Reply With QuoteBritish Gas asked you for your Experian password?
About 15 years ago, some scumbag managed to get a loan for a motorcycle using credit in my name (used a fake driving license in my name apparently!). After a door knocker asked when I would be continuing the payments on the motorcycle, all was revealed. I had to take out a months subscription to Experian to add a second credit check on to their database (notice of correction!). I've recently changed gas suppliers to British Gas and was asked for my Experian password (forgotten years ago!). I've had to take out experian credit check again (1 month free) to reset the password. My credit score is 999 out of 999! Note to self :- Don't forget the password. I've never been asked for it before when changing suppliers!!! Warning to all folks!
British Gas asked you for your Experian password?
^^^^ This!
Are you 100% sure it was British Gas you were talking to?
Yes, tell them to take a running jump.Originally Posted by ed335d
Does that save them paying for credit check themselves? What if you weren’t using Experian’s similar?
If you are a business subscriber it is effectively free
This to me sound very dodgy! There is no way on earth a company like British Gas would ask you for your personal password to your own Experian login! That is as far as I know a breach or GDPR??
Be careful.
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Sounds like a scam. I would change that password ASAP
Indeed particularly as Experian links to credit providers for application purposes.
Cheers
Rory
That sounds very dodgy. Been with Experian for years and never heard of anything like this. Be very careful.
No company should ever ask for any of your passwords for their own or another company!!!
Re credit score companies, never pay for your credit score. I know you can sign up to the 30day free trial but clear score is free (if you can live with odd ad) or Martin Lewis site offers a free service also with an free update every month.
Changed utility and phone providers loads of times, never been asked - ever.
If they did it would be a NO.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Did they also ask for your online banking password so they could set the direct debit up?
Why would you give a password to a third party site to anybody? Sounds like BS to me. I had never had cause to look at my credit score until recently (for a reason that I won't go into here) and it was via the Experian app. Mine was 996 and I'm struggling to understand what I needed to have done for the perfect score: mortgage paid off, no loans, always pay off credit cards etc. etc. Still, I'm not going to worry about it
I’ve just checked mine because of this thread and was wondering the same thing, similar finances to yourself by the sounds of it no debts and card paid in full every month. 2 things seem to be affecting mine which is at 920 I switched bank accounts in august which seems to have an effect for up to 12 months from the reading I’ve just done and the amount of available credit I have available on my 2 cards not that I use even 10% of it but it’s available I guess. Interesting how my Amex and MasterCard increase my limits every year without my asking and me never even getting close to them. The whole credit score game is a mystery to me and I think it’s meant to be that way for a reason for normal people.
Using more than 25% of a card’s limit also appears to affect your score, despite paying it off in full at the end of the month.
I regularly stick a lot on my AMEX due to the cashback and other benefits I get from it, and have been known to even pay it off the same day, but it still knocks off a few points every now and again.
My credit score varies wildly according to the service I look at, Experian seems quite generous, clear score is just above average and others are somewhere between.
My theory is that consumer score sites are purely there to sell high interest rate credit cards to the paranoid or gullible.
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I am on credit karma now as they bought noddle out. it's free for me
If you haven't already, go back on line to Experian, NOW, and change your password to something else. Also, if you use the same password anywhere else, (which you shouldn't), you'll need to change them, NOW.
If you don't do this you are at serious risk of identity theft and worse. Absolutely no one should ask you for your password, not even your Bank!
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Change your password ASAP!!!
Also, according to my mortgage man, credit ratings (e.g. 999) mean nothing. You either can get credit or you can’t.
I believe the numbering system is basically a hook to keep you paying your monthly subscription so you can keep track of score going up or down.
What if you're like me & haven't got an Experian account? I've never felt a need to know my credit score, nor have I ever been asked for one. However, if I did have an account I wouldn't be supplying anybody with the password for it. That sounds very wrong.
Martins money club (something along those lines ) gives you a monthly report on your credit for free , I’m never really too bothered about my score as I don’t really borrow anything mine was more of a way to see if anyone else is borrowing in my name having stolen my details etc but the scoring aspect does interest me in how it’s done if that makes sense.
I'm not a mortgage broker however I don't think your Experian score means "nothing"-I accept that a score of 999 doesn't mean that you will be accepted for all forms of credit and probably isn't much better than 950 or similar. I think however you are more likely to get a mortgage if you have a score in the 900's than in the 500's for example but will depend on lender.
Obviously each lender will have its own factors and it is only part of that calculation.
You can get a basic credit score from Experian for free so not sure that they give you a 999 score to encourage you to pay them more!
I keep a few credit score accounts not so I can watch them for month to month but to make sure there are no spurious credit applications mde in my name and make sure everything is in order before remortgaging or similar. I certainly don't give the passwords out to anyone though.
Methinks that you have just been walked down to the prison showers and I would change the password that you have given out before someone knocks the soap out of your hands.
B
I don't think someone with no debts who pays their cards off every month has much need to worry about their credit score. :-)
I saw on Martin Lewis the other day that many loans are advertized as being 'from' x%, and that quite often bears no relation to the rate you're offered. I wonder if that's credit score related (or just a dodgy selling practice)?
Got a reminder to check mine this morning and found it was the same as it's always been since I opened the account.
I do pay off my CC bills (mostly - I have one that currently gives 23 months interest free credit, so I'm paying that one off more slowly, just because I can) in full each month, own my house, earn a reasonable amount each year and have no other loans, so I guess I'm a pretty safe bet.
M
Calm down folks. The password requested is not my Experian password. It is a specific password which you give to credit suppliers to prove that your application is bona fide. I have double checked with British Gas and Experian and this is definitely how the system works. You put a notice of correction on your details and nobody can apply for credit (or supplies) unless you give the supplier or creditor the password. It's a faff but it works. Not all companies do the checks.
You could have cleared this up earlier, we've all been worried about you
How do we know this is you and not scammer? All seems a bit suspicious - to prove it’s you we’ll need the first and last digit of your password, plus the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 5th and 3rd. Otherwise it’s not you fella :-)
YouTube - pigeon in your bank account (fonejacker), it’s hilarious ��
I have worked in the credit industry for years. This is as above totally ok and correct. It’s a password that shows you have given permission for a search to happen as an extra layer of protection against ID fraud.
To those guys saying your credit score doesn’t have any bearing, that is nonsense take it from me I have been part of building credit score cards that the banks etc use and that data is very much a prominent part of the decision. The actual score is really an indication of your profile against many checks and balances. It alone does not mean a yes or no as the company themselves add any levers they may want. However it does carry a lot of weight hence why it’s always good to check once in a while that all the data is correct on the system. Believe it or not having lots of credit cards even with nil balances is not a good thing as the system will take them all into account that you could potentially go out and blow the lot over a small period of time.
The whole system is complicated and consistently changes due to the appetite of the company to lend money at that time.
Jeez I went off on a tangent then :)
Unfortunately, all these systems are only as secure as the weakest link in the chain. Someone at Experian can access the password. Someone at British Gas has the current password (to use it), therefore, each time you use it, you need to change it! I have changed it! There is still the possibility of someone accessing the method you use to deliver the latest password to Experian. Doh!!!
rabbitinheadlights:
How many credit cards can you have then without affecting your score?
I have
1) my oldest HSBC
2)halifax clarity for no foreign currency charges
3)amex for cashback
4 debenhams for voucher points.
thanks
Martin
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