Announcement

**Never-In-Doubt** · 28 August 2010, 09:20

Credit Reference Agency Addresses

[FONT=Verdana][COLOR=#ff8000][SIZE=5][CENTER]Credit Reference Agency Addresses[/CENTER]
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[B]How to obtain your credit file:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]
You have the right to write to any of the credit reference agencies and ask for a copy of your credit reference file, which will cost you £2. Alternatively you may see your statutory report online, for the same £2 fee (see links below each CRA).

To apply by post, your letter should include:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT] [LIST][*][FONT=Verdana]your full name -also any other names you have been known by e.g. your maiden name;[/FONT][*][FONT=Verdana]your full address including postcode;[/FONT][*][FONT=Verdana]any addresses where you have lived over the past six years;[/FONT][*][FONT=Verdana]your date of birth; and[/FONT][*][FONT=Verdana]a cheque or postal order for £2 made payable to the credit reference agency.[/FONT][/LIST]
[FONT=Verdana]You should keep a copy of your letter and you may want to send it by recorded delivery. The credit reference agency has 7 working days to send you your file after receiving your letter and fee. Sometimes the credit reference agencies need more information from you before they can send you your file. For example, they may need proof of your name and address from a utility bill or bank statement. This is important to make sure that no one else gets your file by mistake or to check that no one else has fraudulently applied for your credit reference file. The agencies do not have to send you your file until they get this information.

[B]The addresses of the credit reference agencies are:[/B][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT][INDENT][FONT=Verdana][B]Experian Ltd[/B]
Customer Support Centre
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF[/FONT][INDENT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][B][COLOR=#ff8000]
--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html"]Access your £2 statutory report (postal) here[/URL]
[B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html"]Access your £2 statutory report (online) here[/URL]
[B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="https://www.creditexpert.co.uk/order1_1.aspx?sc=410032&bcd=UKMApmid0710B&mboxSession=1283395110494-143914&areaid=22&pkgid=UKMON&SiteID=100002&SiteVersionID=487"]Access your online instant report here[/URL][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT] [/INDENT]
[FONT=Verdana][B]
Equifax Plc[/B]
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US[/FONT][INDENT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][B][COLOR=#ff8000]
--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="http://www.equifax.co.uk/Products/credit/statutory-report.html"]Access your £2 statutory report (postal) here[/URL]
[B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/order.ehtml?prod_cd=UKSCR"]Access your £2 statutory report (online) here[/URL]
[B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="http://www.equifax.co.uk/Products/credit/credit-report.html"]Access your online instant report here[/URL][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT] [/INDENT]
[FONT=Verdana][B]
Call Credit Plc[/B]
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ[/FONT][INDENT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][B][COLOR=#ff8000]
--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="http://www.callcredit.co.uk/files/creditfile-app.pdf"]Access your £2 statutory report (postal) here[/URL]
[B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="https://www.callcredit.co.uk/stat-report-online/index.php?action=basket_add&tpl=setRegister&package=63&amount=1&mode=clear"]Access your £2 statutory report (online) here[/URL]
[B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [URL="https://www.callcreditcheck.com/index.php?mod=intro&act=link&fld=ServiceName&key=1&"]Access your online instant report here[/URL][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT] [/INDENT]
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[FONT=Verdana][B]
* Important Note: [/B] If you decide to see your "free" instant report you must cancel within the specified times otherwise it is not free, but rather very expensive so make sure you do not forget to diary 30 days, then get the thing cancelled![/FONT]

**Never-In-Doubt** · 2 September 2010, 02:30

CIFAS Categories

[COLOR=#ff8000][SIZE=5][CENTER]CIFAS Categories[/CENTER]
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The CIFAS categories are as follows:[INDENT]
0 [B]Protective Registration[/B]
Recorded at request of the person named or to protect the identity of a deceased person

1 [B]False Identity Fraud[/B]
Use of a false name with an address

2 [B]Victim of Impersonation[/B]
Use, by another person, of this name and/or address

3 [B]Application Fraud (Facility Granted)[/B]
An application/proposal for any facility with one or more material falsehoods in the information provided - the facility was granted

4 [B]Application Fraud (Facility Refused)[/B]
An application/proposal for any facility with one or more material falsehoods in the information provided - the facility was refused

5 [B]Conversion[/B]
Conversion (disposal or sale) of goods (to which the hirer/buyer does not have title) under a hire-purchase, conditional sale, contract hire, leasing or rental agreement

6 [B]First Party Fraud[/B]
Opening an account or other facility for a fraudulent purpose, or the fraudulent misuse of an account or facility

7 [B]Aiding & Abetting[/B]
Aiding, abetting or assisting, or conspiring with, another or others to fraudulently procure credit, hire or other facilities, or other product or service

8 [B]Insurance Claims Fraud[/B]
The making of a claim(s) under one or more insurance policy(ies) with one or more material falsehoods or by presenting a false or forged document.
[/INDENT]

Where a CIFAS record is marked with a category '0' this means the entry on the database has been made at the request of the person named. In the majority of cases, the person has been a victim of a crime such as burglary or mugging and has had personal documentation, which could be used to fraudulently open an account, stolen from them.

The other categories describe different types of fraudulent activity. Particular attention should be paid to category 2. This category covers the 'victims of impersonation'. Their details appear on the database for their own protection. The information does not mean these individuals have committed frauds.

