It doesn't sound right or fair that Mr Pattern pays get information which he cannot understand.

Surely he is entitled to have that information in a clear, concise and easily understood format! And then to suggest that he has to get an Independent Advisor at additional costs to interpret the figures? On these two points we seek clarification from Equifax. They may not be at fault if that is all the regulation requires that they do.

We are interested to know how this area of credit referencing is regulated and how far these Government regulations go. Have you had a similar experience? Do you have information to share or questions on this subject matter? We would like to hear. The Consumers Complaint Lists wonders if Equifax is going to charge the obligatory £2.00 fee to respond to this complaint. We will keep you posted

updates:
26 June 2001:
Equifax has attempted to contact Mr Pattern on 25 June 2001. A message was left for him at 10.10am. But no name or contact number was left. After 10 minutes on the phone to them later the same day, Equifax was unable to locate the officer responsible for the call.

27 June 2001:
Another message has been left by a named official from Equifax.
Mr Pattern has also received another copy of his file in the post with a guide to how the figures should be interpreted and steps to take to resolve any queries.We are closer to a solution.

Last year I was pestered into agreeing to sign up for a store card. After taking all my details the assistant phoned through for instant confirmation that I would be accepted, and then informed me my application had been rejected. They wouldn't tell me why - I have to pay Equifax to find out!

I refuse to pay out. I have never had a loan or any sort of outstanding financial dealings. Basically I was rejected through not having a credit reference, which is a bit like a court saying: we've never seen you before, you must be guilty. Carol Good...27 May 2003
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I work in the credit industry and may be able to shed some light on this. On the credit report it will list the details of any credit you might have ... name of company, terms, balance etc. It will then show a list of numbers, usually 12, representing how payments have been made over the last 12 months, IE 000000000000 would indicate the account had been paid each and every month.

321001210321 would indicate the account was three months behind in payments, the month before it was 2 months behind, the month before 1 month behind and so on. This 'reference' would be decided wether to grant credit or not, if accounts are not being paid you can't expect to get more credit. It is in the terms and conditions of most credit agreements that this payment profile will be provided to the credit reference agencies.

When you get your credit report you also get advised how to appeal against information you believe to be incorrect.

Do not confuse credit reports with 'credit scoring', this is where a company will grade you depending on your circumstances and is usually based on risk factors. As an example a home owner, 25 yrs at the address and 5 years in their job will score more than a council tenant 2 months at their address and 6 mths in their job. Unfortunatley statistics will show that the latter is more likely to default. Hope this helps ? Mr Anon... 5 June 2003
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I sent my money of to them and they still have not sent out my credit information (18 months ago) Harry Garner ...11 June 2003
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Couldn't get credit for a mobile phone (which is VERY strange as I earn more than enough and pay my bills!). So ordered my Personal Credit File - recieved NOTHING, tried contacting them, but get their phone number is automated, telling you how to apply. Its pretty scary being refused credit, and worse when Equifax wont tell me why!
Darryl Prinn ... 9 July 2003
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I am only 20 years old. I have charges on my credit that I obviously could never have had. See most of the charges were made when I was a minor(under 18). I don't see how the credit company could not see this. Is there no number I can call on this Web page to fix this huge mistake?Mitchell Delane Carter Jr. .. 13 Jul 2003
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If the information being provided cannot be understood it can be sent to the Plain English Campaign, although this organisation can do little more than embarrass. If it will not disclose, or attempts to obscure or obfuscate, information which it holds about a person, that is a prima facie breach of the Data Protection Acts and a complaint should be made to the Information Commissioner... Martin Bucknall ... 4 November 2003
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I am always being turned down for credit and bank accounts. Last year I tried to open a joint bank account with the Abbey National, I had a cheque for 35000 and I was declined. I eventually opened the account with the Natwest. I also had problems with HSBC when I tried to open a business account, I then had cheques to pay in to the value of 700. I was turned down. I got a business account with Natwest again.I also am reapetedly getting letters from the Abbey which state the following: "a Guaranteed loan of 10000 is waiting for you" When I eventually applied for the loan I was declined.I dont know how banks or credit agencies can justify this sort of thing? Why did Abbey National turn down a deposit of 35000 ?I have a personal account at Abbey which currently shows a balence of 57000 approx. I still get declined for everythig.
Strange world. Rob Allen...11 December 2004

I found the information in my reference from Experian relatively easy to understand, when reading the accompanying literature to explain it. However, what the reference does not explain is how or why I might be refused for credit.

Experian's pamphlet explains that different companies who use their information have different policies about what they consider to be acceptable or not in a reference anyway. Factors such as not being on the electoral register at the address you are currently living at, or how many times you have been refused credit will be described in your reference, but it is up to the lenders themselves to weigh this information. Mr Pattern might try asking the mortgage lenders to explain which parts of a credit reference their company is particularly concerned about. At any rate, I would advise him not to apply for any more mortgages, as being refused credit is not a good thing to have on a reference.

By the way, I telephoned my local council about up-dating the electoral register information, and they told me that their records were up to date, but that they were not updating the credit reference agency's information until the some court case or other had been resolved. I'm going to try getting proof from the council that I am on the electoral register at my address, and sending a copy of this to the credit reference agencies so that they can update their records. Fingers crossed that it works!
Jenny Slater.... 10 January 2002
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I refuse to send £2 or other amount to credit reference agencies to see information put with them by a third party without my knowledge and permission. Banks, building societies, loan providers, etc must be made to tell us SPECIFICALLY why they turn us down, otherwise there is no way of knowing if they have made a mistake or are discriminating against us.
Alan Smith ...7 May 2002
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