Credit file and GDPR

Andrew.atkinson_2

Quick question, Under the new GDPR regulations, specifically Art. 17 GDPR Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’). would that allow consumers to wipe their historical dataset contained by Experian and alike considering there seems no overwhelming public interest reason to keep it since the agency is, after all, a private company?

[Deleted User]

No. It will likely come under legitimate interest and/or contractual obligations.

If you were able to, it would of course mean that you ceased to exist in terms of the CRAs and would therefore be locked out of credit and other services in any case, so would achieve no more than having a poor credit history.

Andrew.atkinson_2

Legitimate interest now falls under "public interest" however credit files do not fall within the boundaries of something that of overwhelming public interest. I understand the point about being locked out or having no existing credit file.

You also have the right to ask the controller to stop sharing your data if you contest the data held. so again would you be able to ask experian to stop sharing your credit file if you was contesting parts of it and have challenged the controller.?

[Deleted User]

In theory, possibly. But of course you have to look at the requirements of other data controllers you deal with - lenders, utility providers etc.

If it is part of your contract (either current or intended) that they require your permission to share information with a CRA in order to provide you with the service, then you would no longer be able to access those services.

[Deleted User]

On a slightly different note - does this mean you can access your credit files for free now?

I read somewhere that you can request your Statutory Report only for free, but then it may be chargeable thereafter as it will be deemed as an additional request and a "reasonable fee" can be applied for admin etc.

Andrew.atkinson_2

GD

I believe so and I have just finished speaking to an officer of the law who has been studying GDPR. The see no legitimate reason why after the implication of GDPR you can not activate your right to be forgotten. there seems to be nothing in the regulations to conflict with having the relevant permissions to share the data withdrawn.

T-G-C

!!! wrote: »

On a slightly different note - does this mean you can access your credit files for free now?

I read somewhere that you can request your Statutory Report only for free, but then it may be chargeable thereafter as it will be deemed as an additional request and a "reasonable fee" can be applied for admin etc.

You are correct regarding the free access, in fact, Callcredit was the first to update their statutory report service, which is no longer chargeable.

Experian and Equifax are still holding out their £2 charge, however this is to be expected for most companies that are a target for SAR.

Card details are still requested however, as it is used to confirm your identity. I am not sure whether Equifax or Experian will still require card details for their statutory report.

I do not know the answer regarding a charge for multiple requests, however, I have requested my credit file from Callcredit (free) multiple times over the last month. I am confident that Callcredit would exploit such leeway, however at the moment, it is unlimited which is a good sign overall.

It is quite a blow for Noodle and similar services, as their marketing pitch was the free access they provided to your credit report, however consumers can now do this without them.

Another benefit, is not having to wait once per month for a new credit report. With Callcredit, you could view it fresh daily, if desired.

T-G-C

Andrew.atkinson wrote: »

Legitimate interest now falls under "public interest" however credit files do not fall within the boundaries of something that of overwhelming public interest. I understand the point about being locked out or having no existing credit file.

"You also have the right to ask the controller to stop sharing your data if you contest the data held. so again would you be able to ask experian to stop sharing your credit file if you was contesting parts of it and have challenged the controller.?

Whilst you have complete freedom to contact a CRA with your objection at any time, you should know that under the General Data Protection Regulation, your right to object doesn’t automatically lead to a requirement for processing to stop, or for personal data to be deleted, in all cases.

Because of the importance of the credit referencing industry to the UK’s financial system, and the important purposes the personal data is needed for (like supporting responsible lending, and preventing over indebtedness, fraud and money laundering) it will be very rare that the CRAs do not have compelling, overriding grounds to carry on using the personal data following an objection. In many cases, it won’t be appropriate for the CRAs to restrict or to stop processing or delete bureau data, for example, where the result would be to hide a poor credit history that could enable a person or organisation to get credit they otherwise wouldn’t be eligible for.

[Deleted User]

T-G-C wrote: »

You are correct regarding the free access, in fact, Callcredit was the first to update their statutory report service, which is no longer chargeable.

Experian and Equifax are still holding out their £2 charge, however this is to be expected for most companies that are a target for SAR.

Card details are still requested however, as it is used to confirm your identity. I am not sure whether Equifax or Experian will still require card details for their statutory report.

I do not know the answer regarding a charge for multiple requests, however, I have requested my credit file from Callcredit (free) multiple times over the last month. I am confident that Callcredit would exploit such leeway, however at the moment, it is unlimited which is a good sign overall.

It is quite a blow for Noodle and similar services, as their marketing pitch was the free access they provided to your credit report, however consumers can now do this without them.

Another benefit, is not having to wait once per month for a new credit report. With Callcredit, you could view it fresh daily, if desired.

I didn't know Call Credit offered the statutory for free - just checked it out.

It's basically a Noddle Report but without the made up score and rating and the ad's selling you improvement and alert products.

T-G-C

!!! wrote: »

I didn't know Call Credit offered the statutory for free - just checked it out.

It's basically a Noddle Report but without the made up score and rating and the ad's selling you improvement and alert products.

Exactly, hence my point about the free services in my post above. This change is going to make Noodle and most other providers pointless. However, their worthless extras might be enough to entice people into using them still.

I would rather receive my records straight from the organ grinder, freshly generated each request and not stored on other companies' servers.

RG2015

T-G-C wrote: »

Another benefit, is not having to wait once per month for a new credit report. With Callcredit, you could view it fresh daily, if desired.

This has been possible online with GiffGaff at least since last July without paying for any of their products.