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EQUIFAX not updated for 5 years!

Hi there


I have had a mortgage application put in by an advisor this morning and the lender he approached declined an AIP as I failed a credit check. Never had issues with credit, have had finance, HP, loan and credit cards, all good etc and all now pretty much settled.


The lender was Bank of Ireland who I beleive use Equifax. On checking my account now with Equifax nothing has updated on there for over 5 years! Although the credit accounts that are on there are showing as settled, there are no details of the finance agreements or credit cards I have had since 2012 and my address of electoral roll info has not changed since 2012!


I had a rather frustrating call with Equifax and got absolutely nowhere.


Has anyone else had this issue?

Comments

  • Candyapple
    Candyapple Posts: 3,384 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Have you checked the free version of your Equifax report? What does it show on there?
    https://www.clearscore.com

    You mentioned you had finance, HP, loan and credit cards which were settled (old), do you have any current credit commitments? Any bank accounts/credit cards/mobile phone contracts etc.?

    Whilst you are at it, you may as well check to see if the correct info is also showing on the other 2 CRAs:
    Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
    Call Credit: https://www.noddle.co.uk
    I'm a Board Guide on the Credit Cards, Loans, Credit Files & Ratings boards. I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly, and I can move and merge threads there. Any views are mine and not the official line of moneysavingexpert.com
  • sonstream
    sonstream Posts: 133 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi there


    On checking my account now with Equifax nothing has updated on there for over 5 years! Although the credit accounts that are on there are showing as settled, there are no details of the finance agreements or credit cards I have had since 2012 and my address of electoral roll info has not changed since 2012!

    Have you checked that on your Equifax profile it has a full 6 year address history? as it will only show you information about accounts you hold/have held and electoral roll details about the addresses provided to them
  • National_Debtline
    National_Debtline Posts: 7,998 Organisation Representative
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi natster2801

    Welcome to MSE. Credit reference agencies rely on creditors to give them information about your debts. Some creditors will only give information to one of the credit reference agencies, and that’s why it’s always worth checking all 3 credit reference agencies as they can hold different information.

    In the same way, when a creditor carries out a credit check they may only do so with one of the credit reference agencies. If it is causing an issue you could try talking to your current creditors about which credit reference agencies they report to. If there are any missing discuss whether your creditors would share your information with all of them, although this would be at their discretion. Good luck with your mortgage application.

    Susie
    @natdetbline
    We work as money advisers for National Debtline and have specific permission from MSE to post to try to help those in debt. Read more information on National Debtline in MSE's Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help guide. If you find you're struggling with debt and need further help try our online advice tool My Money Steps
  • PaulW922
    PaulW922 Posts: 1,040 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    My immediate reaction, assuming that as somstream says, they have your full address history, is some kind of address mismatch. That could be an issue with a house of flat number, or maybe a property name.

    Are you on the electoral roll and if so, does Equifax have your full ER history?
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi there


    I have had a mortgage application put in by an advisor this morning and the lender he approached declined an AIP as I failed a credit check. Never had issues with credit, have had finance, HP, loan and credit cards, all good etc and all now pretty much settled.


    The lender was Bank of Ireland who I beleive use Equifax. On checking my account now with Equifax nothing has updated on there for over 5 years! Although the credit accounts that are on there are showing as settled, there are no details of the finance agreements or credit cards I have had since 2012 and my address of electoral roll info has not changed since 2012!

    I had a rather frustrating call with Equifax and got absolutely nowhere.


    Has anyone else had this issue?

    I'll go with others with the lack of an up-to-date address history. However if you had accounts and you changed your address and you informed the lender they will inform the CRAs and then your new address will become your current address and your previous address will become a linked address.

    You can change your address with the CRA yourself but there is no easy way of doing it with Equifax. To change your address you need to contact customer services on the number shown on the summary page. After you do that Equifax should start to list accounts you have at your new address but they may seek to verify it with known lenders from your previous address.

    Lastly, all CRAs only list information provided to them by lenders. If the lenders don't provide that information CRAs can't list it.
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Newshound!
    edited 29 May 2017 at 6:56AM
    The OP does not say if he has actually moved or not since 2012 but in mentioning that the address of the electoral roll info has not changed since then strongly implies it so I'm guessing he has.
    The OP also implies that everything he had prior to 2012 was settled and everything new since then is not showing. Presumably at some point in 2012 there was a point where the OP had no active credit accounts of any sort.
    The interesting thing though is there would appear to be nothing to connect this credit report to the OP other than name and date of birth. Surely he would have given his current address in his application so how come this credit report came up? How did he manage to sign up to Equifax to see this. But the OP says 'checking my account with Equifax' which would imply an existing account with Equifax. If the OP has been paying Equifax to maintain an account with them, I wonder why he waited until AFTER making a mortgage application before checking it.
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