IDENTIFICATION: Generic Check

sew2106

Hello. So on the 4th of Dec 2023 I was looking for credit card deals on my CreditKarma app. to see the best deals available to me. After doing that I could see on my Experian credit file all the soft searches for this which is fine as I understand that’s what happens. Amongst these I could see a few soft searches for Barclaycard as I was potentially offered a few different cards for them. However on the 20th of December Barclays Bank checked my Experian credit report because “I had applied for an IDENTIFICATION: GENERIC CHECK” However it was showing my previous, previous address. I had a Barclays mortgage at this address which was settled back in 2012 and I have not had accounts with them since. Am I correct in thinking that Barclays were just checking it was actually me potentially looking for a new credit card and only has that information to check? There have been no hard searches so I don’t believe it’s fraud, I’m just wondering why they would check that historic address and why it wasn’t carried out at the time of the initial soft searches for a credit card. I contacted Barclays who confirmed I have no accounts with them and that the mortgage in 2012 was settled. However they couldn’t confirm if this GENERIC CHECK was because of a potential credit card search but said it was probably the reason. Has anyone else experienced similar?
thanks 

Brie

Can't say for sure but I do know that when you search a credit history it will throw up all sorts of old addresses including ones that people barely remember having.  So there probably was a system update to check on your potential application somehow with only your old address to go by.  

sew2106

Thanks for your comment Brie. 

Just odd that it was only Barclays that did the ID Generic check and no one else. I’m assuming this is because I have no association past or present with the other lenders that quoted? I’ve never had accounts with the likes of Capital one or Newday Cards whoever they are !! 

Brie

I must admit that thinking about it I don't know why there would be such a delay in Barclays looking at your credit history 3 weeks later.  Unless it was in fact a delayed registration of their soft search.  Otherwise one might wonder if they are doing a bit of market research to see if you had in fact applied for something and if so with whom.  Which then makes me wonder if that fall foul of any data protection regs.  But I'm a little bit cynical.

sew2106

Well their soft searches show on the 4th December but I can’t see it on Experian, only on my CreditKama App. 

A1281

Hello, my personal details were stolen from my pension fund and I set up an experian account and set up a block on it.  I have just received this report “A new IDENTIFICATION: GENERIC CHECK search by KEYSI EUROPE EOOD was made on your Experian Credit Report on 28 December 2023.”  Keysi Europe Eood according to google is a trucking freight company in Bulgaria!  I have no known contact with them should I be worred?

DMCEaling

I just had a message from Experian reporting that same company KEYSI EUROPE EOOD searched my records on 19 March 2024. The administrators of my pension scheme managed to allow my data to be stolen as well. Did anything happen to you?