CCJ and Address on Credit report that isn't mine

Jade19911

Hi I would like some advice on a CCJ that is not mine on my credit report. 
Over a year ago I noticed on my credit report that there was another address added, this was listed as current address, telecoms bill, credit card and Thames water. I have never known to be at this address and do not know anyone that lives in that general area either. 
I wrote to Equifax and asked them to remove it, they investigated and moved it from current address to previous, they then stated that as they have investigated the matter is now closed and the other accounts for this address are being paid for so no need to remove. 
I wrote again telling them that I do not live and never have lived at this address. They done nothing about it. 
I looked on my credit report last month and noticed a CCJ in my name under the previous address I mentioned. This obviously has nothing to do with me, but I do not know how to go about getting it removed as it is affecting my credit score. 


UPDATE: 
2 years ago I posted the above to this forum. After getting advice I bombarded Equifax with complaints over and over asking them to remove the CCJ and Address that isn't mine. They had taken the action of speaking to the credit company about the CCJ and explained that they will not be removing as the CCJ stands. Also that this decision is final and if I would like to take it further then to contact the Financial Ombudsman. I have done this and have just received an email that the Financial Ombudsman has sided with Equifax. 

Now I don't know what to do,  I have a CCJ on my account that is in my name but under another address. The address isn't mine either. 
I have tried going to the Courts and the credit agency that filed the CCJ and they have both said that they can not discuss it with me as it is not mine. 

I am at a loss. I just want my credit report to be correct. 

Is there anything else I can do, or any advice anyone can give me? 

Thank you in advance. 

sourcrates

I am assuming that the CCJ refers to another "Jade19911", and not you.

All you can do now is firstly try and find out who the creditor is (if you don`t already know) it might help to know more details about the debt.

Then really all you can do is apply to have the judgment "set aside".

Details on how to do that are here -

County Court Judgment. How To Set Aside A CCJ. StepChange

There is a fee for a set aside, but you could ask the court to award damages against the claimant, for that amount.

Before doing any of this, you may want to take legal advice, or ask on the Legal Beagles website.

kaMelo

I don't see how you can try to get it set aside, not least because it may be a perfectly valid CCJ. All a creditor does is report factual data to a CRA but it has no control over whose credit file it appears on, it is the CRA who collate all the data and assign it to a persons credit file.

With that in mind, the fact you've never lived at or had any association with that address I would complain to Equifax. It's not that the lender is sending incorrect data it's the CRA (Equifax) who are making the mistake by associating an address to you that should not be there. Complain to Equifax again and follow it up with the ICO (not the FOS)  if they don't play ball. 
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-right-to-get-your-data-corrected/

Once the incorrect address is removed form your credit file, any CCJ and credit
accounts linked to it will do so too.

Also check if the same mistaken information is recorded on TransUnion and Experian

brianposter

You dont bombard Equifax with complaints - you state clearly that you are making a complaint and if that fails you go to the ICO.

sourcrates

kaMelo said:

I don't see how you can try to get it set aside, not least because it may be a perfectly valid CCJ. 

 All a creditor does is report factual data to a CRA but it has no control over whose credit file it appears on, it is the CRA who collate all the data and assign it to a persons credit file.

In this case, the CCJ was applied to the wrong debtor, that incorrect information was then made available to the CRA, who published it on the debtors file, the blame lies with the original claimant not identifying the correct debtor, the court just rubber stamped that, likewise so did the CRA`s.

The only recourse now is a set aside application.

You apply to have the judgement set aside, and if successful, this puts everything back to the pre-action stage.

The claimant (at their discretion) then issues proceedings against the correct debtor, instead of the OP.

Non of the CRA`s will remove active judgements without supporting evidence as laid out below -

Can I remove a CCJ from my credit report?

You can ask us and the other two credit reference agencies to remove a CCJ from your credit report if you can prove that:

• You paid the full amount within one calendar month of the CCJ being issued
• It's been six years since you received the CCJ (in this case it should be automatically removed)
• You disputed the CCJ and it was cancelled or 'set aside' by the courts
• An insurance company was responsible for the debt

Once you have evidence that a CCJ should be removed from your report, please get in touch.

If you haven't been notified of a CCJ by post, but there's a CCJ on your credit report, your first step should be to identify the case number and contact the court where the judgment was made.

kaMelo

sourcrates said:

kaMelo said:

I don't see how you can try to get it set aside, not least because it may be a perfectly valid CCJ. 

 All a creditor does is report factual data to a CRA but it has no control over whose credit file it appears on, it is the CRA who collate all the data and assign it to a persons credit file.

In this case, the CCJ was applied to the wrong debtor, that incorrect information was then made available to the CRA, who published it on the debtors file, the blame lies with the original claimant not identifying the correct debtor, the court just rubber stamped that, likewise so did the CRA`s.

The only recourse now is a set aside application.

You apply to have the judgement set aside, and if successful, this puts everything back to the pre-action stage.

The claimant (at their discretion) then issues proceedings against the correct debtor, instead of the OP.

Non of the CRA`s will remove active judgements without supporting evidence as laid out below -

Can I remove a CCJ from my credit report?