Category 6 covers a variety of situations. For example, someone who deliberately reports their credit card as stolen, when it has not been stolen and they are continuing to use it would be covered by this category. The same would apply to someone who reported they have not received some goods by mail order, when the goods had been delivered and the individual was using them.

**Never-In-Doubt** · 2 September 2010, 02:55

National Hunter Database

[COLOR=#ff8000][SIZE=5][CENTER]National Hunter Database[/CENTER]
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It does not publicise its phone number or give an address beyond a PO box number belonging to a small office on a run-down street in Stoke-on-Trent. Its name is unknown to the public. Yet it carries out around 100,000 credit checks every day, probing applications ranging from mortgages to car loans and store cards.

Ask a bank or finance company why you've been rejected, and you will probably be told to contact one, or all, of the credit reference agencies - Callcredit, Equifax, and Experian - to see what they have on you. Send them £2 and you'll get a copy of your file by return. there's a fourth agency, called "National Hunter", whose approval - or otherwise - can make or break an application. But, unlike the others, you won't find out the information it holds on you for £2, or be invited to apply online to check your data. Instead, National Hunter charges £10, the maximum allowed under the Data Protection Act.

Last year, 5m applications for credit were turned down across the industry, but how many were as a result of National Hunter is unknown. And, until now, the organisation's extremely low profile has meant that few individuals rejected for credit will have thought to check with National Hunter. It was set up by a group of banks in 1993, but is now co-owned by 60 banks, building societies and specialist lenders. Its official headquarters are in Stoke-on-Trent though little of what it does takes place in the building. Although it's owned by the banks, National Hunter is managed and operated on a day-to-day basis by Experian, the giant of the credit agencies, based in Nottingham.

It does not assess creditworthiness in the same way as the other agencies - its sole purpose is fraud prevention. It is one of the most important weapons used by lenders in the continuing battle against financial crime. National Hunter will warn a lender if its checks suggest that an application is "suspect". In turn, the lender's computer may then turn down an application, without informing the applicant precisely why, or which database was checked. The vast majority of its rejections are likely to be for entirely legitimate reasons.

But quite how many files National Hunter holds on individuals is unknown. And what if the "suspect indication" arises because of human or computer error - or because you presented the lender with facts that it cannot easily check?

"Suspect" or "inconsistent" facts, which may cause applications to be flagged as fraud risks, can include:
[INDENT]· Change of employer over a short period;
· Differences in spelling of a surname, initial, or date of birth;
· Change in driving licence number or a variation in other identification documentation;
· The same mobile phone number from more than one applicant;
· A substantial change in stated salary over a short period;
· Income which is difficult or impossible to verify;
· Applicants using details that are apparently from a deceased person.
[/INDENT]

Barclaycard is a major user of National Hunter. "Every night, we send it almost all our card applications. Next morning, its computers send them back, either with OK or showing a potential fraud," a spokesperson says. "If it's the latter, then we might decide to contact the applicant, although that may depend on other factors." Mortgage lenders tend to use the standard Experian and Equifax systems first, then decide whether to lend. Only then do they contact National Hunter to check it is not potentially dishonest.

But while the system weeds out many possibly fraudulent applications, legitimate applicants could fall foul of a check for innocent reasons - you might have had a big salary increase, or simply handed over an old mobile to a member of your family. According to a recent National Hunter presentation, to be "inconsistent" there has to be "a clear discrepancy between information provided by the consumer and information found, or not able to be found or verified elsewhere". So the information you provide could be true, but it will be treated as potentially fraudulent if National Hunter cannot find enough information to check what you say. But if you question the rejection, banks will generally send a standard letter pointing you to one or more of the three credit agencies.

You won't be told about National Hunter - although you have a right under the Data Protection Act to demand a "subject access request" requiring a company to reveal what it holds on you. The difficulty is, very few know about National Hunter's existence, let alone what it does.

Members (lenders) are required to include certain key elements within the declaration/fair processing notices section of their application forms. The wording should indicate that applicants can find out which fraud prevention agencies are used and the method by which they can find this out. The members must ensure that this information is made readily available to the applicant and preferably by means of a dedicated telephone contact number. If you ask your bank, it has to tell you about our existence.

Banks should not turn someone down simply on the basis of one of its alerts - the rules say members can't make automated decisions, National Hunter themselves said that they would be concerned if banks did that. The information commissioner, responsible for data protection issues, has expressed "strong views" on rejecting applications on fraud suspicion grounds alone, realising that no database is 100% foolproof.

Firms involved with fighting fraud recognise there is a clash between those who believe visibility harms fraud prevention and those who believe better knowledge of what can happen to a false application is a deterrent to potential fraudsters.

To see what National Hunter holds about you - Send an [B][URL="http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1863&postcount=17"]Advanced SAR[/URL][/B] along with £10 (statutory fee) to the following address:
[INDENT]N Hunter Limited
PO Box 2756
Stoke-on-Trent
ST6 9AQ

[/INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][B][COLOR=#ff8000]--->[/COLOR][/B] [B][URL="http://www.nhunter.co.uk/"]National Hunter Website[/URL][/B][/INDENT]
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Announcement

All About Credit Reference Agencies & CIFAS

All About Credit Reference Agencies & CIFAS

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