MSE is sharing your personal info with Experian

ol1v33r

So MSE has always been a place to be trusted with good advice. It's pretty much the go to place for financial advice in the UK.

I was looking at the Credit Card Eligibility tool and decided to check out the Privacy Policy section.

I was dismayed when I saw this section.

"9.4.2 These tools have been built in partnership with HD Decisions – an Experian business ("HD") in conjunction with from time to time Capital One plc and the following UK credit reference agencies: Callcredit Limited ("Callcredit"), Equifax Limited ("Equifax") and Experian Ltd ("Experian"). By submitting your details, you are consenting to HD passing them to Callcredit, Equifax and/or Experian. For further information about how your details will be used please read the rest of these Terms and Conditions, our Privacy Policy, Capital One’s terms and conditions and HD's terms and conditions.
"

So it would seem that MSE are now in bed with the enemy so to speak.

The tool is undoubtedly used as a method to track peoples personal financial information and status and used as a way for credit agencies to develop financial services that would be more profitable for them.

Yes it's clearly written in the Privacy policy but it's not out in the open in plain site.

If you look at this text section (bold) on the eligibility calculator

"A few years ago, the only way to know if you’d be accepted for a credit card was to apply, but that leaves a mark on your credit report that lenders could see, impacting your ability to get credit in future. Our Eligibility Calculator uses a ‘soft search’ (that lenders can't use) to calculate and show your percentage chance of getting top credit cards."

The wording is clearly designed to give the impression that this won't be connected to lenders. Sure it won't go on your visible credit score but if you think that this information isn't being used and added to your file in some way by 3rd parties you are somewhat naive.

I used to click the affiliate links with joy helping the community here but now I realise it has devolved into a tool primarily for companies to further their ends and the pockets of MSE rather than being something to help the consumers battle against disproportionate power of financial and retail companies.

RG2015

ol1v33r wrote: »

So it would seem that MSE are now in bed with the enemy so to speak.

Why do you regard Experian, Equifax and Callcredit as the enemy so to speak?

If MSE do not share this data with the CRAs how would the eligibility tool work?

Sarastro

I don't think MSE have given them anything they didn't know already...?

MSE_Chris

Hi ol1v33r,

Thanks for your message. I wanted to clarify some of the points you have raised in your post.

To provide you with an idea on your chances of getting credit cards and loans we’ve partnered with Capital One and HD Decisions (a part of Experian). The details you provide are used to match you to your credit file.

HD has worked with lenders to understand their lending models and find out their ideal customer. Like you said, by getting your eligibility results, this will leave a “soft search” on your credit file that lenders can’t see. ‘Soft’ credit checks are also used by Capital One to match against its own lending criteria (as this isn’t shared by it with HD). We will then use Capital One and HD’s information to let you know your percentage chances of successfully obtaining a credit card or loan.

If we didn’t share your information with HD and Capital One we wouldn’t be able to produce any results for these tools.

We take data protection very seriously at MSE and I can assure you that your information isn’t used by HD or Capital One for any other purpose than matching you to your credit file and enabling interaction with the tools by determining your eligibility score. Under no circumstances is your information used for marketing purposes.

I’m sorry you feel we don’t make this clear enough. Our privacy policy can be accessed on all of the pages on our site and this is also highlighted on the eligibility tool pages in the FAQs.

I hope this helps explain how the tools work.

Thanks,
MSE Chris