Experian - what the hell is it ?


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When I went on my 'voyage of discovery' Notts tram trip a few months ago, one place that the tram stopped at was 'Experian Way' in front a huge building with loads of desks and computers on view. Clearly a big, important company (with it's own tram stop etc !) But what the hell do they do ?

As far as I can make out, they deal with your 'credit score' for when you want to get a loan (!)

Apparently you have to pay them £12.99 a month and they will nurture (?) your credit score and make it more likely that you can borrow more.

Did I get that right ?

It seems to me that it's another case of getting people to pay monthly fees for not very much.

That's assuming of course that you want a loan.

Why you would actually need an outside company to represent you I don't know.

The Experian name seems to be everywhere: - TV adverts, credit card statements, banking websites.

They seem to want to know everything about you so they can disseminate your details far and wide and, of course, encourage you to borrow money.

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For the next meet-up, we'll advertise it on this Experian thread, and then on the day we'll see how many shady, suspicious looking types we can spot lurking on nearby tables.   They'll all w

Actually, I don't think "they" are all that keen on folk who pay their bills on time, especially credit cards. No interest charges that way!

I spy with my little eye, a company called Experian,    It trawls the net, looking for, those it likes to spy on. There's hundreds there, at their desks, logged into NS,    What be the

You can have a month's free trial to find out things about your credit score, we did it a few years ago, can't remember why but it was for a valid reason. Just make sure you cancel before the 30 days is up.

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A nosy company that seems to operate worldwide to let other companies know whether you pay your bills on time and are a good credit risk. From what I understand they are quite good at data mining info about you and their input can even determine how much you might end up paying for insurance etc. Mentioned with Experian you will often find mentioned, Transunion, and Equifax. Two other companies that do the same sort of stuff and probably exchange info on you and I.

Between 'em they probably know how often we use the bathroom and how much we spend on toilet paper.

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Yes, but it's data mining isn't it ?

Pidgeon hole and profiling.

Invading your privacy and intruding into your financial affairs - and getting you to pay for it !

They must be successful at it because it's a big company - one of Nottingham's major employers.

Now credit card companies are recommending that you divulge all your information to these people, so that they can target you and steer you towards more debt and consumerism.

How on earth did we get to this?

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Information is big business, they gather information & sell that info to anyone who pays for it.

Marketing they will dress it up as, they don't care who wants it.

ANPR is an Experian Innovation, gathering data is big money.

When Mrs Catfan worked there credit reference agencies by law had to supply supply you with your own credit details for a one off fee of £2 ! There was little profit in this but they could not charge more. Why would you want to pay a monthly fee ?

Also there are two electoral registers,one public & one restricted, credit agencies garner all data from these, so decide which register you are signing up to.

In a nutshell, they are making a lot of money off the backs of all of us. Don't forget the next time you receive a load of junk mail, it could well have been a result of them selling YOUR information on. Charities also sell information about you too !

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Or if you are stupid enough to fully fill in those customer satisfaction forms that you get such as on a return flight!

Just tick the box showing your annual household income etc... To win a prize?

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There's a very simple solution to all this. If you can't pay for a thing outright, then don't have the damn thing.

In 70 years, I've only ever had two things on HP. A three piece suite in the early 70's, an a car in the early 2,000's.

When I applied for the loan for the car, a slip of a girl at my bank told me that 'They' didn't like customers like me as I had no credit rating. I replied ' No, because if I can't afford anything outright, then I don't buy it' . She looked aghast at me. Twerp !

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I had a similar problem years ago in Debenhams. I was buying a frock and the sales person said I could have 10% off if I had a store card and I could apply now!

I thought, why not? and filled in the form. It went into the computer and I was informed that my application had been refused. I was mortified and embarrassed. I said, 'How can it be refused? I`ve got no mortgage, no loans, no credit card, no debts of any kind. How can it be refused?'

She just shook her head.

I still bought the frock.

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Experian grew out of Midland Household Stores, a local company who ran catalogue shopping. That became part of Great Universal Stores.

With all the data they collected on their customers, they knew that they had to diverge once the likes of Argos came along, so moved into Credit Checking, offering their services to other companies who wanted to ensure their customers could pay the bills.

