One of the questions raised by money advisers during MALG’s most recent virtual ‘Members Friday Forum’, which was set up to help those from across a range of sectors continue ‘working together to improve the lives of people in debt’ during the Coronavirus crisis, was how advisers can get hold of client credit reports during this time.
MALG members and leading credit reference agencies Equifax and Experian have shared details as follows:
Equifax
Advisers can use the free Equifax Statutory Credit report, which is online or can be posted and ordered via the call centre: https://www.equifax.co.uk/Products/credit/statutory-report.html. Equifax’s Head of EU Government Relations Stuart Holland is also happy to be contacted on: stuart.holland@equifax.com.
Experian
There are a number of ways Experian credit reports are provided into the debt advice sector.
1. Advisers can order a copy of their client’s statutory credit report on their behalf. Requests can be made either online or offline and there is usually a touchpoint with the client to satisfy data protection requirements. All statutory credit report applications are subject to internal ID checks and, where there are question marks, Experian may ask for proof of ID and address to be posted to them. If advisers are interested in this service, they should contact James Jones on james.jones@Experian.com.
2. Experian also provides credit report data to a number of third party platforms that support debt counselling, including those either currently operated or being piloted by a number of MALG members.
3. The Experian Affordability Passport service blends credit report and Open Banking data to create an I&E report that can support the data-gathering element of debt advice. If any MALG members from the free sector are interested in exploring this solution, please get in touch with James Jones on james.jones@Experian.com.