What do you do when you check your Credit Report for the first time, expecting to see your own credit history, and you’re confronted with another person’s information?
It can be unnerving to see your Credit Report for the first time and finding credit agreements that belong to someone else can be an unwelcome surprise. Mistakes are rare but can happen for a variety of reasons – in case something unexpected occurs, it’s best to be prepared.
What do I do when I find someone else’s information?
Before hitting the panic button straight away, the first thing you should do is to go through your Credit Report carefully and methodically. Check all the credit agreements listed on your Credit Report; check if your Financial Associations and Aliases are correct, and check if there are any errors on your public information including Electoral Roll listings and court or insolvency records.
On inspecting your Credit Report if you spot a credit account which has nothing to do with you, check the details carefully. You may not think you have a loan with a particular lender, but you could have purchased a car or a new sofa and it may be the lender providing the finance for that item even if it was only ever referenced in small print. Have a look at your agreement paperwork – it will often state the provider of the credit, which you may have overlooked.
You should also check the reported personal details carefully. If you share the same name, initials and address with a family member, their information may appear on your Credit Report due to the similarity of your details. Similarly if you are a twin, you may find your twin’s information also appearing on your Credit Report as you would share the same date of birth too. In these cases, it’s pretty straight forward for the Credit Reference Agencies to remove these incorrect accounts from your Credit Report. In this instance, it’s best to dispute the information with the Credit Reference Agency that provided your Credit Report, as it can remove the incorrect information.
A useful feature of our Multi Agency Credit Report service is that it allows us to raise disputes on your behalf with the Credit Reference Agencies, where appropriate. If you’ve got an active subscription and are looking to dispute some information, please get in contact with our professionally qualified Credit Analysts who can guide you through the process.
What if the personal details match my own but I don’t recognise the information?
If the personal details (name, date of birth, and address) match yours exactly then the first port of call is to get in touch with the organisation reporting the account on your Credit Report.
As the source of the information, the organisation that has reported the data can tell you exactly what the account relates to and, where a mistake has been made, amend the information accordingly.
In a worst case scenario, unexpected information in your details could indicate identity fraud and needs to be addressed at the source to ensure your Credit Report is clear of any fraudulent accounts which could be harming your Credit Score. The organisation reporting the information can ensure that any fraudulent accounts are shut down and wiped from your Credit Report.
How do I check this for myself?
In reality it is extremely rare for another person’s credit account information to appear on your personal Credit Report but the only way to know for certain is to check the information for yourself.
If you haven’t already, you can try checkmyfile free for 30 days, then just £14.99 per month. Sign-up is quick and cancellation is easy and can be done online at any time, or by email or freephone. Our Multi Agency Credit Report is the only UK Credit Report that shows your complete information from the all three Credit Reference Agencies in one easy-to-use format, so you know you’re not missing a thing.
Updated 31/12/2019 by Sam Griffin