BOSS: The Credit Detective

Lesson 12 of 12 in our free Credit Scores & Files guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.

This lesson is in the full version.

Free with a code from your uni, college, council, landlord or employer (worth £600/year). Lesson 1 of Credit Scores & Files is free for everyone.

Questions you'll answer

Mo's cards: £600 balance on £1,000 limit and £0 on a £1,000 limit. Total utilisation?

Final move: what's Mo's game plan?

An address in a city Mo never lived in, attached to a loan he never took → Possible fraud — report it. An unknown loan at an unknown address smells like identity fraud. Report it and dispute it.
A phone contract shown as 'late' for a month when he has bank proof he paid on time → Ask the agency to fix or unlink it. Wrong data. Dispute it with evidence.
A missed card payment from two years ago that really happened → Accurate — nothing to change. Accurate info stays — but Mo can add a notice of correction to explain it.
Three hard searches from his own applications this month → Accurate — nothing to change. Accurate. Lesson: space out applications and use eligibility checkers first.
A link to his ex from a joint account closed last year → Ask the agency to fix or unlink it. Not fraud — but outdated. Ask for a notice of disassociation.
Red flag: “CREDIT ALERT: Your score has dropped to 'Very Poor'.” — A scary score alert out of the blue is the hook. Check your own file for free with the credit reference agencies, never through a text link.
Red flag: “Lenders have been notified and your accounts will be frozen in 24hrs.” — Agencies don't 'notify' lenders or freeze accounts like this. Pure scare tactic.
Red flag: “Pay £1.99 to unlock your report:” — Your statutory credit report is free. Tiny fees are a trick to grab card details.
Red flag: “credit-fix-uk-secure.co” — Random lookalike link. Go to official sites directly, never through a text.