Credit Style doing soft searches 20 July 2022 at 6:20PM in Credit file & ratings 14 replies 293 views

judrop500

This week I looked at my credit file and found a soft search from Datasense UK. I contacted them and asked who their client was, and they said it was a company called Credit Style (I think these are the same as CST Law?)

I imagine this relates to a parking charge I recieved letters about a while ago.

Is this a new thing now? Are debt collectors doing soft credit searches before deciding to make a court claim? If so is this not outrageous?

[Deleted User]

No, it's not a new thing or outrageous. The benefit to you is that it's far more likely they will use your correct address, so that you will know about any CCJ.

fatbelly

I think this is questionable and it would be interesting to see how the ICO view this, sjhould you make a complaint, which I think you should do.

The cra perspective is this

https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/guides/who-has-access.html

and the ICO say this

https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/credit/#creditsearch

Data protection law doesn’t actually require these organisations to have gained your consent before they can carry out a search of your credit file as long as they have a lawful basis for doing so and you have been told that this search is going to take place. If you have taken out a loan or credit card you will probably find this in the original terms and conditions that you signed.

judrop500

Thank you both

judrop500

Apologies - the company who did the search were called DataTrace not DataSense

[Deleted User]

fatbelly said:

I think this is questionable and it would be interesting to see how the ICO view this, sjhould you make a complaint, which I think you should do.

The cra perspective is this

https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/guides/who-has-access.html

and the ICO say this

https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/credit/#creditsearch

Data protection law doesn’t actually require these organisations to have gained your consent before they can carry out a search of your credit file as long as they have a lawful basis for doing so and you have been told that this search is going to take place. If you have taken out a loan or credit card you will probably find this in the original terms and conditions that you signed.

They will be doing the search as an identity check to find them and see if they can issue a CCJ correctly, it's at least a step up from just sending it to the first person with a name vaguely like the OP. I would hazard a guess if the OP knows they have unpaid parking tickets it'll be somewhere in the terms of the parking firm that they are allowed

judrop500

Ok to update you they say this is in relation to court case that happened and was settled in their favour in 2021. So I replied to ask why are they running credit searches in 2022 if the case has been completed and settled? They replied to say they were “rewiring for legal action.”

But the case is done and settled? 

[Deleted User]

Have you paid the CCJ? If not, it's not done and settled. 

They probably want to check your current address so that they can pursue the debt and not get timed out.

judrop500

Deleted_User said:

Have you paid the CCJ? If not, it's not done and settled. 

They probably want to check your current address so that they can pursue the debt and not get timed out.

Yes I paid on the day

[Deleted User]

Then if the debt is paid in full, you don't need to do anything more. If they contact you, provide them with evidence of the settled debt.

judrop500

[Deleted User] said:

Then if the debt is paid in full, you don't need to do anything more. If they contact you, provide them with evidence of the settled debt.

But why would they be running credit searches on me? Surely they don’t have due cause?