My son applied for a credit card from the bank into which his weekly wage is paid, but was turned down on the basis of information supplied by one of the credit reference agencies. This information showed three other people supposedly living at our address, and the agency finally admitted it was an error. Can I take any action against the agency or the bank?
Presumably your son could now successfully reapply for his credit card, assuming he’s creditworthy in every other way, and there would be no harm done. If he missed out on a never-to-be-repeated offer as a result of the error he would have a potential claim against the agency for negligence under section 31 of the 1998 Data Protection Act. But your story just goes to show that if you’re refused credit you should investigate the reason.