Credit history

jimbrowne

I am seeking to get access to my credit file but keep hitting a wall. I provide all the right information but it comes as back as them not being able to verify my identity. All my details are right. I dont know what I am doing wrong. My credit rating is poor and I know I have a fair few unpaid debts. I was chased by a debt recovery agency for a phone contract I got when I was 18 for years and I got a CCJ from that. I owe things here and there but the thing is its been such a long time I cant remember what I owe and to whom. I dont even know whether what I am supposed to owe I actually owe as I was chased for a bill for example 5+ years ago that was put in my name that I wasnt responsible for as it carried on the debt from the last tenant and stuck it to my name. I never fought it properly as I moved. The council also chased me for council tax but I was exempt at the time due to my personal circumstances. 

I would like to check what is on my file to sort this out but I cant because I cant pass entering basic information. I am not sure whether there has been fraudulent activity used in my name, whether there is incorrect info on my file that needs checking etc. It literally has been almost a decade since I last had access to this stuff. The fact I had my bank account shut and had to settle on credit unions sort of resigned me to just not questioning most of it and hoping it all disappears. That I know is now a bad decision but I want to fix it.

Last week I applied for a current account with Lloyds and was refused. They stated I failed security and I was put through to the fraud team (of all teams) and said they couldnt discuss with me why it was refused but to tell me it was. Imagine trying to open a bank account and essentially being accused of a fraudster after trying to fix your poor credit and making contact with a high street bank after years of running away. 

I think there is stuff on there that I am not aware of. I worry stuff that shouldnt even be on there is on there.

How can I get around this? I have moved around a lot over the past 7-8 years and never settled in one place. The last address the bank knew of me at was well over 5 years ago. I havent been on the electoral roll as the places I have stayed in I havent been there long enough to register. Obviously no records following me and nothing tieing me to my name has now ended me up lost in the system.

It annoys me it is all computers and no human interaction for a common sense rational conversation about what is obviously a very important part of our lives. The decisions I was told at the bank are done by computers with very little human involvement. 

I just want to pay off my debts (the ones I do owe), access my credit history and see why it is as bad as it is and change it. At 30 years old and beginning to understand how naive I was back when I was taking unarranged overdrafts and getting contracts I knew I wouldnt pay back, I see how many problems I have caused myself. Being off the grid and not solving these problems hasnt worked!

Any help would be appreciated. Where do I begin? Thanks for your time and apologies for long post.

sourcrates

You go to the 3 main credit reference agencies websites and click on "apply for your statutory credit report" or "register".

If you can`t be identified straight away, they will provide a postal service for you, follow the prompts on each particular site in order to do this.

If all your previous borrowing was 7-8 years ago, then any accounts which did not see legal action, will likely be statute barred now anyway.

jimbrowne

sourcrates said:

You go to the 3 main credit reference agencies websites and click on "apply for your statutory credit report" or "register".

If you can`t be identified straight away, they will provide a postal service for you, follow the prompts on each particular site in order to do this.

If all your previous borrowing was 7-8 years ago, then any accounts which did not see legal action, will likely be statute barred now anyway.

Thanks for your reply.
Even inputting information into these forms comes up with a message saying I need to contact them/identity could not be verified. Transunion went straight to that before asking me to provide previous addresses.

When I put the most relevant information in ie the last addresses any credit agency had on file and accounts/services rendered linked to these addresses, it comes back unable to continue. When I put the actual last few addresses I have lived at (where there is no record of me because any record ended 5 years ago when my current account was shut and I stopped keeping them in the loop) it obviously cannot verify me. So even if I provide info that would be correct based on what they last knew, I cant verify. 

The man in the bank mentioned how he had not seen anything like this before. He said normally customers are provided with a basic account after failing to open a current. Seems that my file is all over or there is stuff on it/on my record in general that is instantly throwing up red flags. Security checks fail in the bank. Cannot verify myself for credit history. What is going on?

I essentially cannot find my file or get access to it. Exact info provided in order as requested or not and I provide what I suspect they have on me, I fail verification either way! All the info is correct. I had good credit for a long time and decades of using current accounts/savings accounts so that info must be there. Even when my history got bad all the addresses I was at back then I have provided! 

kaMelo

The fact you're being refused basic bank account along with no one being able to verify you, your history of moving around and "disappearing" from the credit providers would make me suspect something along the lines of a CIFAS fraud marker.
Try an DSAR at CIFAS to see if they hold any data on you.
https://www.cifas.org.uk/dsar

PRAISETHESUN

You need to go down the statutory credit file route - under GDPR they legally have to provide the requested information within 30 days. Of course they have to make sure that you are who you say you are, so they should request further ID from you. If they don't, you'll probably need to lodge a formal complaint to get things moving.

From what you describe it sounds like you've got a thin credit file and/or there are fraud issues. A CIFAS and National Hunter SAR might also be useful to start figuring out what's going on.

jimbrowne

Thanks again for the feedback. Its all appreciated. I will send off for the information suggested in this thread.

What puts these markers on your file? I have never been involved with fraud before. Whats the spectrum of potential flags? I am guessing there is a spectrum of red flag events. Any examples so I have a rough idea what to expect? It cant be anything sinister so what stuff do they flag for? Repeated failed logins for internet banking? Using automatic authorization terminals on public transport when there isnt money available? Repeatedly applying for payday loans or doing what they consider potentially suspicious behaviour? A potential dodgy transaction? What am I dealing with in scope and can people get caught up in these triggering events for what are benign things? 

All in all, I should not have chose to avoid all this. I really did try to avoid them chasing me but now I see it as silly. I dont agree with a debt based society and shady tactics. I do agree with taking responsibility when you do owe money. 

kaMelo

jimbrowne said:

Thanks again for the feedback. Its all appreciated. I will send off for the information suggested in this thread.

What puts these markers on your file? I have never been involved with fraud before. Whats the spectrum of potential flags? I am guessing there is a spectrum of red flag events. Any examples so I have a rough idea what to expect? It cant be anything sinister so what stuff do they flag for? Repeated failed logins for internet banking? Using automatic authorization terminals on public transport when there isnt money available? Repeatedly applying for payday loans or doing what they consider potentially suspicious behaviour? A potential dodgy transaction? What am I dealing with in scope and can people get caught up in these triggering events for what are benign things? 

All in all, I should not have chose to avoid all this. I really did try to avoid them chasing me but now I see it as silly. I dont agree with a debt based society and shady tactics. I do agree with taking responsibility when you do owe money. 

Financial institutions make a decision based upon events. Reports to CRA's are factual, it happened like this. Fraud markers placed with CIFAS are also based events but the guidelines are just that, guidelines. What level of marker to place, if one is deemed appropriate, does have some flexibility to allow for each individual case scenario. By your own admission you chose to try and "disappear" which may well have been enough for them to mark you down as "dodgy" for want of a better term.
Maybe also look at National Hunter too. Accepting responsibility for your past flaws is a great start but you can't fix anything until you know exactly what it is that needs fixing.  Get the full picture and then you can make progress.

Edi81

Who did you borrow from in the past and not repay? Remember despite all the brands around a lot of them are connected eg Lloyds also covers Halifax and Bank of Scotland as part of their wider group.