So this week, lets get the subject of the credit referencing agencies and statutory credit reports out into the open.

Believe it or not I’ve now been in business for a year, and my year’s free banking with Bank of Scotland is up.  Having had my first month’s bill for every credit and every debit to the business account, it’s time to start looking around for a better deal for the business account.

However, prudence calls first and the first visit is to the credit referencing agencies websites get a copy of my latest credit report to check that a) there are no mistakes (you may recall that last year Virgin media had incorrectly registered a default on my account!) and b) that no-one has been trying to steal my identity.

There are 3 such agencies in the UK - Experian, Equifax and Callcredit.  My intention was to go on each site and buy the statutory credit report – at a cost of £2 each.  However,  have you tried on each of these sites to do this when all three of them want you to sign up to their version of a regular service at significantly greater cost.  If you persevere you can actually find the page for the statutory report and buy it online, but in the case of Callcredit, you actually have to download a pdf and send off a cheque in the post for the statutory report.

It also occurred to me that in these troubled times when we are being told that identity theft is on the increase, shouldn’t it be easier for us to request our statutory reports.  What about the people that are only just financially savvy enough to be aware of the agencies and think that the only way to get a copy of their report is to sign up for regular payments? 

Come on all three of you, let’s have it in big bold letters on your home page of your website about the statutory report and make it easier to click through and actually order it online.