CIFA alert.... please help

[Loop1997]

Hello,

this is is my first time on here



I am looking for some help in behalf of my son and wondering if anyone can help




Approximately 2 years ago he had a catalogue account, which he defaulted on




A few months later he applied for another one which was a sister company of the first




The account was suspended because of the original debt




He was unaware of the reason at the time, so went online and spoke with someone on the live chat to. Find out why his account was taken away




They asked many questions like have you had an account with (naming the sister company)




He panicked and said no




Fast forward to now and he son a better place and set up his own business, applied for a bank account and today got a decline letter saying he was declined due to information held on the CIFA database and he needs to contact them etc




I have only found all of this out today, because he is really upset and worried his business is now in jeopardyz




He has submitted a data access request which will take 10 days to confirm it was the lender we think, though I can only assume it is as he hasn’t had any other form of credit.




The bank have said if it can be sorted and removed within the next 60 days they will reinstate the account




So my question is, what are the chances of getting the lender to remove the CIFA alert? As this is preventing his from setting up his business.... does he just contact them and explain?




Any help on this would be greatly appreciated because I really do not know what to do







Thank you so much

[Loop1997]

UPDATE: okay so after a showdown with my son, it turns out that the reason my son “panicked” and said no on live chat is because it was actually his younger sister who applied for the original account in his name.... then told him afterwards! He’s a good kid so didn’t think much of it and said it’s fine.... so when he said no to the company, he logged out of the live chat there and then.
To say I am fuming with them both is an understatement, but now it is done I need to find a way forward in removing it if possible.
i don’t want his business to be in jeopardy because he can’t get a business account. I’m at my Whitt’s end

sorry for such a confusing post

[Amethyst]

Oh dear. You've done the right thing asking Cifas for the details of the marker and there isn't a hige amount you can do until you have that information.

How long ago was this malarky with the catalogue accounts ?

Does the CIFAS marker show on your son's credit file? or anything else that may point to reason why there may be a marker ?

If you haven't checked, then he can access all three for free via Clearscore (equifax), MSE Credit Club(Experian) and Noddle(callcredit).

Does he already have a bank account and is trying to open a business account for the business ? or is he trying to open a normal current account ?

[Loop1997]

Hello Amethyst

thank you for your reply

My son thinks it was approximately 14 months ago when the whole saga happened with the catalogue

i have tried Noddle for him but he has nothing showing at all, meaning not even his current account with NatWest or phone bill, they say they do not hold enough information to give him a score etc.

I will try clear score with him now and see if they hold any information

he applied for a business account with Natwesr who he holds his current account with and they turned him down due to “declining businesses who they feel may be a financial risk” now I can see why, if he has a CIFA alert.

He then applied with a different bank, and that is the bank that has refused his a business account unless the CIFA marker is removed.

[Amethyst]

Okay CIFAS markers are normally there for 6 years so that doesn't help. It depends what level marker it is as to what affect it will have.

Experian ( so MSE Credit Club ) usually have the most comprehensive info.

I assume you already have this - but just for ref - https://www.cifas.org.uk/contact-us/...access-request

[Loop1997]

Oh wow, 6 years is a disaster for his and his his stupid mistake!

Once We have the subject access report back from CIFA, if it does indeed stem from this (which I’m confindent will be the cause)
Would it not make a difference if he admitted to saying no in a panic?
Or even admitting it was his sister?

The bank have clearly stated that unless the CIFA marker is removed by the lender who submitted it then they will not be giving him an account. He has 60 days to sort it out

considering this is both banks )one being who he has his current account with) have declined him now, it seems no others will touch him all the time this is on there which means his business will not be a success.

i am livid with them both for being so utterly idiotic, but also sad that this mistake is going to cost him making a living himself

[Amethyst]

His sister opening an account in her brothers name would be fraud, so I doubt you want to go down that route. It's kind of his sisters mistake rather than his tbh.... he just didn't drop his sister in the poop. Do you know what the status of that account is? Has she paid it off? CIFAS is protective as well - so his sister wouldn't have been able to take out any other credit in her brothers name, had she been so inclined, so in that way it's a good thing ( silver cloud etc )

It's not going to stop him starting his business, just make it a little more complicated - depends what he's doing really. He culd just start using his own account until he's sorted out CIFAS etc or look at bad credit accounts eg. https://moneysavinganswers.com/busin...redit-history/ so long as he doesn't want a loan or big overdraft and literally just wants an account in the business's name to use.

[Loop1997]

Okay so I have checked clear score and it says there are no ciFA alerts on there.... it would be listed if one was on there would it not?
the other thing I can think of is it does list our old address on his file which we moved from in June, although updated with his bank. Would that merit a CIFA? I have never had any dealing with this kind of thing so I don’t have experience on our side!

i completely understand how the fraud route would be a disaster, would just explaining that he panicked not help?
He hasn’t done anything about the debt, it’s only now I’m hearing of this so will be contacting both catalogues and arranging repayment plans for him

of course I am presuming that the catalogue situation is the reason, which I would imagine it is, until he receives the SAR we won’t know for sure, but he has assured me that is the only other credit he has/had

what an absolute nightmare this is

[Amethyst]

You don't know that is where it has come from yet. Have you looked at your credit file as well ? If he lives with you then you might be financially associated. I would check Experian as well, but the SAR should show it up is CIFAS do have a marker in his name. I really would hang fire until you get the info from CIFAS and then you can figure out what it is / where it has come from. He might have just put something down wrong in his business account application - or the bank might have made an error - you just don't know.

Don't leap in to arrange payments plans - gather the information first - if they have defaulted then they may have been sold on to debt purchasers - so worth looking deeper into things on that score - CCA requests etc. A default would show on the credit file - the catalogue debts should certainly show on there. Guessing it's shop direct group?

[Loop1997]

Thank you so much for your help, I will just have to hold fire until he receives the sar back

it’s a giant nightmare

it was shop direct, I have just googled who own the catalogues. Hopefully I hear something soon, I really do appreciate your help, so thank you very much

[Loop1997]

Hello again

Following up from my previous messages, My son have received the SAR back which confirms the CIFAS marker and also confirms whom We thought it would be from

So I guess the real big question is, is there any way of removing it? By contacting them?

please see attached photo

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you