WHY DID FRAUDSTER’S £800 PHONE DEBTS WRECK MY MORTGAGE?
A FRAUDULENT broadband bill was run up against my name last year, and it took nearly three months to sort out. Neither the company nor the credit reference agency would return my calls or emails — I got the impression nobody much cared.
Only when I wrote to Trading Standards did anything happen.
J. J., Prestonpans, Edinburgh.
I’M APPALLED how little oversight is given to credit reference agencies. I had a run-in with one two years ago when I tried to add a note to my account to explain why I’d missed a credit card repayment.
No one at the agency’s call centre could help me. Disgraceful.
K. T., Evesham.
WHILE it may not be possible to rectify errors in a day, taking months is appalling. Start fining and publishing names of the firms that treat customers badly in such matters. They will soon up their game.
S. N., Devon.
WE SHOULD be able to sue the credit reference agencies for listing incorrect information.
N. S., Oldham.
MY FRIEND paid £6 to find out why he couldn’t get a decent credit card, only to find a debt he’d paid off in 2009 was still listed as outstanding by one credit agency — but not the other two! It’s a farce.
W. P., Newport, Wales.
COMPANIES should be more diligent when taking on new customer credit contracts, and held liable for the fraudulent bills where they haven’t done proper checks.
B. S, Wokingham.
IT’S GOT to the point where if your credit rating is anything less than perfect, you can find yourself in a very serious situation.
Worse, it means the credit agencies yield tremendous power, yet with almost no consequences for them if they publish damaging, incorrect information about you.
G. N., by email.
THERE should only be one credit reference agency. Getting all three to sort errors out is a nightmare.
G. O., Ebbw Vale, Wales.