Complete lack of any information on Experian!?!

wallyUK

My husband was recently refused credit and was eventually only able to get the hideous 30% APR Barclaycard with a £260 limit :rolleyes2 . This is despite having no defaults/CCJ/other credit problems, is on the electoral roll, decent salary, mortgage, another credit card etc. We had a look at his credit files via checkmyfile and it seems that there is absolutely no information at all on Experian apart from the electoral roll information - no mortgage, bank account, credit card or anything at all. This is probably what is killing all his applications but we're not sure what to do to change it! Because I deal with most of the finances in our house some of our credit agreements like the cable tv account and more CCs are in my name, but still I think if there was any information on Experian it would help!

We've tried to get his statutory report but apparently they can't verify his identity so we're having to send off various things for that. Tried to get the free 30 day trial but never even had a reply.

Has anyone else had this problem? We're at a bit of a loss as he's never had trouble getting credit before.

Thanks!

YorkshireBoy

wallyUK wrote: »

We had a look at his credit files via checkmyfile and it seems that there is absolutely no information at all on Experian apart from the electoral roll information - no mortgage, bank account, credit card or anything at all.

A report from checkmyfile is a waste of money in my opinion. For example, condition 5 states...

We provide credit reports on a simplified basis to make it easier to understand the contents. If you are using our services to check the accuracy of your own file, you acknowledge that a credit report from us is not the same as the file you would receive if you exercise your statutory rights to obtain a copy of your credit file from any credit reference agency at any time upon payment of the statutory fee of £2. You agree that you will not use any of the information we provide to you including credit scores as the sole basis for any decision you may make.

If you need more proof, look no further than the "whats included" section. Scroll down to the table and look at the number of omissions for Experian reports obtained from checkmyfile...

http://www.checkmyfile.com/view.asp?display=CRO

Tipustyger

Hi WallyUk,

I use checkmyfile and understand what you mean, however don't assume it is because they have nothing on you. Experian give almost no details to checkmyfile so it can seem like they have no info etc but I think it is to try and get people to use their services directly. You can tell because, if you get a report directly from them they will give you far more info but make you pay extra to find out your credit rating. You can get at your Experian data for free by signing up for the Credit Expert service (see the website at http://www.experian.co.uk/creditreport/) but remember to cancel the subscription within 30 days to avoid a charge. Also, this still doesn't let you see your credit rating but just the standard info they hold about you.

What did the other agencies have for you? Or did you just go for a single agency report? On checkmyfile both Equifax and Callcredit give far more data. Callcredit also give you the names of the companies etc listed whereas Equifax don't. I went for a three month sub so I can compare the data available via Checkmyfile. If you're going for a single agency report it is definitely worth going for Equifax or Callcredit instead.

Does anyone know how the Experian system works? My Experian credit score is at nearly 300 points below those for Callcredit and Equifax. I'm in a similar position with a good salary, no ccjs etc and no late repayments but my Experian rating is still lagging way behind the others.

Have you tried any other companies? Does anyone know of companies that don't use Experian? I've had success with getting the standard rates on Virgin, Tescos and Natwest in the past and I think it may well be because they don't use Experian because I've had other applications like Capitol One refused.

Anyway, I hope you have some luck figuring out what the problem is soon.

wallyUK

Thanks both, I am seeing your point about Experian information on checkmyfile. Both of the other two companies had accurate information about my husband and his credit scores for those were fine - a few hundred points above Experian. We are trying to get his £2 statutory file but as I said they want his identity verified so we have to send off various bits for that. I've just put my details through to get my report and no problem with my identity so something is fishy.....

I know what you mean Tipustyger about being able to get credit from some companies. Until recently I wasn't able to register on the electoral roll (I'm American now dual citizen) and it was a real problem. Virgin and IF were two that I was able to get normal cards from but most others I was refused. After finally getting on the electoral roll I've had my Nectar Amex approved at last :T. The whole point of the card was to stick something on interest free for a few months until his bonus came through but it's taken more than a month to get this far with Barclaycard & time has run out so we just need to get to the bottom of whatever the problem is.

Alfie_E

wallyUK wrote: »

We've tried to get his statutory report but apparently they can't verify his identity so we're having to send off various things for that.

It sounds like Experian aren’t giving out any information they have because there’s a problem matching it all up. Your husband’s mortgage and credit card information may be all linked together but not linked to his electoral role record. This would make Experian believe that they are the records for two separate people. If Experian are telling your husband they can’t verify his identity beyond, say, his appearance on the electoral role, that’s exactly what they’ll be telling any company that asks. It’s not too surprising these companies are reluctant to lend to him.

The databases held by the credit reference agencies are huge and are trying to record something that’s always very tricky for computers to handle – people’s lives. It’s not surprising that things go wrong, from time to time.

Hopefully, once Experian have processed the information your husband has provided, they’ll be able to bring any records to a consistent whole. If this doesn’t happen, he’ll have to go to his mortgage and credit card provider just to confirm they are supply information to Experian. Then, he’ll have to enter into correspondence with Experian to get it all straightened out.