Experian and my bank

Cleopatra

Hello.  I requested that Experian send me all of the data which they hold on me.  Its possibly naive of me to have been surprised to see that each of my banks gives them a list of the monthly credits to my current account with them.  Can I stop this from happening?  I don't recall giving the bank(s) permission to do this and I want to withdraw that permission but don't know how to.  Experian are no help at all.  Has anyone else stopped this from happening?

MattMattMattUK

Cleopatra said:

Hello.  I requested that Experian send me all of the data which they hold on me.  Its possibly naive of me to have been surprised to see that each of my banks gives them a list of the monthly credits to my current account with them.  Can I stop this from happening?

The only way you can stop this happening is to close your bank accounts and/or only bank with specific private banks which do not report.

Cleopatra said:

I don't recall giving the bank(s) permission to do this and I want to withdraw that permission but don't know how to.

You do not need to give your permission, it falls under the use permitted in law and defined by the regulator. It is also in the terms and conditions of your bank account that it will happen and you cannot selectively choose which terms and conditions apply.

Cleopatra said:

Experian are no help at all. 

They will not be, what you are asking will not happen.

Cleopatra said:

Has anyone else stopped this from happening?

Only by closing all their bank accounts.

Why are you bothered about this? It happens to pretty much everyone in the Western world and is not an issue.

Cleopatra

I'm bothered by this because it is a poky-nose invasion of privacy which many people are not aware of.  It is an issue because it is Big Brotherish and there is no way to prevent it.  If I want credit then I will grant a bank (or whoever) access to my income if they want to know and do not want it all just entered into some giant database somewhere.

eskbanker

Cleopatra said:

I'm bothered by this because it is a poky-nose invasion of privacy which many people are not aware of.  It is an issue because it is Big Brotherish and there is no way to prevent it.  If I want credit then I will grant a bank (or whoever) access to my income if they want to know and do not want it all just entered into some giant database somewhere.

Probably best to concentrate on the bolded wording rather than getting worked up about something that isn't going to change....

MattMattMattUK

Cleopatra said:

I'm bothered by this because it is a poky-nose invasion of privacy which many people are not aware of.  It is an issue because it is Big Brotherish 

So some sort of paranoia and/or conspiracy theories then.

Cleopatra said:

and there is no way to prevent it.  

Close your bank accounts.

Cleopatra said:

If I want credit then I will grant a bank (or whoever) access to my income if they want to know and do not want it all just entered into some giant database somewhere.

How will "access to my income" help? Lenders need reliable, verified data over a sustained period of time to be able to assess if someone is a risk or not. It makes absolutely zero difference to you what "giant database" the data is entered into on any rational level.

Largs

Hello, was this a credit report you asked for or an information request?  I am surprised Experian would know what money is being paid into your bank account and I haven't heard of this before.  It is something I would like to know more about.

Cleopatra

I asked Experian for a copy of all the data they hold on me.  They are a data broker as well as a credit reference agency.  There is a list of all the total amounts which have been paid into my current account every month.  Apparently we are all supposed to be ok with this.....,.

Largs

Hi. Well this is a new situation on me. I've only ever asked for my credit report from Experian which obviously doesn't go into that detail about my bank accounts. Thanks for highlighting this and I doubt most people would know they hold such detail. I thought money into my bank was between me and the bank. 

booneruk

Cleopatra said:

I asked Experian for a copy of all the data they hold on me.  They are a data broker as well as a credit reference agency.  There is a list of all the total amounts which have been paid into my current account every month.  Apparently we are all supposed to be ok with this.....,.

Isn't it the monthly balance that's captured each month rather than individual payments? I could start with a balance of zero, pay in a thousand thousands, spend a million and 0 will be recorded. (This balance is used to show overdraft utilisation etc). It's a reasonable thing for credit reference agencies to store.

Largs

booneruk said:

Cleopatra said:

I asked Experian for a copy of all the data they hold on me.  They are a data broker as well as a credit reference agency.  There is a list of all the total amounts which have been paid into my current account every month.  Apparently we are all supposed to be ok with this.....,.

Isn't it the monthly balance that's captured each month rather than individual payments? I could start with a balance of zero, pay in a thousand thousands, spend a million and 0 will be recorded. (This balance is used to show overdraft utilisation etc). It's a reasonable thing for credit reference agencies to store.

But what the OP is saying is Experian somehow know the amount that you deposited. (a thousand thousands) This is certainly not shown on the credit report.  

booneruk

Largs said:

booneruk said:

Cleopatra said:

I asked Experian for a copy of all the data they hold on me.  They are a data broker as well as a credit reference agency.  There is a list of all the total amounts which have been paid into my current account every month.  Apparently we are all supposed to be ok with this.....,.

Isn't it the monthly balance that's captured each month rather than individual payments? I could start with a balance of zero, pay in a thousand thousands, spend a million and 0 will be recorded. (This balance is used to show overdraft utilisation etc). It's a reasonable thing for credit reference agencies to store.

But what the OP is saying is Experian somehow know the amount that you deposited. (a thousand thousands) This is certainly not shown on the credit report.  

I guess. Does it include money paid in over a counter? via a cash deposit machine? salary? someone transferring to me? interest? refunds? cashback bonuses? transfers from my ISAs? premium bond winnings? It sounds a bit unlikely to be honest.

I'd invite them to post a redacted scan of this information.