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.
All banks need to provide you with their T&Cs (which you should always read before agreeing, but I know nobody ever bothers), and this should include at least some info on how your data is handled.
They should also have a data privacy notice, which details what information they collect, process and store, and who they share it with.
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.
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
Banks don’t have crystal balls so can’t tell whether you’re buying a pint of cider or apple juice at a bar. And with the split second decisioning required they can’t question it in too much detail either
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.
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?
You tap your card. Within a few seconds it comes up with approved/declined. In all that time the terminal needs to get your card details, send it off to the bank asking “can they pay £x”, the bank needs to decide and send back a response to the terminal
If they also needed to work out if you’re buying alcohol/pornography/drugs or Apple juice/superhero comics/lemon sherbet then the process would take a lot more time and bandwidth
I thought your question was “why is the bank allowing me to buy alcohol?” I gave an example, I wasn’t wishing to speculate on what you actually bought
They probably implemented a merchant category code block. It’s not a great solution because it means you also couldn’t buy a paper or some eggs at the same store. And some shops could have a different MCC assigned which means any purchase would go through.
So other banks would rather leave it up to shops to enforce the law
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)
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