un1boy vs Experian - Default removal

[un1boy]

Well, long story short,

I had an account with company A that went to a DCA

as my house mate when I was student didn't pay me for it until I threatened legal action 6 months later.

I was advised by A that no default would be entered,

after about 5 months the account was settled with the DCA,

I checked Experian and no default was registered.

 

I recently checked Equifax and there is one there, supplied by A.

Now, I have sent A the CCA request and that is in progress.

Before I found the CCA request thread info, I emailed Equifax to dispute the Default.

 

I wrote the following:

 

This default is being disputed as A did not clear

the balance when agreed. I was also told

by their credit control department that a default entry

would not be entered against me!

 

To which Equifax replied:

 

The Client concerned has investigated the accuracy of the information and has asked that you contact their credit control on 0800 052 2620. As our client has not given permission to amend this information it remains unchanged on your credit file.

 

I called A to explain the situation as the DCA did not clear the account when I paid my last payment as they lost it,

so cleared it in feb 06 rather than nov 05!!

A sorted it all for me,

 

I replied to Equifax with this:

 

A have now agreed to my situation.

However, as my contract was ended with them so has my permission for them to process and for you to hold my data.

As this account is no longer in force and the contract has been terminated I request that this information is removed from my file.

 

The reply I got from Equifax was:

 

Credit Agreements are stored and updated as supplied to us by our Clients/Lenders and as such can only be amended by receiving written instructions to do so from the Client/Lender to Equifax.

 

Therefore we are unable to amend the information appearing on your Credit Report.

 

If you feel that the disclosure of this information has been supplied incorrectly, we would suggest you put your complaint in writing and forward it to the Data Protection Registrar. Their address is listed below to enable you to pursue this matter further: -

 

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

We hope the above details are of assistance to you.

 

Kind Regard

 

 

So, I replied:

 

Please can you advise me which act of law, including a full transcript of the sections and paragraphs relevant that says you can only accept amendments of MY data from your clients?

 

And I have just received this from Equifax:

 

We have passed your details on for further investigation. A member of our escalations department will be in contact with you regarding your query shortly.

 

I will keep you guys updated with what happens.

Any advice, comments etc then please feel free

- I am posting this to help people and see what happens, hehe.

Open discussion welcome!

[martin2006]

top banana. go for it.

[un1boy]

I have just sent this to Equifax about another account on my file:

 

Hi there,

 

I also require the entry for the Company B account to be removed. In anticipation of your reply that only comapny B can request this, please send me a transcript of the particular acts, section and/or paragraphs of UK law that allow to hold my information without my permission...as the account was closed, my permission to store and process my data ended too.

 

As a seperate data controller, I would like to remind you your obligation under the DPA to only hold relevant data about me with my permission.

 

My permission ended when the contract did.

[un1boy]

Strange email I have just received from Equifax about a dispute I placed with company C a few weeks ago:

 

Thank you for your recent correspondence.

 

We have received no response from the Client in relation to the information under dispute on your credit file. We have therefore, temporarily removed this information from your credit file, you will be notified if we receive an update from the client.

 

Please note that the Notice of Dispute previously loaded to your credit file has been removed.

 

I hope this is of assistance.

I've not heard anything about this and I disputed company C's file a few weeks ago. I have just replied asking if they have removed the whole entry, or just the dispute.

 

The strangest thing is I haven't asked for them to provide me with a transcript of the act of uk law which lets them hold my data. Do you think it's strange?

[Tobes]

I've had the same message for some of my complaints, they remove the whole entry temporarily, though mine are still gone because the companies haven't responded!

[un1boy]

Excellent - is this their standard response, or did they remove urs after asking them to quote chapter and verse of the acts of uk law which permit them?!

[Tobes]

No it's standard - my complaints mentioned none of Surlybond's arguments

[un1boy]

Oh right, ok - that's fair I think.

[Lizzy]

[quote=un1boy]Strange email I have just received from Equifax about a dispute I placed with company C a few weeks ago:

Thank you for your recent correspondence.

