How long before i turn from a nobody to a somebody?

scottydoguk

Hi,

I posted a thread earlier about my address not being recognised but im only just realising the effect it is having.

Went to get a mobile phone contract yesterday and was turned away because my address was not recognised and the system (linked to Equifax) was unable to do a credit check

My address is recognised by the Royal Mail but Equifax is obviously out of date (just like every other company). I need to go on the electoral roll but im unable to provide any utility bills as ive only just moved in and my council tax bill hasn't arrived.

I need to apply for a new credit card soon as the interest free period runs out soon and i have a feeling im going to encounter exactly the same problems....

Am I going to be turned away all the time and how long will it take before i can actually become visible??

Any advice about what i should be doing?

Butlers1982

You will get some utility bills a few days after you advise them that you occupy the property

gabyjane

Hi you have my sympathies as we have had the same trouble, we bought a new build back in sept and as yet still haven't got some bills sorted. Last night i rung british gas r.e our electric bill as it has been 7 months and they have no record of us, even though they provide our gas and we have rung hundreds of times, silly things like Tescos do not work so we cannot order shopping, the same for lots of online places.
I really have no advise sorry as we are the same..fingers crossed eah they update thier systems soon eah! just thought id'e try and cheer you up lol

john_s_2

I don't know if this is much help but my understanding is that a lot of data for addresses (ie to decode the postcode) comes from Royal Mail's Postcode Address File. More info here:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400084&mediaId=400087

I would guess that if you're in a new build, or for some other reason your address has only just been added to the file, it will take a little while for it to filter through to all the databases used by these companies, depending on how often they get (buy) their updates from RM.

If you do a postcode trace on the RM site, and your address comes up, then you should be on the file, AFAIK. (Note, I think it's only the address that's on the file, not your name.)

I would further guess that if you suspect your address isn't on it then there's someone at RM you can make inquiries to. I wouldn't hassle your postie though - I don't think s/he'll know anything about it. (My brother's a postie and he didn't when I asked him!)

Lucyfron

I used to work for my local government on the "LLPG" which is basically a data set of every address in each local authority, which will soon be amalgamated into a national data set which will be used by the post office and loads of other companies.
If I were you, I'd ring your local council and ask to speak to either the person in charge of Street Naming and Numbering, or the LLPG (Local Land and Property Gazetteer) Custodian (they will most likely be closely connected anyway), then explain the problem your having. They could possibly get in touch with the Post Office for you to rectify the situation, however it may take some time to filter through to other various data sets floating around out there. Is your house a new build? This can often cause a few problems if the post office haven't registered it yet, but I'm sure your local council can help you out - They might also be able to put you through to the Electoral Register department so you can explain the trouble your having, I've never heard of needing utility bills as any kind of proof of address though. Hope that helps (Tip: If you get through to a contact centre, ask to speak directly to the above mentioned people, otherwise the messages can be really confusing!!)