Clearscore First Registration ID Checks Inadequate

Blackadr

There is a closed discussion from 2016 on this but I though it was worth raising again as it happened to me recently and I assume has been ongoing since the original post.  For those unaware, Clearscore promote free access to your credit score in the hope that you will register, use a referral for a loan or other financial product and generate a commission payment for them.  Consequently they want to make the initial registration process as easy as possible.  The problem is that it is far too easy for an impersonator to register using someone else's details.  In my case, after MANY emails to Clearscore, I managed to discover that my impersonator was required to get 4 out of 6 multiple choice questions right - this is self-evidently an unacceptably low bar.  Alerted by correspondence from loan and credit card companies, I subsequently tried to register myself and was additionally asked to upload a selfie which included current photo ID - clearly this is a much more robust ID check and one which arguably should be requested at the outset.  I discovered that my credit report at all three agencies (Equifax, Experian, Transunion) had been bombarded with searches and that multiple applications had been made for loans and credit cards which in turn adversely affected my credit score.  It has taken me literally hundreds of emails and dozens of phone calls to rectify.  Fortunately none of the fraudulent applications went through (so far!).

I continue to be in correspondence with Clearscore arguing for more robust first registration ID checks.  They claim to meet industry standards but say they are reviewing the process.  From a moral standpoint I see no justification for not raising the proof of ID threshold.  I plan to raise it with the FCA if no action is taken.

If you wish to avoid this happening to you, you do have the option to register with Clearscore yourself before someone else does - just make sure you de-select the 'Allow Quotations' option else you will get masses of soft searches against your report.

Like it or not, and uncomfortable as it is for consumers, Clearscore are gatekeepers to a vast treasure trove of highly sensitive personal information and they need to do everything they can to prevent it getting into the wrong hands - they are not currently doing enough and this is because of an obvious conflict of interest between their business model and ethical responsibility.