We have received no response from the Client in relation to the information under dispute on your credit file. We have therefore, temporarily removed this information from your credit file, you will be notified if we receive an update from the client.

 

This is exactly what happened to me when I queried my defaults with Equifax and Experian about a year ago. The defaults were removed until they had heard from Birmingham Midshire. After 30 days BM had still not replied to them so I thought it was done and dusted. About 2 months after my query both CRAs contacted me to say that BM said the entry was correct. The defaults were back on and that was that OR SO I THOUGHT UNTIL I CAME HERE.

 

You really need Surlys letter to be sure they don't go back on.The CRAs believe everything THEIR clients say without proof.

 

Lizzy

[un1boy]

Don't worry Lizzy - I'm going to see what they come back with in terms of Company A and B first then send Surly letters!!

 

I'll keep you informed!

[un1boy]

[quote=un1boy]Strange email I have just received from Equifax about a dispute I placed with company C a few weeks ago:

 

Thank you for your recent correspondence.

 

We have received no response from the Client in relation to the information under dispute on your credit file. We have therefore, temporarily removed this information from your credit file, you will be notified if we receive an update from the client.

 

 

This is exactly what happened to me when I queried my defaults with Equifax and Experian about a year ago. The defaults were removed until they had heard from Birmingham Midshire. After 30 days BM had still not replied to them so I thought it was done and dusted. About 2 months after my query both CRAs contacted me to say that BM said the entry was correct. The defaults were back on and that was that OR SO I THOUGHT UNTIL I CAME HERE.

 

You really need Surlys letter to be sure they don't go back on.The CRAs believe everything THEIR clients say without proof.

 

Lizzy

 

Which of surly letters do you think would be best?

[un1boy]

Well guys, got this reply back from Equifax today:

 

Thank you for your recent correspondence, details of which have been

passed to me for investigation and resolution.

 

I acknowledge your comments regarding data held on your Equifax Credit

File, and your question concerning which Act of Law relates to the

amendment of this data. As I am sure you are aware, many of the

financial institutions within the UK have agreed to share details of

their customers' credit agreements with each other, and this is made

possible by storing the credit agreements with one or more of the three

credit reference agencies.

 

Although the credit agreements are held by the credit reference agencies,

the owner of the information continues to be the financial institution,

and not the credit reference agency. The credit reference agencies are

unable to amend or delete information, unless they have been advised to

do so directly from the data owner.

 

Therefore, with regards to the Comapny A account which is currently appearing

at the address of xxx a Notice of Dispute was raised on xxx, whereby we requested Comapny A to investigate and confirm the accuracy of the information provided to Equifax.

 

On the xxxx, Comapny A responded and requested that you make contact

with their Credit Control Department in order that they could investigate

this matter further, with your assistance. In view of the further

investigation which was required, Company A did not at this time, request

Equifax to amend or delete this account farom your Credit File.

 

We acknowledge your further comments within your email dated xxxwhereby you advised that Comapny A had since agreed to your

situation. In view of this, we have today raised a second Notice of

Dispute regarding this account, whereby we have asked Company A to advise if the account should now be amended.

 

Although the Notice of Dispute process can take up to 28 days, I will

endeavour to maintain regular contact with Company A in order to expedite a response.

 

To which I am going to reply:

 

Thank you for email dated xxx, I would disagree however that "

Although the credit agreements are held by the credit reference agencies,

the owner of the information continues to be the financial institution,

and not the credit reference agency." As per my rights under the DPA, the owner of the data is actually the data subject (me), hence the reason that comapnies cannot process, store etc our data without the data subject's consent. Our consent is gained via a term in the contract signed by the data controller (financial institution) which is agreed to by our signature. This premission to store, process etc our data is only given whilst the contract with that perticular data controller is in force. Since the contract was cancelled some time ago, both you and Company A are now committing a criminal offence by processing, storing etc my data without my consent.

 

 

Your obligation as a data controller is to make sure that the information you hold about me is obtained legally and always accurate and up to date. You have failed in your obligatin to do this.

