Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
hi have recived an email from experian in reply to me notifiying them that my egg account was in dispute and egg are refuseing to acknowledge the dispute or any letters sent to them. How can I get them to stop processing the data until the dispute is sorted?
copy of email pasted below
Thank you for your email, which we received on 18 August 2009.
I see that you have said that you have instructed Egg that you withdraw your permission for them to continue processing account data about you. This type of request falls under Section 10 Subsection 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Within this legislation it states that a request to remove information held does not apply where the data subject has consented to that information being held.
As all the companies that supply us with data must obtain consent from the data subject before supplying the information to us, you will have consented to this information being passed to a credit reference agency. This is usually stipulated within the terms and conditions of the application form.
Please note that you cannot withdraw your consent for us to hold information about you when an account is still active or for the period that the information is still considered relevant to your credit history.
I would like to take this opportunity to explain to you in full the processes we have in place when an individual queries the accuracy of an entry recorded on their credit report.
Under Section 159 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, you have the right to query information on your credit report that you believe to be inaccurate, once you have received a copy of your report.
You may wish to refer to the relevant legislation below that outlines the process we adhere to when dealing with disputed information.
CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974
159 Correction of wrong information
(1) Any individual (the ?objector?) given-
(a) information under section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 by a credit reference agency, or
(b) information under section 158,
who considers that an entry in his file is incorrect, and that if it is not corrected he is likely to be prejudiced, may give notice to the agency requiring it either to remove the entry from the file or amend it.
(2) Within 28 days after receiving a notice under subsection (1), the agency shall by notice inform the objector that it has-
(a) removed the entry from the file, or
(b) amended the entry, or
(c) taken no action,
and if the notice states that the agency has amended the entry it shall include a copy of the file so far as it comprises the amended entry.
I also draw your attention to the fourth Data Protection Principle, which states that:
Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
Within Schedule 1, Part II (Interpretation of the Data Protection Principles) of the Data Protection Act 1998 it is explained that, as a credit reference agency, we are not considered to have breached the Act by querying the disputed information and adding a Notice of Dispute statement.
7. The fourth principle is not to be regarded as being contravened by reason of any inaccuracy in personal data which accurately record information obtained by the data controller from the data subject or a third party in a case where-
(a) having regard to the purpose or purposes for which the data were obtained and further processed, the data controller has taken reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the data, and
(b) if the data subject has notified the data controller of the data subject's view that the data are inaccurate, the data indicate that fact.
Our regulator considers our action to query disputed information with the data provider as taking additional steps to verify the accuracy of the entry and by adding a statement to this effect to your report we are recording your viewpoint that the entry is inaccurate.
Therefore, we were choosing to take no action with regards to your initial request to remove this information from your report. Should you wish to verify this you can contact our regulator at the following address:
The Information Commissioner's Office: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF
In view of this, I am of the opinion that we have acted correctly throughout this matter and in accordance with the relevant legislation. I remind you that under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, each lender that supplies us with information is obligated to ensure that the data is accurate and kept up to date.
I hope this explains why we cannot act unilaterally to remove data from your report, especially when the company concerned has confirmed it to be accurate or has not authorised us to make any amendments, as in your case.
Furthermore, as we also have a responsibility to enable lenders to make informed lending decisions, I am sure that you can appreciate why we cannot amend information simply because the individual concerned claims that the data is incorrect.
If we operated in this way, any individual could claim that all the adverse information on their report was inaccurate purely as a means of improving their credit report. This would put our clients at risk by enabling people to potentially obtain finance that otherwise would not be offered to them.
Because of this, if a consumer disputes information on their report we query this with the data provider. The only instances where we would remove information without direct authorisation from the data provider is if a Court Order is provided that specifically states that an entry should be deleted or a ruling is made from a recognised regulatory body.
Kind regards
Mark S Whawell
Consultant Customer Service Officer
Customer Support Centre Experian Interactive
Experian Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with registered number 653331 and whose registered office is at Talbot House, Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG80 1TH Subject access request A Subject access request is a demand which you can make to any organisation to disclose any personal information which they hold on you. The right to disclosure of data is provided by the Data Protection Act.
There is no time limit. The organisation is obliged to reveal everything they have about you - which you ask for - as far back as you ask for.
There are very few exceptions. It does not matter whether the data is held on microfiche, in an archive, on tape, in a cardex system, in sound recordings or in screen notes.
Some companies are saying that they do not have to disclose where it would be difficult to do so - "disproportionate effort".
This is untrue. Disproportionate effort refers to something else under the Act.
If you are seeking bank charges information then you should ask for "all data held on you" and you should make it clear that you want everything as far back as it goes.
Your bank may try to kid you that they only have 6 years of data.
Do not be put off by excuses. Do not accept being fobbed off. It is not in your bank's interest to make full disclosure to you. This means that it is in your interests to get it.
If you have not started gathering your bank charges information yet, then you should start now.
There will soon be a big rush once the OFT test case has been settled.
Get all of your bank account informtion as far back as possible. At least as far back as 1995.
If your bank says that they don't keep data as far back as this, don't accept it. Be persistent. They've got what you need in some form or other.
hi have also recived the following from experian
and would like to know what i should reply to them?
Further to our recent correspondence, I have been contacted by Egg Banking Plc regarding entry C4 on your credit report. They have advised that they are unable to amend/delete the entry in question at the current time.
Egg Banking Plc have requested that you contact them directly regarding this matter. You may wish to include with your correspondence any documentation to support your comments.
The address to write to is as follows:
Egg Banking Plc
Pride Park
Riverside Road
Derby
DE99 3GG
Tel: 0845 1233233
Experian is unable to amend this information without the authorisation of the company in question.
Kind regards
Ami Toone
Client Queries Administrator
Client Queries
Experian Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with registered number 653331 and whose registered office is at Landmark House, Experian Way, NG2 Business Park, Nottingham NG80 1ZZ
----- Original Message -----
To:secureweb@uk.experian. com
Date: 08 September 2009
Subject: Secure Web
have cca them and it seems to be unenforceable and also the account was termanatied as i had a stanting order setup instead of a direct debit i then cca them and sent them a dispute letter to which i've not had a reply
experian Challenge
of the application form.
Subject access request
Reply With Quote
