The issue I have with one central repository is that when they get it wrong, it can be major hassle getting it corrected. Twice now I’ve had that with central government agencies and in both cases it was many months to correct it. I agree that one place sounds good, but when the one place makes a mistake, it can be really hard to fix. Someone on here had an issue with a central credit place and it took him years and a lot of effort to get it fixed.
1 Like
These things are all tradeoffs - nothing is perfect.
Personally a public body would ultimately be more accountable, in my view, than having any number of overseas companies that, by dint of saying they’re a credit reference agency, become entitled to my data. That feels fundamentally wrong, in my view.
6 Likes
You can still have an issue now with three of them and depending on which one is used when you make an application, it can still mean you get rejected/declined for finance.
I just feel, like others, it should be separate from any US company, it should be non-profit and it shouldn’t be able to sell your data. It’s your data but these companies make big money out of the information they hold.
4 Likes
I get that and I’m not entirely comfortable with that. What is not good is to have one organisation having sole control. Particularly if that is a government agency: the accountability aspect can be largely irrelevant as a government organisation can easily get into the mindset “we are right, you are wrong”.
Current case in point: the McCloud judgement on public sector pensions which is still not resolved over ten years down the line. In fact that one was directed to be resolved by April 2024 but seems unlikely to be fully resolved until 2027. Reason given for the delay: we don’t have the staff so we’re telling you that you have to wait. This is not accountability.
2 Likes
I understood that civil service pensions are outsourced. If the outsourcing company (Capita?) doesn’t have the staff then that would seem to be an argument for insourcing.
But this is primarily ideological so not something that everyone will agree on. All I’ll say is that having multiple organisations to do the same thing seems terribly inefficient - instead there should be more accountability and consequences, whatever the sector.
2 Likes
It’s the same problem in other public sector schemes that aren’t outsourced. Pensions in general are underresourced.
The issue I have with ‘accountability’ in government and mutually owned organisations is that there are no consequences. It’s why the McCloud thing is taking years longer than it should have taken to resolve. It’s why Equitable Life was allowed to essentially walk away from the consequences of its actions.
It’s why I’d much rather have more than one place to choose from in all circumstances. Three credit agencies are way better than one for the simple reason that with three, one could be shut down if something went badly wrong.
1 Like
A few months on, I think it’s time for an update.
First up my scores, as a reminder here’s where I was at previously:
Since then, nothing exciting’s happened on my credit file, so this should only be the impact of the VT.
Clearscore: 996/1000 - shows as closed.
Credit Karma: 669/710 - shows as paid and closed.
Experian: 1250/1250 - shows as settled with a note about section 99.
So nice to see after all of that I’ve pretty much had no impact.
The finance company on the other had has been a bit of a mess. I was sent a letter a few weeks back saying they were ‘disappointed’ that I hadn’t paid some outstanding charges related to the VT. The amount was just shy of £300 and apparently accounted for damage to the vehicle and a £70 collection fee.
The thing is, I haven’t had any communication from them prior to this with the condition report and itemised charges. I had no idea they even wanted this money! I also dropped off the vehicle myself so there should have been no collection fee. For the record, the actual amount being charged is completely fine - one of the alloys was damaged, there was a scratch running up the side of the car across multiple body panels from driving down country lanes so I was expecting to pay more. But until they’ve actually provided me with more detail around the charges, I can’t reasonably be expected to pay - I’d also add that they haven’t told me how to pay either!
I’ve contested this already with the finance company, had confirmation that my response was received and chased at the 14 day point, but I’ve still heard nothing back from them.
Next step is likely escalating to a complaint, but we’ll see what happens over the next few days…
4 Likes