Equifax hit a nerve
Friday 3rd December 2004 09:38:35 AMFor those of you who don't know who Equifax are; I quote from their website:
"Equifax provides accurate and up-to-date information about people applying for credit to organizations such as banks, building societies, mortgage companies, retailers and mobile phone providers. These organizations will use the information provided by Equifax in combination with the information supplied by you, in their decision whether or not to extend credit to you."
I unfortunately came across them when I applied for, in my opinion the best mobile deal ever, only to find out that the application has been declined.
I received a letter from e2save saying that I had failed an ID verification check. I couldn't understand why this would happen, so I rang e2save prompting an explanation. This is when they told me that the date of birth provided did not match the Equifax record.
So I ring Equifax and a fat lot of help they were. When asked where they got my (incorrect) details from they give me the customer confidentiality bullsh*t, saying its against their policy. Hell, even when the details are about me? How can I contact the organization which has given them my incorrect details if they don't tell me?
So as I wasn't getting any help, I decided to send Equifax my Date of Birth certificate, photocopy of my passport and a letter requesting that they update their record with my correct date of birth. Two days later I received my Date of Birth certificate along with a standard reply saying that they will deal with my request as soon as possible. A week later - no change.
The reason I wanted to buy the mobile phone was because it was a good deal, included the Bluetooth headset, and had a camera - handy since I was going on holiday in just over a fortnight. As an outlook it seemed I wasn't going to receive the phone.
I contacted Equifax again and they delayed me even further. The customer representative told me that I need to send a utility bill or bank statement as proof of purchase, I don't pay bills so a bank statement it is. Equifax had not sent me a letter advising to do so; if I hadn't rang them I would have been delayed even further.
The next step was to ring the bank and request a statement which takes up to five days to deliver. This only leaves a week for me to re-place the order and the phone to arrive. Not good enough for me.
As a quick solution I used my mum's debit card to place the order (with permission of course) so I get the phone in time for the holiday.
In a way I'm glad that I have found out Equifax have the wrong details so I dont get rejected when I apply for other contracts e.g. mortgages. I hope no-one has to come across Equifax personally as they are a pain to deal with.
Equifax really hit a nerve.
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