Identity can't be verified - at the end of my tether!

ririazoroszlan

My partner is having issues verifying his identity through Experian and I have been trying to help him for months now. The situation is as follows:

- He is a Spanish national with pre-settled status, living here since 2018 (first studying a Masters and now working at a large engineering firm)
- He has a HSBC current account, which was registered through his Spanish address 
- He is registered on the electoral roll
- When he tried to sign up for Money Saving Expert’s Credit Club, it has said it cannot verify his identity through Experian and asked him to recheck his details
- When he tried to apply for a starter credit card, it said the same (that it was unable to verify his identity)
- All his details are correct, however one of his previous addresses has been officially changed (from flat 83A to flat 83) and we think this may be part of the issue
- His name also has a character which is not accepted by the Credit Club (í) as well as a hyphen (-) but his HMRC account shows his name without these characters
- He has never had a credit-based account (credit card, phone, bills or otherwise) and really would like to start building his credit score
- The internet has not been helpful as this is clearly an uncommon issue
- We have tried contacting Experian but they either don’t understand the issue and mistake it for something else, or pass us on to another person, so have been useless

Does ANYONE have any suggestions? It's a bit concerning that he doesn't seem to exist...

Thank you so much in advance!

solentsusie

I have had the same issues with the Money Saving Expert's Credit Club.  Since moving house and trying to update my details I get exactly the same issue that it states it cannot verify my identity through Experian.

I have now given up.

Has he tried with anyone else, such as CreditKarma or Clearscore?  I had no problems with them when I moved but they don't use Experian...

PRAISETHESUN

The problem is that with no credit accounts and only a single bank account (which if I've read right isn't a UK-issued account anyway) he will have a thin credit file and the CRAs will struggle struggling to identify him. I had a similar problem when I moved to the UK.

You need to get in touch with all 3 CRAs (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and request copies of his "statutory credit report". If requested then the CRAs are legally obliged under GDPR to provide you with the requested information within 1 calendar month. If/when they cannot, they usually request identification to help process the request - offer to if they do not, otherwise lodge a formal complaint. Once the initial link has been established, then there should be less issues getting access to further reports down the line.

[Deleted User]

solentsusie said:

I have had the same issues with the Money Saving Expert's Credit Club.  Since moving house and trying to update my details I get exactly the same issue that it states it cannot verify my identity through Experian.

I have now given up.

Has he tried with anyone else, such as CreditKarma or Clearscore?  I had no problems with them when I moved but they don't use Experian...

Credit Karma and Clear Score don't "use" Experian because they're the free website for TransUnion and Equifax respectively, i.e. direct competitors of Experian

ririazoroszlan

PRAISETHESUN said:

The problem is that with no credit accounts and only a single bank account (which if I've read right isn't a UK-issued account anyway) he will have a thin credit file and the CRAs will struggle struggling to identify him. I had a similar problem when I moved to the UK.

You need to get in touch with all 3 CRAs (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and request copies of his "statutory credit report". If requested then the CRAs are legally obliged under GDPR to provide you with the requested information within 1 calendar month. If/when they cannot, they usually request identification to help process the request - offer to if they do not, otherwise lodge a formal complaint. Once the initial link has been established, then there should be less issues getting access to further reports down the line.

He has just recently requested his credit report from Experian, but not the others. Will do so and wait in the meantime hoping that it works out! 

ririazoroszlan

solentsusie said:

I have had the same issues with the Money Saving Expert's Credit Club.  Since moving house and trying to update my details I get exactly the same issue that it states it cannot verify my identity through Experian.

I have now given up.

Has he tried with anyone else, such as CreditKarma or Clearscore?  I had no problems with them when I moved but they don't use Experian...

I think he tried CreditKarma with the same issue! Also, the bigger issue is not being able to get a credit card as many verify through Experian... might be a good idea for him to apply for a HSBC card through his account.

Shanwick

If the HSBC current account is a UK account then I would make sure that it now shows the relevant UK address as the residential address and that all other details (DOB etc. ) are correct. If the HSBC current account has or can obtain even a small overdraft facility then it will start reporting to the CRAs. That might be the easiest way to the first rung on the ladder in this case.