LexisNexis (IIL) – Insurance Services - Multiple Searches on Credit Report

DullGreyGuy

Kim_13 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

You can drop the bit about your middle name, thats irrelevant information. 

The form asks for name middle and surname so I was wondering if they would therefore only find the one search done against my full name rather than all of them?

You've told them there are 4 and they'll be aware that many searches dont include middle names. 

Kim_13

They ask for the search reference when I select the ‘why was I searched?’ type option - do I just put the one that was done on my full name? Surely I don’t need to submit a form for each one. A character count online came up at 483 characters so I can’t fit them all in the text. I’m guessing they’re all connected but it is worrying when this happens to you and the logical explanations that would usually explain them do not apply.

CRA search name also asked for, presumably then they will only look for the name specified - should I take one of the other three then?

Jami74

I'm really interested in what you find out. I get as many soft searches on my CRAs as I get scam emails/text and never gave it a second thought. However, I'm always doing eligibility checkers for products and getting quotes for various things so assumed it related to that. 

Kim_13

Jami74 said:

I'm really interested in what you find out. I get as many soft searches on my CRAs as I get scam emails/text and never gave it a second thought. However, I'm always doing eligibility checkers for products and getting quotes for various things so assumed it related to that. 

I will keep you updated - I found a few older threads where the poster also had no car, but I didn’t find one with the outcome posted. I have adjusted the text to mention that I could not fit in all search references and submitted it, hoping that they contact me to ask for the remaining three should they be necessary for them to look into it fully.

I also wouldn’t have been so worried had I been named on a policy, as seems reasonable for the particulars of all named drivers to be checked (though surely affordability would only be done on a proposer, to decide whether an insurer wishes to offer instalments as an option) but as I haven’t driven this decade it’s not that either (and when I was named on a policy, it was not up for renewal at this time of year.) I would rather be safe than sorry, as I wouldn’t want to find out false information was held against my name at the point I come to require insurance.

I’ll avoid protective registration if at all possible - as a regular over on the savings board, having it would probably cost many times the original fee. And as far as I’m concerned, whoever commissioned these searches ought to pay for it should that be necessary. I’d be very much in favour of a requirement for a simple ID check (whether it be a PDF bank statement, photo of a driving licence or utility bill, as everyone should have one of these items.) 

anna42hmr

I had concerns about the number of searches from this company and raised with them as a data request and they explained as follows

"A LexisNexis ‘insurance’ footprint on your credit file relates to an insurance quote and an ‘identification check’ footprint relates to an identity check connected with an insurance quote. LexisNexis is not an insurance company, but it provides services to insurers and brokers.
 
LexisNexis did NOT decide to carry out the search against your credit file; we carry out searches at the request of our insurance customers.

That reference (known as a ‘soft footprint’) appears there because an insurer (or an insurance broker or a price comparison website) has used your credit file in their calculations for an insurance quote.

The quote request may have come from you (looking for insurance online), it may be your insurer preparing your renewal offer, it may be following a change in your circumstances (new address, new vehicle), or it may be a comparison website automatically re-running a quote using details you provided last year.

That ‘soft footprint’ does not affect your credit score.  These footprints only appear in your report in order to help you understand how your credit file is being used.

We have reviewed the queried search with the information provided. The details we have for this search are below:

in the end a number of them were listed as to the companies and was a variety of them including Tesco insurance, compare the market, 1st central insurance etc. 

jashopkins

DullGreyGuy said:

TadleyBaggie said:

Do you use comparison websites? Are these hard or soft searches?

They're soft searches. 

jashopkins said:

Hello, I was wondering if anybody else is experiencing the same. I was also hoping someone could give me some advice.

The company LexisNexis (IIL)—Insurance Services consistently searches my credit file. Between May 24th and October 4th this year, they carried out 44 searches on my file. They are conducting Affordability and Quotation Searches along with General Insurance and Identity Checks.

This has been going on for some time now, it started in March of this year and I have had multiple searches removed from my credit file already. I made contact with LexisNexis (IIL) – Insurance Services, to ask why they were constantly searching my file, however, they were unwilling to inform me. I was instructed to speak to the credit agency that I saw the searches on (TransUnion), and they would provide the information to them. Unfortunately, TransUnion is saying they are unable to ask.

