I have been trying now for 5 years and 1 month to have Equifax & Experian record the correct format of my address to show me listed on the electoral register as it is shown in my Extract of Register of Electors sent to them by me and by the Local Authority once a month. I telephoned every week, emailed documents with attachments every month and sent hard copies in the post by me very often. It seems if you have a two part address or forward slash address such as "3/5" or dash number address such as "4-6" or named house such as "The Elms" that there software applications are unable to record these formats and match them with the electors register of entries. It is to do with the characters in the fields of data input which record the / and - as mathematical sums. The trouble is that if you decide you want to register online with these agencies to correct the error it is extremely and I mean extremely difficult (maybe impossible) to get past security checks to get an online account to see the information they hold on you because you would need to know the exact format of address they have recorded for you, but they would not be willing to tell you this information. Its a complex and extremely frustrating process. There is a third agency commonly used by high-street retailers called "Callcredit", they are better at responding to queries than the other two and I found them more co-operative, but still with major errors. I used an online company on a free trial called "checkmyfile" they can contact the major agencies direct on your behalf and collate the information to reflect more consistently and accurately. They have been the best help so far and very understanding (despite negative reviews they have received from some customers) they have been really approachable and pushed the boat out to help me with positive results. I think this is due to the fact that you seem to have a dedicated person at "checkmyfile" and only one person dealing with your problems. But be sure to tell the truth about everything as Credit files are a matter of fact or at least should be and not fiction. Honesty is the best policy and the sooner you know where your Credit Score stands the quicker you can address any problems (if you have any) to make improvement. Trust me, you cannot cheat it. It is an impossibility. The other suggestion is you contact the Information Commissioner's Office, phone or download the form and submit your complaint. They should assign a case officer to resolve the matter, but again be honest with them. They have a lot of power and agencies will listen to them and act on there recommendations. You will need supporting documents so be ready before you start the process, because each time you add another query to your complaint with any of these agencies it can have counter effects as most deal with each incident individually within 28 days. So my advice is read the requirement for documentary evidence you have to produce and ask lots of clear specific question as to what is needed and have your case ready to present in whole. I know it takes time and effort but if you want the Credit Reference Agencies to make changes and get it right you may have to do a lot of work first. Its all about evidence. You may not have done or be doing anything wrong but sadly it is down to you to do the work to fix it. It can be very frustrating and tiring. Keep notes and times of phone calls and dates and any emails and documents sent. You might find you need to become you own little office assistant. Finally if you are applying for credit or finance and a credit search is to be carried out ask which credit reference agency the lender's company use and you must use the exact format of address that the Credit Reference Agency has recorded for you on the register of electors. If it is unsuccessful present a copy of the Credit Reference Agency listed address for you to the Lender as proof of your electoral roll entry. You can also obtain a copy of your electoral register entry from your local authority offices at about a cost of £10. This is an important document and very helpful for evidence of proof to present to all Agencies and lenders. After five long years I found trying to resolve it on my own impossible. Only Checkmyfile and the Information Commissioner's Office where of any real help and understanding. You can also read some interesting books on Credit Scoring & Credit Reference Agencies. These books are not cheap, the good ones are between £50 to £80 each but make interesting and educational reading. Good luck.

Hi there, I used a Debt Management Plan to repay one my creditors, Capital One, between Oct/Nov 2005 to Apr 2011. The account was passed (or balance was sold) to a DCA called NCO Europe Limited sometime in Mar 2006 even after they (i.e. Capital One) agreed to the reduced payment and they also said in the agreement that "if the proposed reduced payment is paid each and every month, Capital One will not issue a statement of default". I recently looked at all my Credit Files to find that Capital One marked my file as 4 or 5 late payments between Dec 2005 and Feb 2006 and then Defaulted my account every month from Mar. 2006 till when the amount owed was cleared, i.e. Apr 2011. To my knowledge payments were made every month but I can vaguely remember one month were I might have missed a payment because the Counselling agency didn't set up the DD correctly but this would have happened in mid 2006. By the way, the account was passed back to Capital One when I had cleared the balance. My next course of action is to request the CCA and see how it goes from there. My questions are: 1. Do you think that's a good first step? i.e. requesting a CCA first? 2. Why did they continue to mark the account as Default for years? 3. Should they not have stopped defaulting the account if the reduced payment was greater than or the same as the contractual minimum payment? Any advice would be most appreciated? Thanks!