Do You Have CCJs, Defaults Or An Adverse Credit Payment History?
If, like many people, you are in the position of having a bad credit history with any of the above bad credit items on your UK credit report (credit file), then you know how difficult or downright impossible it can be to obtain any further credit or even a simple bank account. Creditors would say that this is the reason why they are there. Sometimes, though, these bad credit items appear on your credit report (credit file) without your knowledge or through no fault of your own.
In such circumstances you have had no opportunity to defend yourself and you may even be totally innocent. If, for whatever reason, you believe that you are not liable for the debt lodged against you then you will, quite naturally, want to try and remove those derogatory bad credit items from your credit report (credit file).
You may have tried the techniques outlined in our credit repair section. You may have had some success, particularly with the removal of your County Court Judgments (CCJs). But you know that unless you offer a repayment schedule to the creditors that you supposedly owe money to, then they aren't going to remove those defaults from your credit history / credit report (credit file), which is something only they can do. And remember, defaults stay on your credit history / credit report (credit file) for 6 years just like CCJs.
Well, if you refuse to pay your creditors anything and you have had trouble setting aside (removing) your CCJs permanently, you could do one of two things:
(i) Wait the full 6 six years for your defaults and CCJs to disappear from the records
of the credit reference agencies, during which time you will probably be refused
any further credit.
(ii) Create a new UK credit report (file) and rebuild a new credit history from scratch.
If you are a seasoned credit information gatherer you may have come across reports on the Internet that tell you how to obtain a new clean credit report (file). These reports are aimed solely at the American market, even though they are sold as being applicable to the UK market also. This is untrue.
This method of creating a new credit file in the US is called 'file segregation' and involves creating what is essentially a new credit report using your TIN# or EIN#, so that when you apply for credit you will now be identified by either your TIN# or EIN#, not your SS#. This new credit file identified by your TIN# or EIN# will be clean, whereas your old 'dirty' credit file will be identified by your #SS. As far as the computers at the credit reference agencies (or credit bureaus in the US) are concerned, these two credit files are the credit reports of entirely different people. As far as we know file segregation is now illegal after a massive clampdown by the federal authorities on credit repair companies offering such credit services.
Supposedly, using a newly acquired TIN# or EIN# to apply for credit is illegal. However, on reading the reports above, you will see that they say that if you cross out the SS# on the credit application form and write TIN# or EIN# followed by the appropriate TIN# or EIN#, then you are not misleading anyone as you have made it quite clear that you are submitting a TIN# or EIN# and not a SS#! Well, that may be the case, but if you default on a payment and the creditor finds out that you have created a new file using segregation you could be in trouble. All very complicated, which is why this process caused such a furore in the US some years ago.
To make sure that the new TIN# or EIN# credit file that has been created is not merged with your old SS# credit file, they also suggest that you use different personal details such as a new address and a new telephone number.
Of course, in the UK, this method would not be applicable as our credit history is not linked to our National Insurance numbers. We don't know why this is the case but the two aren't connected. In the UK the scenario is quite different. The way that creditors and other organisations check and verify your identity and address and consequently your credit history is mainly via the 'Electoral Register'. (if you have moved recently and aren't on the electoral register yet but have a credit history at your previous address then you will not necessarily be turned down for credit. Potential creditors will ask to see something like a utility bill or bank statement instead to prove your address.) This is essentially a list, by address, of all eligible voters.
Your name has to be on this list by law and you have to be on this list in order to cast a vote in elections. Failure to include your name on this list is technically a punishable crime, usually by a fine. However we have yet to hear of anyone who has been convicted of not doing so. During the poll tax demonstrations some years ago many people refused to attach their names to the register and it is thought that up to 5 million people who are entitled to vote still simply do not bother to register. Imagine trying to fine all those people, even if you could find them!
Your electoral register information then appears on your credit file held by the credit reference agencies and every time you apply for credit the lender will check your credit report and verify your identity and address by using this electoral register information.
However, we have discovered that there are many flaws and loopholes in this UK system of credit checking. Consequently these loopholes can be used by knowledgeable people to create an entirely new credit file and credit history for themselves. |
