The one thing that I dislike when I have to apply for something like a loan, something financial, an account where I get credit, or even a catalogue, is when they have to run a credit check on you.
I don’t like it because although my credit score is fine and dandy for my name it normally drags up all the nasty debts that the previous tenants have run up at the addresses we are in. The woman who lived at our current address before me has run up around £15,000 of debts from pretty much every kind of company you care to think of and then she scarpered.
We’ve been here three months now and we still get bailiff letters, court summons and knocks at the door for her. It is a good job all the important stuff was transferred from our old address otherwise we would probably not even be allowed to buy a TV licence!
I’ve written before of my disdain for having to pay to get these checks down myself, I find it very embarrassing if I have to have a company do the check and tell me over the phone, or by mail, that I have been rejected.
It’s less embarrassing if I do it myself before I approach a company, but even the fact that I can get a free credit score doesn’t stop me becoming angry at the people who think it is perfectly acceptable to run up bills and then scarper.
Photo by Lotus Head from FreeImages