You can ask us and the other two credit reference agencies to remove a CCJ from your credit report if you can prove that:

• You paid the full amount within one calendar month of the CCJ being issued
• It's been six years since you received the CCJ (in this case it should be automatically removed)
• You disputed the CCJ and it was cancelled or 'set aside' by the courts
• An insurance company was responsible for the debt

Once you have evidence that a CCJ should be removed from your report, please get in touch.

If you haven't been notified of a CCJ by post, but there's a CCJ on your credit report, your first step should be to identify the case number and contact the court where the judgment was made.

I disagree completely,  The CCJ could be perfectly valid for all we know. How do you set aside a CCJ for which you are not the defendant?

What we know form the OP is;
The CCJ was taken out against Jane Doe at 123 High Street.
The court supplied the CRA with the data "CCJ against Jane Doe at 123 High Street
The CRA applied the CCJ to Jane Doe at 321 High Street.
Jane Doe at 321 High Street has never lived at or had any connection with 123 High Street.

The OP is not disputing the validity of the CCJ, they are stating The CRA have made a mistake in associating an address with them that shouldn't be there, that needs correcting. Once the second address is removed completely then any debts/CCJ for Jane Doe at 123 High Street will also be removed.

Jade19911

kaMelo said:

I don't see how you can try to get it set aside, not least because it may be a perfectly valid CCJ. All a creditor does is report factual data to a CRA but it has no control over whose credit file it appears on, it is the CRA who collate all the data and assign it to a persons credit file.

With that in mind, the fact you've never lived at or had any association with that address I would complain to Equifax. It's not that the lender is sending incorrect data it's the CRA (Equifax) who are making the mistake by associating an address to you that should not be there. Complain to Equifax again and follow it up with the ICO (not the FOS)  if 

Once the incorrect address is removed form your credit file, any CCJ and credit
accounts linked to it will do so too.

Also check if the same mistaken information is recorded on TransUnion and Experian

Thankyou, you understand completely what my problem is.
I have tried multiple times to get the address removed from my report by Equifax and then gone to FOS, which is the next step in Equifax' process. 
The same info is recorded on Experian but I haven't looked at Transunion, I will have a look. 

I will go through the ICO and see if they can help as you suggested. 

Thank you so much 

sourcrates

When you went to the creditor for information about the CCJ, I assume you gave the address you actually live at, and not the one that is in contention here, which is why they would not talk to you.

This judgement here is in your name, judgements are granted against an individual, not any particular address, so the situation is this, either someone has committed identity fraud, and are using your name but from this other address, or your information has somehow been corrupted with another individual of the same name, or the CCJ is valid.

I fail to see how any competent company cannot see an issue here, are you 100% certain this CCJ is not something that may be down to you ? a parking fine, old credit card or loan, although you don`t say how much the judgement is for.

The fact they are reporting an address being linked to you, that you have never lived at is worrying, the advice to set aside won`t remove the incorrect address issues, so I`m kind of finding myself agreeing with kaMelo about escalating the matter to the ICO, but its one of those quirky things where advice on the web is confusing, as it appears to be a pretty grey area.

I wish you luck, and please try and keep this thread updated, as I would be interested to hear what the outcome is.

Jade19911

sourcrates said:

When you went to the creditor for information about the CCJ, I assume you gave the address you actually live at, and not the one that is in contention here, which is why they would not talk to you.

This judgement here is in your name, judgements are granted against an individual, not any particular address, so the situation is this, either someone has committed identity fraud, and are using your name but from this other address, or your information has somehow been corrupted with another individual of the same name, or the CCJ is valid.

I fail to see how any competent company cannot see an issue here, are you 100% certain this CCJ is not something that may be down to you ? a parking fine, old credit card or loan, although you don`t say how much the judgement is for.

The fact they are reporting an address being linked to you, that you have never lived at is worrying, the advice to set aside won`t remove the incorrect address issues, so I`m kind of finding myself agreeing with kaMelo about escalating the matter to the ICO, but its one of those quirky things where advice on the web is confusing, as it appears to be a pretty grey area.

I wish you luck, and please try and keep this thread updated, as I would be interested to hear what the outcome is.

Thank you for replying. 

The CCJ is definitely not mine, it is for a credit card and I have always paid mine up and have never failed to make a payment.
I have  looked on TransUnion and Experian and I do not have any CCJ's listed on those. 
I do have the address (the ccj is under) listed as a 'linked address' on Experian. 

I hope this makes sense. 

I agree, either someone has used my identity or information has been corrupted with another individual of the same name. 

I'm not sure how a CCJ is listed on Exquifax but not Experian or TransUnion. 

I will speak to the ICO and see if they can help me. 
I'll keep updating when I know more 
Thanks 

penners324

You've complained to the wrong Ombudsman.

Complain to the Information Commissoners Office

kaMelo

I missed this in your reply

Jade19911 said:

 
I do have the address (the ccj is under) listed as a 'linked address' on Experian. 

Get ahead of the curve before it becomes a problem, complain to Experian that the address is not yours and never has been, it's a mistake on their part and ask them to remove it. If they don't play ball then the same as above, follow it up with the ICO