 

As you have confirmed that there is now Act of UK parliament giving you the right to process, store etc my data without my permission, I require that you remove the entry within the next 72 hours.

 

If I do not hear anything from you regarding this, I will begin court proceedings against you.

 

I would like to bring to your attention Section 14 of the Data Protection Act.:

 

14. - (1) If a court is satisfied on the application of a data subject that personal data of which the applicant is the subject are inaccurate, the court may order the data controller to rectify, block, erase or destroy those data and any other personal data in respect of which he is the data controller and which contain an expression of opinion which appears to the court to be based on the inaccurate data.

 

14. - (4) If a court is satisfied on the application of a data subject-

(a) that he has suffered damage by reason of any contravention by a data controller of any of the requirements of this Act in respect of any personal data, in circumstances entitling him to compensation under section 13, and

(b) that there is a substantial risk of further contravention in respect of those data in such circumstances, the court may order the rectification, blocking, erasure or destruction of any of those data.

 

____

 

what do you think?

[un1boy]

Well, sent this off to them yesterday, so should really have a reply by Monday!

 

Do you think you could send Surly's long letter with the statutory notice to cease processing data for cleared defaults to other companies, rather than banks - say, telecommunitcation companies like BT, telewest, NTL, T-Mobile, O2, Orange etc?

[Lizzy]

I noticed this in your letter

 

As you have confirmed that there is now Act of UK parliament giving you the right to process, store etc my data without my permission,

 

This is the template letter and notice I sent to Birmingham Midshires

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legalities/24013-defaults-proposed-method-removal.html

 

Also this would not go a miss to The CRAs

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legalities/30662-scanned-copy-experian-letter.html

[un1boy]

Hi Lizzy,

 

Thanks for highlighting the "now" mistake - I noticed it before I sent it actuallly and changed it.

 

Great, I thought that was the template letter - now, should I send that to Company A instead of the CRA?

[Guest willowb]

Hi, if you're talking about SurlyBond's template letter in Lizzy's first link then that goes off to the financial institution who has defaulted you.....is this what you wanted to know?

 

Wxx

[un1boy]

Hi Willow, yes, thanks - I'll send it today.

 

Do you have any idea why I am not receiving email updates for new posts on the threads I'm subsribed to? The domain name is in my allowed list with hotmail.

[Guest willowb]

It seems to happen in certain forums....I never receive notification for posts made in threads I've subscribed to in 'legalities' (here) and 'questions and suggestions'....don't know why.

 

Wxx

[Tinkerbelle]

Have you had a look in your User CP and checked that your subscribed threads are there and that it says "instant" in the Notification column?

[un1boy]

It seems to happen in certain forums....I never receive notification for posts made in threads I've subscribed to in 'legalities' (here) and 'questions and suggestions'....don't know why.

 

Wxx

 

It's weird though, because I have always got them.

 

Tinkers - yes, it all seems fine. It's really weird. Last time this happened I accidentally blocked the address from my email address. But, I've checked and it's allowed.

 

I think I'll change the email address for a while and see if that's the problem.

 

Haven't had ANY updates at all

[Michael Browne]

Check this:

 

User CP - Edit Options - Messaging & Notification - Default Thread Subscription

 

This may be set to No Notification.

[un1boy]

Check this:

 

User CP - Edit Options - Messaging & Notification - Default Thread Subscription

 

This may be set to No Notification.

 

Yep, it's set right. How strange.

[un1boy]

I've just noticed that I am a gold account member - I was classic the other day, lol. How has that happened and what does it mean?

[Tinkerbelle]

I've just noticed that I am a gold account member - I was classic the other day, lol. How has that happened and what does it mean?

 

It's based on the number of posts you have made

[un1boy]

Thanks Tink.

 

Oh, by the way guys - thanks for help trying to get my email notifications sorted. I had the webmaster blocked, by accident!! :-/ how embarassing, lol.

 

Anyway, back to the issue in hand.

 

I've not heard anything from the CRA's in terms of removing the default, should I now just send Surly's letter to Company A, or proceed with legal actiona against Equifax?