Hello Lee. Experian state that"linked addresses remain on my credit report for up to eight years. This is to ensure that any relevant information at my previous addresses is made available to lenders" (this is why they wont remove the linked address), I have this in writing. I did explain to Experian that the accounts have been satisfied in full since 24/07/2008 and 03/10/2008 .. & I subsequently told them that the information they hold (i.e. the linked address) is no longer required for credit referencing purposes/relevant to lenders (in my opinion). I am to date awaiting a reply from the ICO on this matter as I have made an official complaint against Experian. Any opinions/help is much appreciated. Thanks -Steven

Hello Lee (and everyone reading this post). After a number of emails a compromise was met by myself and Vodafone. I personally can recommend the help of Lee from Vodafone. He was very helpful, answering all of my questions (and there were quite a few that I had!). Without his help I would not have been able to sort my problem so easily... especially if I had to communicate back and forth by letter!. The solution we arrived at was agreed by both parties and whilst it was not quite the 'quick fix' I would have hoped for it was definately a step forward towards helping me clean up my credit file(s). I am very grateful for Lee's help in resolving this matter and I will not hesitate in contacting him in the future should I need to discuss any further problems I may have regarding this or any other matter with Vodafone. Thanks Lee.

Hello. I have sent a letter to the ICO as Experian have completely refused to removed the linked address..even though there is NO debt/default/late payment recorded on my credit file. I will keep this thread updated.... (Also ... anyone who reads this I can personally recommend the help of Lee from Vodafone...he was extremely helpful in when it came to sorting out a problem I had with my credit file/Vodafone. It would have taken so much longer to sort .. had I kept having to communicate via letter). Keep up the good work Lee. Thanks.

Hello Lee. As ever you have been most helpful however I was hoping that Vodafone (as a company) could have done more to assist/help rectify my problem. I have after all been a loyal and reliable customer with Vodafone for a number of years now, apart from this one lapse in payment for reasons previously explained. Thanks again, Steven

Hello. Before I say anything else I would just like to say that Lee@Vodafone has been really helpful with the above problem and I thank him for this. That said however, I am not overly pleased with the response Vodafone has arrived at. Let me explain (I know some of you will have no sympathy however you do not know the full circumstances behind this & for personal reasons I am not explaining the reasons why the account fell into default on here). The account fell into default at a stressful time in my life(!) when I could simply not afford to carry on with the payments. Vodafone did offer me a choice of paying a one off up front charge to cancel the contract (however this was almost the same as carrying on the contract for the whole term) thus I was left with no choice but to let the account fall into default. Not the ideal choice I know!. The situation now is ... basically there is no default on my credit file(s) now however there are late payments recorded on it. The account has now been cancelled and has been paid on time & up to date since November 2007. I asked Vodafone if the late payments could be removed, sending a letter explaining the circumstances that led up to them being recorded (well it was worth a try!) .. and it was all truthful. The response from Vodafone is as follows - As promised, your request for the late payment entries recorded on your credit file has been reviewed. The outcome of this confirms that as they were recorded correctly they will remain in place, however, you are able to contact the credit reference agencies to add a Notice of Correction to explain the circumstances which led to them up to two hundred words. Should you need any assistance with the wording of this then the agencies will be able to help you. Also ... Each month Vodafone sends a snapshot of accounts to Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. They do record information is a slightly different format. When we send our files for April this is classed as 'March data' but may show on his credit file as March or April depending on when exactly the CRA's load the file. Our files for April (March data) were loaded yesterday by Callcredit and Equifax, however Experian have not yet loaded the files. Its between 26 and 28 months that the account has shown as status code 0's meaning the account is being paid on time each month. And the best bit I think is (ironically)... Experian as a rule can only hold 36 months worth of data therefore if the account had been kept up and running in roughly 10 months time the late payments would have fallen off his credit file. As the account has now been cancelled we will possibly only send a monthly update for the next couple of months meaning that once the account is settled the entire payment history will remain for 6 years from the settlement date. This means that lenders will see this information for the next 6 years, whereas if the account had still been active, approximately in 10 months time the late payments would have dropped off the credit file. Equifax holds 48 months worth of data so it would take slightly longer for the late payments to drop off the credit file. Callcredit is also different so again it would have taken longer for the late payments to drop off the credit file. So basically it would have been better for me to keep the account open and let the late payments fall off the file ... Any views or thought on this please ... And before anyone chirps in, yes I know its not Vodafone's fault but I was actually hoping they could have been a bit more ... understanding of my circumstances and actually removed/compromised on removal of the late payment codes (in some way) shall we say ... the account was only in default for four months since December 2006 and has been paid in full up to date ever since (till April 09). On top of this I am still a Vodafone pay as you go customer!! (no defaults possible here) I know other people have had late payment codes removed from their credit files .. so it is possible for Vodafone to do this. Maybe that was rather naive of me however. Steven

