Credit report check by company chasing disputed PCN

Influense

I’m currently in dispute with a legal company acting on behalf of a private parking company over an alleged PCN.

I recently noticed the Legal company in question has run 2 credit checks on my credit file, as this is not a debt I owe or a loan/credit application I have applied for, my question is do they have the right to check my rating, over a disputed PCN?

I’d just like to know if they are allowed to do this, as I presume (rightly or wrongly) that if my credit rating was poor may they be more likely to end their pursuit, or the opposite if I have a good rating?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Influense wrote: »

I’m currently in dispute with a legal company acting on behalf of a private parking company over an alleged PCN.

I recently noticed the Legal company in question has run 2 credit checks on my credit file, as this is not a debt I owe or a loan/credit application I have applied for, my question is do they have the right to check my rating, over a disputed PCN?

I’d just like to know if they are allowed to do this, as I presume (rightly or wrongly) that if my credit rating was poor may they be more likely to end their pursuit, or the opposite if I have a good rating?

Thanks

In the wild west world of credit reference agencies, where there is no meaningful regulation, unfortunately the answer to your question is: yes, they are allowed to do this. Credit files are effectively open house to all comers. This situation has developed over the last 10 to 15 years as more and more organisations have come to realise what a treasure trove of personal information is held by the four credit reference agencies. With no control over their activities the CRAs have opened their doors widely - and made a vast amount of money in the process.


It's a common misconception that you need to agree to a credit check being undertaken. Even the indolent ICO admit that no such authorisations are necessary. At least you get to see when someone has interrogated your data at the CRAs - well, you might think so, but even this "safeguard" is no longer what it was. There are instances where organisations, including finance companies, can interrogate the files without leaving a marker.


As to your case, of course it is an outrage that the solicitors acting for scammers can access data about you at the CRAs. I suggest you complain to the ICO in the first instance (you probably won't get any sense from them, but it's worth a try). Although you might not be inclined to do so, raising the issue with your MP would be a good thing to do. Explain to him how the unregulated nature of CRA processes is working to your detriment.


Regarding the specifics of your case, to enable a credit check to be carried out the CRA customer - the scammer's solicitor - should furnish the CRA with name, address and date of birth. Only then can the correct record be retrieved (the CRA will make a guess if full information is not provided - yet another deplorable data processing practice). The question is, what information have you provided to the solicitors? Could you divulge the identity of the solicitors here?


On the point of the solicitors seeing actual credit information, this may not have happened. They may have carried out a so-called identity check, which doesn't give access to credit data. However, it would not surprise me at all to discover that even scammers can now access full credit data.

Influense

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

In the wild west world of credit reference agencies, where there is no meaningful regulation, unfortunately the answer to your question is: yes, they are allowed to do this. Credit files are effectively open house to all comers. This situation has developed over the last 10 to 15 years as more and more organisations have come to realise what a treasure trove of personal information is held by the four credit reference agencies. With no control over their activities the CRAs have opened their doors widely - and made a vast amount of money in the process.


It's a common misconception that you need to agree to a credit check being undertaken. Even the indolent ICO admit that no such authorisations are necessary. At least you get to see when someone has interrogated your data at the CRAs - well, you might think so, but even this "safeguard" is no longer what it was. There are instances where organisations, including finance companies, can interrogate the files without leaving a marker.


As to your case, of course it is an outrage that the solicitors acting for scammers can access data about you at the CRAs. I suggest you complain to the ICO in the first instance (you probably won't get any sense from them, but it's worth a try). Although you might not be inclined to do so, raising the issue with your MP would be a good thing to do. Explain to him how the unregulated nature of CRA processes is working to your detriment.


Regarding the specifics of your case, to enable a credit check to be carried out the CRA customer - the scammer's solicitor - should furnish the CRA with name, address and date of birth. Only then can the correct record be retrieved (the CRA will make a guess if full information is not provided - yet another deplorable data processing practice). The question is, what information have you provided to the solicitors? Could you divulge the identity of the solicitors here?


On the point of the solicitors seeing actual credit information, this may not have happened. They may have carried out a so-called identity check, which doesn't give access to credit data. However, it would not surprise me at all to discover that even scammers can now access full credit data.

Thanks, John, I thought that maybe the case, but looking up who can and can't run a credit check is somewhat unclear.

The company in question is BW Legal, the only info that have of mine, would be my address, contact number, and my DVLA detials.

There are 2 searches listed one in Nov 19 and one in Jan 20, both listed as "Search for Other". I took this as they are checking to see if it worth them pursuing the matter in terms of my financial health.

The_Deep

Do not insurance companies sometimes do checks on prospective customers? If so then surely this is legitimate.

Influense

The_Deep wrote: »

Do not insurance companies sometimes do checks on prospective customers? If so then surely this is legitimate.

Yes, they do, but you have requested a quotation from them, so that is legitimate, but technically I'm not asking for credit, they are pursuing a parking charge claim from a private parking company.

[Deleted User]

Influense wrote: »

Thanks, John, I thought that maybe the case, but looking up who can and can't run a credit check is somewhat unclear.

The company in question is BW Legal, the only info that have of mine, would be my address, contact number, and my DVLA detials.

There are 2 searches listed one in Nov 19 and one in Jan 20, both listed as "Search for Other". I took this as they are checking to see if it worth them pursuing the matter in terms of my financial health.

"Search for other" is probably "Search for other address". So they are looking to see if they've got your current address. Some would argue this is a legitimate reason to access the files, but I would disagree. If you didn't give them your date of birth, then they won't have got it from the DVLA either - they only provide name and address - so this is an example of a guess carried out be the CRA to identify the correct record, and of course they sometime guess wrong!

Influense

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

"Search for other" is probably "Search for other address". So they are looking to see if they've got your current address. Some would argue this is a legitimate reason to access the files, but I would disagree. If you didn't give them your date of birth, then they won't have got it from the DVLA either - they only provide name and address - so this is an example of a guess carried out be the CRA to identify the correct record, and of course they sometime guess wrong!

Well, they've certainly got my address, as we've been in correspondence for months prior to these searches, and I never provided my DOB.

BrownTrout

Yes this is a soft search and perfectly legitimate

BrownTrout

The search was carried out by BW legal and is a common occurrence

[Deleted User]

BrownTrout wrote: »

Yes this is a soft search and perfectly legitimate

I think "allowed" rather than "legitimate" would be better.