Campaign to the OFT against unfair CRA practices.

[finlander]

Good Idea....

[MARTIN3030]

Agree with that,and so done.

[citizenB]

[finlander]

So how does a 'block complaint' work.... what do we need to do?

[tifo]

good idea finlander ...

after the posts by car--- on your 'Experian' thread i was thinking the same thing.

[thecteam]

i think we should include the comment about the we cant check every file we get sent the one i got from callcredit.

[MARTIN3030]

Its basically to get around the policy that they have in not dealing with specific individual complaints.I have hears it also desribed as a mass protest.Of course it needs to be co ordinated by a voice they will listen to and appreciate have some substance.I am not completely sure if initially it would need to go to Consumer direct-who would THEN pass it over to the OFT.I was previously told this last year so we would need to check on that first before sending.
The mainframe of the submission would be the complaint itself-which as said before would need to be factually correct,and detail the criteria with which the complaint would be based-including reference to any points of law or regulatory guidance that was being breached.Additionally any other information that could justify why it should be looked at seriously.Many of these have been voiced here already.
Insofar as providing supporting evidence there are various ways which it could be done.Either inform them that there are xxx amount of cases/real victims (in that scenario we would need to have a list to make available should they request it)
Alternatively send the list as part of the submission to them.The logistics and data protection issues etc would need to be looked at beforehand.
As I am aware.other team members are looking into how best we can do this effectively.
In the absence of nothing yet having been decided conclusively,I am not in a position to say how exactly we can proceed since rightly,it has to be looked at and discussed properly with all options on the table,and with the rest of the team involved.
I think the other team members will say more on it as its further looked at.In the meantime it gives the chance for others to join in and give it more support.



Its also been mentioned that this should be a stickie in the CRA forum within the debt sub forums.

[thecteam]

i dont mean it to be used souly for me. it is a complete worry the statement they made. here it is

2008-07-24 09:39:52As we process over 100 million personal data items each month, we believe it would constitute a disproportionate effort on our part to have to check the validity of each data item against contracted terms and conditions. We can assure you that we take our responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 and all other relevant regulations very seriously

[finlander]

Thanks martin it's nice tohear we are in capable hands. I really hope we can make something big of this as in my humble view we have been scr*wed for to long.... Power to the people and all that sort of thing........

[finlander]

2008-07-24 09:39:52As we process over 100 million personal data items each month, we believe it would constitute a disproportionate effort on our part to have to check the validity of each data item against contracted terms and conditions. We can assure you that we take our responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 and all other relevant regulations very seriously

In that case employ more staff or go and do something else for a living...i can't see the 'Its alright to ruin people lives because we are just to busy to check' defence working very well either to the OFT or in the defamation action I propose to take on the linked thread....

[Dipply75]

Count me in too. They are just companies and they are making their own rules up as they go along, and they are being allowed to. Its beyond ridiculous.

Can they, or their procedures, not be audited or something? Equifax told me they would not confirm what verification checks were done with my info as they had a contractual obligation to their client, which is confidential!

What kind of secret agreements exist between the CRA's and clients regarding the processing of our info?

[andrew1]

Originally Posted by Dipply75

Count me in too. They are just companies and they are making their own rules up as they go along, and they are being allowed to. Its beyond ridiculous.

Can they, or their procedures, not be audited or something? Equifax told me they would not confirm what verification checks were done with my info as they had a contractual obligation to their client, which is confidential!

What kind of secret agreements exist between the CRA's and clients regarding the processing of our info?

It's the law of the land my friend in the credit industry

GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

I got a strange feeling that's all about to change and they ain't gonna like it



Sarah

[Gez]

Perhaps this is something that needs to be put in the profile box where the new messages about touts & credit files are.
We should really be writing to MPs aswell, possibly more so than regulators. MPs will likely want to be seen to be doing the right thing. You know how they like to be popular..

I'm going to add something in my letter along these lines..

As a taxpayer, I, and I am sure the majority of your constituants, would like to know what plans you and other MPs have in place to ensure that financial institutions & credit reference agencies are properly regulated in future.
I would urge you to spend some time looking on the bank, debt & CRA sections of the following websites [CAG, MSE e.t.c.].
You will see that there are hundreds of thousands of people struggling against the mal-practices of just about every type of financial institution and credit reference agency.
I find it astonishing that there are no less than three independent regulators, namely the OFT, FSA, FOS, yet the only place these people can get reliable help is on a "self help" website run by other ordinary people.
[Details here about the FSA turning a blind eye to banker's openly flouting the waiver by altering charging structures & punishing complainants]
From these instances, it is quite clear that the FSA in particular have failed and continue to fail in their duty to protect consumers and regulate the financial industry.
In light of the above, its seems quite obvious to me that there needs to be a thorough investigation into the policies of the FSA and whether they can now be considered the right organisation to carry out such a task. As a matter of enormous public concern, questions need to be raised as to how these financial institutions have been able to continue such mal-practices for so long, unhindered & unquestioned until challenged by the ordinary consumer.

I am sure you will agree, with the resources of 3 major regulators, there can be no good reason as to why it has taken a campaign by consumers themselves for these issues to be brought to light and for anything to be done about it.

Furthermore, it would appear that financial institutions, banks in particular may only be taken to task for their unfair/unlawful practices in the past 18 months. I would like to know why.
If any other rogue trader had used similar unfair/unlawful practices to rip off customers for many years, surely he would not be extended the comfort of such leniance.

[tifo]

then there's the National Hunter system which is a 'secret' CRA they don't tell you about. This stores data about applications etc which are cross matched with one another and if any discrepancy is seen, a CIFAS record is recorded. It was initially for mortgage applications only but is now used for almost everything. So if you make even a small mistake on any application form you complete, beware!

Have a look here Experian plc - Experian’s new hunter system takes the fight against fraud global

and here for MCL Welcome to National Hunter

Makes you wonder who else has our data ....

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello Tifo!

That's interesting.

I note they do have a Page that almost encourages them to be sent a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request)!

Here it is: National Hunter Subject Access Request Page

Seems a shame not to Subject Access Request them when they ask us so politely!

However, it could also be a ruse for them to harvest yet more Data via the Request. Indeed, as a new boy in town, maybe they have geared themselves to handle these Requests, making the £10 fee a form of Income Generation. If they have built the Data so it is geared to Printing off a Subject Access Request with ease, then they could, in theory, make some money doing this and harvest validated Name/Address details in so doing. Cost is then just Printing and Posting, the Return is the balance left out of the £10 and some nice validated Data to add to their System. Data they can sell.

Looks like we have four CRAs in the UK, not three, albeit this one is part of Experian.

Could be interesting when sending a Subject Access Request to Experian to ask to see any Data Transfers made to National Hunter, and Vice Versa.

Cheers,
BRW

[tifo]

they're not that 'new' and Experian has bought the