Thanks for the help with the 'linked address' post Lee. I was just wondering if there have been any developments with regard to the questions /accompanying letter I sent on the 8th April. Regards - Steven

Thanks Lee. I will wait until six years has passed (only one more month to wait) then write to Experian asking that they remove this information. After reading other posts however it seems that Experian can be quite stubborn on this and mainly refuse until eight years has passed. If they do refuse (after six years) I will complain to the Information Commissioner and see how that goes. Thanks again. ________________________________________________________________ Please could you keep me posted as to how the Vodafone query is going re my other post. Thanks.

Thanks Lee. That does help. Guess I will probably have to wait until the eight years are up before it is removed. however ... I have read that Experian will delete after six years in certain circumstances. Thanks again - Steven

Hello. Just to keep everyone informed. Lee@Vodafone is doing a great job in helping me sort out the problem. I will post the final outcome when everything is sorted. Steven

Hello. I have spoken to Activ Kapital re the linked address. They say they 'dont know when or even if linked addresses are removed from a persons credit file'. Not sure if I actually believe they do not known as as I spoke to the 'Credit File Team' at AK. AK state that linked addresses show 'a record of where a person has lived' and 'shouldn't have any effect on my credit rating/ability to obtain credit' and 'by showing the link they have not shown any incorrect information as I have lived at both addresses concerned' (that bit is correct). Surely companies who search my credit file will see the link between my previous adddresses and a debt collection company (Aktiv Kapital) and put two and two together. My credit file does not show a default anymore as the account has been paid in full and removed from my record. If the account hadn't defaulted then companies searching my credit file would not be able to see any record of where I have previously lived anyway would they! As the account has been settled in full why cant AK give permission for Experian to simply remove the linked address?. Is this worth pursuing to get this removed or am i being over suspicious here?? or possibly expecting too much? Any help/advice would be most helpful. Thanks

Hi. That did help. Thanks... i had to read it a few times to get it straight though. Steven (There was an extra post before this one .. but seemingly they deleted it!!)

Thanks Lee. I appreciate it. Steven

Hello Lee. I have sent an email detailing my problem to the email address you provided. I realise tomorrow is Bank Holiday Monday and you will not be available until Tuesday as you said. Thats not a problem. Thanks again for your help and I look forward to your response.Maybe now I will actually get things sorted out. Steven

Thanks Lee. Look forward to your reply Steven

Hello. Thanks kiptower & Lee. I have sent an email to Vodafone briefly explaining my problem (I can elaborate/provide more detailed information if required as it would only let me use 900 characters). Also it would not let me send the email via the link Lee provided (I tried twice .. but it kept saying to contact the administrators??) Anyway I sent the email via the Vodafone main web site. In the title I included WRT135 and the link to my problem on the Consumer Forum website. Hope this is ok. Please let me know if it did not reach you Lee. Thanks again. Any help you can provide would be most appreciated. Steven