Banks passing minor's details to CRAs

Hi there

Could somebody clarify how account opening works under 18? At 17, I provide ID, proof of address.

A few banks (looking at you, HSBC) seem to go through their sign up flow, displaying a ‘credit check’ type deal, when you apply.

Nevertheless, if all banks stipulate that they pass info to the big 3 CRAs, for fraud prevention, and whatever else, upon account opening, how do I know which ones have my info, and if so, what info exactly?

Statutory reports are free - however out of the 3 - (i.e Experian, Transunion & Equifax) only Experian allow for you to request one under 18.

Any ideas?

Cheers
B.

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You should not need a credit check just yet as you’re not eligible for credit, or old enough to enter a credit agreement.

There would be nothing visible in yours.

In terms of banks. They will conduct identity checks for such accounts for under 18s, and when you apply for your under 18 accounts the terms will likely be amended to reflect your specific situation.

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Hi there

Unfortunately I am no further forward, seems that Barclays and HSBC both run checks with Equifax (yes - specifically for minor accounts), who will not allow me to see any data for another year due to age.

Seems a bit crappy, that I cannot see data pertaining to myself that is collected by CRAs that invariably receive everyone’s info.

It also seems another high street bank allows me to spend way more money on chicken kebabs on a Thursday evening than available, THEN on PayPal for a streaming site, putting me -£15. Surely not right? (Edit: it also seems they allow age restricted purchases, you know, the type leading up to the cheapo kebabs)

Of course I remedied this with a transfer, but teen banking sucks as they all have spurious restrictions that are either not disclosed until opened, or weird quirks like no international payments in branch at Barclays.

Tl;dr:- it all sucks! (banking wise)

Regards

PS: i wrote this on a grapheneOS phone with no spell check, so forgive any errors and my brevity

Checks are likely soft checks not hard checks just to confirm who you are.

Why be worked up about it? It’s not important, just wait til you’re old enough and check when you turn 18.

You can raise a Data Subject Access Request with the banks if you’re concerned that much about.

The CRAs have been hacked previously, data breaches and such. (2017 Equifax data breach - Wikipedia) Sure, this specific one is out of scope for when I started banking, but you get the point…

Also, DSAR just resulted in a list of the people that have served me when I’ve deposited cash and such.

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Can you elaborate on this I am curious?

Your crystal ball is not up to snuff, either. Try Asahi / Singha beers… Singha is nicer… I guess no prizes for guessing the national chain in question…

How come Lloyds didn’t work at off licenses for the longest time then?

(Not being rude, just curious :slight_smile:)

Sorry, this was an attempt at being humourous. I get your point they see the merchant right.. i.e JD Wetherspoon, and leave it up to them to properly do ID checks.

Weird thing, at college there is a machine that dispenses drinks, presumably also dispensing them a tidy profit, it shows up with ‘Approved’ instantly… same at the canteen. It is possible to go into overdraft this way…

in saying that, with one HS bank their adult account starts at 16, and even my O2 bill, which is paid via card online, went further into the red. I just transferred some money across. but surely this isn’t right

Yeah, Under 19s Account at Lloyds. No paying at fuel stations, due to MCC, nor off-licenses. That time, I was buying bread and eggs, I think for eggy bread.

The last two aren’t generally my cup of tea, but is there an MCC for drugs? Genuinely have zero knowledge on the whole inner workings of dealing drugs, or buying them, but something tells me they don’t carry Sumup card readers

(Sorry [I was] pedantic once again, I really hope you’re having a solid evening lol)