gonna try them for a refund though, no harm in trying!

molerat

I have never paid for a false credit score, I have always got my false credit scores for free

Candyapple

thomson367 wrote: »

The payday loan was April last year and she hasn't touched one since. I've set up her own credit report since the mortgage rejection and it all looks good apart from the one application for the payday loan April 2016.

I did think it was odd but at the same time, thought it was just the way things were done. I'm on top of it now and have cancelled my direct debit with them. But yeah, i see what you mean about the scores.

Still gonna try them for a refund though, no harm in trying!

If her credit report 'all looks good' then why did she feel the need to apply for a payday loan? Those are usually for the desperate - the ones who are maxed out on credit cards elsewhere / can't get an overdraft (or increase existing) / have fallen behind and made late payments thus meaning can't apply for new credit / unemployed or lost job and now need urgent funds / can't ask family or friends for the money.

You both need to get your reports from all 3 credit reference agencies and if you are going to make an application for a mortgage again - definitely speak to an independent broker and take the reports with you.