Registering with Equifax - forget it

[Frank Leigh]

I wish I'd read this before. I've just gone through the online order for a £2 report from Equifax, only to be informed at the end that I had to phone them. Spent 5 minutes on a mobile phone talking to someone to whom I had to talk slowly and repeat things, only to be told at the end that they wanted me to send documentation including bank statement and ...

 

At that point, I lost my temper (which is extraordinarily rare for me, usually the epitome of calmness) and refused, telling her there was nothing in the online application about this, that I'd just ordered a report from Experian without all this extra palaver, and to cancel the order. She was good enough to confirm that no money would be taken from my card.

 

Jeez, they'd even checked past addresses back to 1999 online! What an expensive, time-consuming, frustrating and ultimately futile experience. To echo the OP, sort yourselves out, Equifax.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Frank Leigh

[Fulhamboy]

Equifax are the ones who ask for your credit card details. I fell at the first hurdle, I dont have a credit

card and due to a crap credit report I will not be getting one . Which is rather ironic I thought.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Debit card will do it has to be a card registered to you current address.

[credit_geeks]

Yes this sounds fustrating, basically they are attempting to verify your identity, to then allow you access to your credit report. I assume they may check different sources like whether your application, address matches the one on the electoral roll, etc. However, these checks are in place to reduce fraudulent access to your credit report.

[Frank Leigh]

As I'm on the electoral roll, and as neither Experian or Noddle required further evidence, it just seems ridiculous to have to go through a whole online application for Equifax only to be asked to phone, then have to go through verbally a list of checks of what I'd just entered online, finally to be asked to send documentary evidence through the post. As I said, I'd even been given a choice of past addresses which they generated going back to 1999 to confirm, which neither Experian or Noddle asked for, so they already had extra information that they were obviously checking out online.

 

At the very least, the online application could finish with the statement along the lines of 'we're sorry, but in order to make absolutely sure we have the right person, we'll need you to send the following documentation by mail ...' and offer the customer the choice to cancel the order there and then. In fact, at the start of the online application, they should tell you they may want documentation.

 

Making you phone them, which takes at least 5 minutes and on a mobile which is all I have isn't cheap, seems unnecessary and significantly adds to the statutory fee.

 

I'm very unimpressed with Equifax's inefficiency, customer unfriendliness, and what I regard as poor business practice.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Make a complaint in writting to the CEO of Equifax put all your experiences before them.

[Frank Leigh]

When I can be bothered, I may just send a written request with two squid, a copy of a bank statement, and a complaint at the same time. Or do they need an original bank statement in case I'm an ace forger? Tell you what, I could phone them up to check! Now, where's that number...?

 

(led off foaming at mouth to lie down in darkened room...)

[Frank Leigh]

I requested a £2 statutory credit report online from Experian, and was sent a letter with a Pass Key and instructions to enter that plus my postcode to access the report on their website.

 

It took 6 working days for the letter to arrive, and I was just beginning to wonder if it had gone astray, as Experian said to email them if it hadn't arrived after 5 working days.

 

As it turns out, if the letter had fallen into the wrong hands, anyone could have logged in to my report, as no additional personal information was requested.

 

Am I correct in thinking that Experian should make it harder to prevent possible identity theft, or is what they do normal practice?

Edited January 30, 2013 by Frank Leigh

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

What do you mean by fallen into the wrong hands???

[Frank Leigh]

Been opened/read by someone other than the addressee.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Frank Leigh

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

And who's fault was this RM or the CRA?

[Frank Leigh]

Royal Mail. It's well known that mail is sometimes wrongly delivered or not delivered, rarely but it does happen.

 

It seemed to me to be potentially insecure and not best practice to write down all the log-in details to an online confidential personal financial report and send them through the post.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Frank Leigh

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Probably as secure as any electronic means so what else can the CRA do.

[Frank Leigh]

Nothing's 100%, but it's about minimising risk. I thought at least they could require something that's not written down in the letter such as the answer to a security question, for example.

 

Noddle were able to do everything online. If someone else was trying to get my report, they'd have had to know my personal information, including my debit card details. Admittedly, this could happen, but it would take a deliberate organised effort.

 

Sending a letter out with all the login details is almost an invitation for a bit of opportunistic snooping or worse if someone else opens the letter.

 

Anyway, I did google this and came across one similar post in the entire history of the universe on another forum dated more than a year ago. The guy said he'd written to Experian, and obviously he got nowhere.

 

As he and I are in such a tiny minority (no-one could even be bothered to reply to his post, so thanks, Brig, for at least having a stab at it), it's clearly time to stop flogging this particular dead horse. End of, as they say.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Frank Leigh

[GGtim99]

Hi all,

 

Sorry to revive an old thread but I've just come upon this security flaw too!!

 

I recently ordered my statutory credit report from Experian. They said that they would send my login details (postcode and password generated by them) in the post. Well the first one didn't arrive so sent an email to their customer support and they said they'd send another one. Well that one didn't arrive either, so there are now 2 bits of paper floating about god knows where that contain all the details required to access everything on my statutory credit report!!

 

I've since complained and asked if my report has been accessed by anyone but they have just ignored me. What can I do know?

[renegadeimp]

When they send a new letter, they reset the codes. The only thing in the letter is the unique one time use code.

[citizenB]

In the first place you should have headed your email as a Formal Complaint - they are obliged to respond to those within 8 weeks.

 

I have always ordered up my statutory file request by post and received a paper copy in the post with no problems. BTW, are you aware that you can also send a Subject Access Request to the Agencies.. and they are much fuller and more informative

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Formal Complaint to Royal Mail as well, Formal Complaint to the Data Controller at the CRA.

[kittyo1]

Hello also waiting on my passkey after two failed attempts, for those who have received the letter does it also include your email address

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Not usually.