Other than repeatedly asking for the searches to be removed as more appear, what else can I do? I want the searches to stop.

If you do quotes on a website, particularly aggregators like confused.com, they typically get you to agree to their terms and privacy policy which will state that they retain your details and will often refresh the quotes you did with them in circa 12 months time to try and win your business at "renewal" which means the searches are repeated

I have used aggregator sites, but this is way over the top. There can be multiple searches on one day, for multiple days in a row, with one or two days with no searches and then they start again.

jashopkins

WillPS said:

They act as a buffer between credit agencies and two thirds of the insurance industry, who need that data at point of quote. Nothing at all to worry about, waste of time getting them removed as you're the only entity (other than the CRA) who will ever see them.

Also - fun fact - your data was probably passing through code I wrote a few years ago

I find it odd that there are so many searches, up to four per day for multiple days a week, throughout each month. I did question them as to why they were searching me but as you say they act as a buffer they stated I would have to speak to the CRA who could request why I am being searched and ask for it to be stopped. However, when I showed this to the CRA they refused to engage with LexisNexis, other than to remove the searches.

artyboy

I appreciate that there are those that have greater anxiety issues than me, but I've never cared one jot about who has soft searched my credit file. Really. It makes no difference. It's like worrying about someone giving you a passing glance in the supermarket. It's just not worth losing sleep over, much less feeling like you need to investigate...

(Hard searches or anything else that could actually affect your credit eligibility, obviously that's a different thing entirely...)

Kim_13

I’ve had a reply from them asking for all of the search references, names used and, somewhat bizarrely, the address and date of birth used - surely if either of those had been wrong, the searches wouldn’t have found their way onto my credit file in the first place? Anyway, replied with the information requested and received another automated reply saying that they will respond within a month. Presumably the company or companies that asked for the searches will be similar, so this could remain outstanding for the rest of the year.

I repeat that had I had insurance or searched for any, I wouldn’t be worried about it. I couldn’t care, if there were a legitimate explanation for them - as you say, they are soft searches - whether there were 4 or 400. It is that I haven’t that is the issue - not least because were I need some, then inconsistencies might flag up and cause issues. Even if you do know someone’s name, address and date of birth, how do you know their occupation, when they passed their test etc? If any such incorrect information is held, then it obviously needs to be removed.

DullGreyGuy

jashopkins said:

DullGreyGuy said:

TadleyBaggie said:

Do you use comparison websites? Are these hard or soft searches?

They're soft searches. 

jashopkins said:

Hello, I was wondering if anybody else is experiencing the same. I was also hoping someone could give me some advice.

The company LexisNexis (IIL)—Insurance Services consistently searches my credit file. Between May 24th and October 4th this year, they carried out 44 searches on my file. They are conducting Affordability and Quotation Searches along with General Insurance and Identity Checks.

This has been going on for some time now, it started in March of this year and I have had multiple searches removed from my credit file already. I made contact with LexisNexis (IIL) – Insurance Services, to ask why they were constantly searching my file, however, they were unwilling to inform me. I was instructed to speak to the credit agency that I saw the searches on (TransUnion), and they would provide the information to them. Unfortunately, TransUnion is saying they are unable to ask.

Other than repeatedly asking for the searches to be removed as more appear, what else can I do? I want the searches to stop.

If you do quotes on a website, particularly aggregators like confused.com, they typically get you to agree to their terms and privacy policy which will state that they retain your details and will often refresh the quotes you did with them in circa 12 months time to try and win your business at "renewal" which means the searches are repeated

I have used aggregator sites, but this is way over the top. There can be multiple searches on one day, for multiple days in a row, with one or two days with no searches and then they start again.

Welcome to how aggregators work... they pass your details to the 50+ companies on their panel and each of them perform any searches/checks that they wish to. Some may screen out things they dont want to quote on up front so they dont ask LexusNexus (or alternative providers) to do a check, others gather everything and then decide if they want to quote at the end. 

You could otherwise go to a broker who gather all the information themselves and pass it on to the insurers so the insurers dont have to do any of their own checks but then in that case its the broker that provides you with credit to do instalment payments and so the insurer won't need to do affordability checks.