Sharing CA data with Experian / Equifax

Feedback & Ideas
1

I understand for hard searches for Overdraft etc, Monzo exclusives uses Callcredit and that’s not a big deal as it’s one of the big 3 and no one usually hard searches them all.

However for day to day usage, it seems Monzo tell Callcredit and only Callcredit the existing of the current account in the first place. While I know there are people out their who would hate the idea of data going everywhere (especially after the Equifax Hack - god knows how they still allowed to be a credit agency) and there is no pleasing everyone, but is it possible for Monzo now it’s getting more serious to at least have an option to pass on data of the existence of the current account to the other two big credit rating agencies?

It only really hit me, that since I closed Natwest account and moved to Monzo CA exclusively, all my good behaviours of being in-balance (or sticking within payment terms of credit) is going under reported and in turn not helping the overall credit picture with the other two suppliers of credit data - who whenever we like to admit it or not, tend to be the bigger players than Callcredit on more serious lines of credit like Mortgages or Loans.

For this example, Natwest notify all 3 of the credit agencies about my current account behaviour.

While right now, my past behaviour on Natwest helps paint the picture of me being good with credit and having steady income - in time as that data gets older and older and Monzo not replacing it, it will start to have an impact on my credit profile depending on who the credit supplier uses to check against.

I guess it’s one of those things, it only really tends to bother those who are at the life stage of home ownership or loans who are that bothered, but as Monzo grows it needs to get more and more serious with things like this. As Monzo’s generally younger crowd gets older and older, they will find out the impacts more so.

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2

Does a current account have any significant impact on your credit though? I’ve always thought the best way to up your credit is to use a credit card.

Personally though, Experian can have my middle finger - their support is absolutely awful. CallCredit are much better - still crooks that profit off our data, but at the very least they are easily reachable in case that data contains errors.

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3

Current Accounts do effect the Credit Report, though of course not to a big a degree as a direct line of credit like a Credit Card.

Examples where CA usage affects:

When you apply for credit some lenders ask how long you’ve been with your bank because they like to see evidence of existing longstanding relationships

Source: Experian

Try to keep your income regular
If you have a few zero-hour contract jobs, the income you have could be big enough to match the minimum eligibility criteria for some credit cards and other lending products, but the fact that it is not fixed makes it harder to prove that you are a reliable borrower.

Some lenders and credit card providers will make it less difficult for people with low income or without fixed income to apply, but a permanent job is always better for your credit applications.

Source: uSwitch

There’s loads of examples out there if you search about.

In the example of the Monzo Current Account, the key two indicators it gives Credit Agencies (and in turn Lenders), is long term relationship with usage, as well as a steady income (if you have one that is). This is key, especially if people dont have any existing or few existing credit relationships, all they can base you off is your current account balance every month and length of usage.

Of course, if you take the Monzo Overdraft, use it and then pay it back, that has the same weight as any other credit usage like a Credit Card, but only applies to those who take it and use it. This is because it shows you took credit, kept within the rules of such credit and paid it back without problem.

Ironically, when I had a problem, I found CallCredit awful, and the Experian team helpful - but it depends as your story is polar opposite :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: I think personally opinions or talk of credit agencies and their merit is a whole separate conversation. All I’m hoping for is A) Awareness of the current limitations of Monzo by raising awareness and B) Maybe news, or future road map of a change

4

It is my understanding that Monzo usually shares data with all 3,although my account doesn’t show up with any of them, for a reason that noone seems to be able to explain…

5

Agreed, it’d be nice if it didn’t just show on CallCredit. Also agreed that CallCredit does have the best reflection of my own credit, so unfortunate they’re unpopular. Equifax is missing a lot of accounts, and Experian is just messy.

6

That is really interesting. Is it common that providers don’t report to all three? My three credit reports all contain the same accounts. Is that just coincidence?

7

Most providers do report to all three (not all, but most - Monzo, Thames Water and British Gas are three I can name who don’t). Equifax I’m pretty sure is a title issue. Since I use the gender-neutral title Mx, Equifax doesn’t know how to parse this right, and those accounts don’t show up on Equifax… Yup. Bad.

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8

I’m surprised everyone is okay with fuzzy matching on the name & title… at least do it properly on a unique piece of data like passport/ID card number.

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9

Well, in a country where even names are so fluid, they just need to be fuzzy. My wife, for example, generally uses my last name (even for bank accounts), despite all her ID being still in her maiden name, as they don’t change names in her home country.

A name in this country is such a fuzzy concept, that it’s difficult to not do fuzzy matching. And ID numbers: there are no ids in this country and not everyone has passports.

10

But we have no passport/ID card mandate, the only bit of data everyone has is an NI number and that shouldn’t be used for ID.

As it should be with names :slight_smile: But yes, so true.

11

Yeah, I got used to it. But when you are from Germany, where we had to do a formal Name Declaration for our son before he got his passport, because our last names in our passports differ, than that’s a bit of a culture shock :smiley:

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HMPO are a pain about passport names too, you have to change foreign passports before and they require any passports you have all match.

13

Yep that’s why my wife, despite wanting to, can never take my name in her passport, as the Egyptians just refusebto change a name :frowning:

14

The option is to get rid of the Egyptian passport.

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15

Well, not everyone finds it easy to abandon their birth nationality…

16

She may not need to, she could ask the Egyptian embassy to cancel her passport without renouncing citizenship, if they’d do that?

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That might be an idea, yes. I’ll see what she and they say :slight_smile:

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18

What does hmpo do, if you acquire a foreign passport in a different name, after acquiring your British one, though? Do you know?

19

I have no idea… but…

I changed my name legally after losing my Irish passport. I was always saddened that it meant I couldn’t change my name, but somewhere in a bunch of moves (I moved like four times in two years so not surprising I lost something… though for the life of me I can’t believe it was a passport!) I lost it. When I went to report it lost, I decided to ask if they could just cancel it without replacement since I didn’t need it anyway, and it was no problem.

I literally changed my name the same day since I knew the process and decided it was fate - new home, new life, nothing to stop me anymore, may as well fill out a deed poll. This actually caused me a bunch of problems, because it was a couple days after I moved… in moving was when I noticed my Irish passport lost. Turns out changing your name and address at the same time (I hadn’t yet updated my address with everyone, I was unpacking and going through documents when I realised I didn’t have my Irish passport) triggers some companies’ fraud systems… Amex, especially, was a pain.

That said, I’d have this problem ever getting another one since it would have to be in my birth name. Thus, I’m still an Irish citizen but defacto I’m not as I wouldn’t want to find out what HMPO would do if I got a new Irish passport that didn’t match!

Also, frankly, I wouldn’t want to replace my Irish passport (until I meet their name change guidelines) since it’d be in a name I don’t identify with at all.

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Usually it’s name and address, which is why it’s important to be registered and up to date in the electoral roll.