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Screw Fix pi55 me off to. Why FFS do they want my name, address , email etc if all I want is a packet of blooming screws. Tossers

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EileenH #9

Had a similar thing in Debenhams, my wife went to pay for some items and was told she could have 10% off if she had a store card, she already had one but never used it and didn't carry it with her, she'd taken that one to get the 10% previously offered. Sales staff said the account would have been closed so it would be fine to have another one.

The application was rejected embarrassingly in front of a large queue. At home a request for a free credit rating from Experian gave a 98% rating Debenhams had taken the decision to decline the card as one was still serviceable. On return to the store sales staff got both barrels.

If someone offers a discount or interest free money for a couple of years, to me it would not make sense to refuse it. I never take any offer on unless I have the funds to cover the total amount and it is not cheaper to pay by cash. All of the data they have is 'out there' anyway.

Rob.L #10 Many people in Nottingham would perhaps have known it as Cavendish Woodhouse who began the first computerisation of credit control at Talbot House, my wife worked there from the beginning in 1967 as a punch card verifier.

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It must have been your wife then Dave,it was in 1967 that i tried to buy a '3 piece suite' from cavendish woodhouse on credit when they had a store in Bulwell,it was the first time I tried for credit,and was refused,.......I was gutted........in the end Dad lent me the money and I went elsewhere.

Stll remember that '3 piece' it was black with orange covers and matched the 'Lino',......it went when the ist wife did.......but I kept custody of the lino'......lol.

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They buy and sell your info like a commodity. Its not just borrowing money, they know if you pay utility bills and other routine expenses on time too.

I refuse those store discount cards. They are tempting, but they also tie every item you buy, back to you. I know a bag of dog food is hardly a state secret, its just the principle of the thing that gets to me.

So many will say, well I have nothing to hide. They don't seem to get that the idea of giving more and more info to private interests is the real issue. It never ceases to amaze me how these outfits grab your info, just fill out how your visit with us was today, you might win a $5000 gift card. Just give us your e-mail address mailing address, phone number etc. that info must be worth a lot to them.

When George Orwell wrote 1984 he underestimated big brother's reach.

Sorry for the rant. I know this has drifted from credit agencies, but it all ties together. This is just one issue that gets under my skin.

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Davep5491. Your wife may have known my Mum, who worked at Talbot House for a few years around that time. My Granny was a secretary there too although she retired in 1968, aged 70.

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Thanks for all the info on Experian.

I wasn't sure if I'd got it right, but it seems that it's plainly an exercise in getting us to divulge more personal data and onto yet another direct debit.

Since the financial crash people have quite sensibly reined in their debt and consumption, but it's all starting to creep back to a stage where taking out loans and maxing out credit cards is seen a 'good' thing.

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There's a very simple solution to all this. If you can't pay for a thing outright, then don't have the damn thing.

In 70 years, I've only ever had two things on HP. A three piece suite in the early 70's, an a car in the early 2,000's.

When I applied for the loan for the car, a slip of a girl at my bank told me that 'They' didn't like customers like me as I had no credit rating. I replied ' No, because if I can't afford anything outright, then I don't buy it' . She looked aghast at me. Twerp !

My old man used to reckon he'd never bought owt on tick.

I asked if he'd paid cash for our house..... he insisted that a mortgage wasn't the same thing as hire purchase.

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Well, Scriv, I suppose he was sort of right, in a way. But someone did point out to me many years ago (I think we still had about 18 years to go on our mortgage!) that you eventually pay back about three times as much as you borrow.

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There's no wonder the big banks and building Societies, like you to be in over your head. After a very few years they have their money back but you just keep on paying. If for some reason you can't pay they just foreclose and they've got the money and the house, not to mention giving you a bad credit rating with Experian.

There are words for such usuary, but I don't use them and wouldn't use them on NS.

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My travelling companions and I (when I used to commute from Grantham to Derby by train) discussed this in great detail, and concluded that house loans ought to be granted on a joint venture basis. In the event that the house was re-possessed the amount the lender received from the proceeds of the sale would never be more than (1) the percentage of the buying price that they had advanced, and (2) the percentage of the repayment period still left to run. That would make them a great deal more careful who they lent to, and how much they lent. It would almost certainly reduce the level of house prices in general. While this would cause much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth from those who make fat profits from property development, it would be a good thing on the whole.

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