Are you being blocked from borrowing by hidden records?

Updated
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data center with hard drives



A little-known database of around 640,000 names could be thwarting your attempts to get a mortgage or loan. The database in question was set up to protect against fraud, but the fact that so few people know about it, and the failure to warn consumers when they are added to it, means there's a real risk that thousands of innocent people have had their financial lives damaged by it.

The Telegraph recently reported on the National Hunter Database, which was set up in 1993 for lenders to record when they receive an application that they have concerns about. If you apply for a loan or mortgage with any one of the 50 organisations that use the database, they will check to see if any concerns have been raised against your name. If there's something there, it can be almost impossible to borrow money.

You may already be on the database. Nobody has to tell you when you are added, your details remain there for up to six years, and it's not safe to assume that you won't be on it just because you have never made a fraudulent application.

The Guardian warned that all sorts of innocent things can raise concerns with lenders, and earn you a place on the database. These can include a change of employer in a short space of time, the same mobile phone number from more than one applicant, a big change in your stated salary over a short time, and income which is difficult to verify.
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The impact

Some organisations will use the database to check names, and contact applicants for more information if something is raised. In some circumstances, they will reject the application out of hand on the basis of something that has been recorded in the database.

The Telegraph quoted the experiences of one reader, who had been in the process of getting a mortgage when his solicitor called the mortgage company to double-check whether it was a residential or a buy-to-let mortgage. The mortgage company was concerned that the reader didn't plan to live in the house, so withdrew its offer (regardless of assurances that it was wanted for residential needs). It also added the reader's name to the database, so his next mortgage application was withdrawn. The entry was removed after the newspaper intervened, but not everyone is so lucky.

What can you do?

If you are rejected for credit and ask the lender why, they will usually refer you to the standard credit reference agencies like Experian and Equifax. However, it's also worth checking the National Hunter Database to see if there's anything worrying recorded under your name.

You can apply to see any details held about you, by completing an online form and paying £10. Unfortunately, if you believe the information held on you is incorrect, the database will not respond to disputes, and says you need to contact the lender that added the comment. You will then need to go through their complaints process in order to get the details amended or removed.

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