Placing A Ban On My Credit Report
Frequently Asked Questions
Your credit report is designed to give your credit providers the information they need to consider when assessing your application for credit. However, if you’ve been the victim of fraud or identity theft, or if you’re concerned that you’ll likely be a victim, you can ask us to place a temporary ban on your credit report. View the information on your topic of interest below.
Placing a ban on your credit report will prevent credit providers that utilise Experian credit reports from accessing your credit report as part of a credit check. If you’ve been the victim of fraud or if you’re concerned that you’ll likely be a victim of fraud, you can ask for a temporary ban to be placed on your Experian credit report. The initial ban period is 21 days.
A ban extension can be placed after the initial 21 days for an additional 12 months. An extension must be enacted before the end of the initial ban period of 21 days. It is free to request a ban and any subsequent extensions, and there is no limit to the number of times a ban can be extended. In addition, with your consent, your ban request can also be sent to other credit reporting bodies (CRBs) – namely Equifax and Illion. Alternatively you can place the ban directly with Equifax and illion yourself.
Experian is not responsible for the actions of the other CRBs but will simply share your request. The other CRBs may contact you directly to confirm the actions they have taken or any additional information they may require from you.
You can place a ban request for your Experian credit report here.
You can still order a copy of your credit report at any time, even when a ban is in place. We will not use or disclose any information from your Experian credit report during the ban period to anyone except yourself or a third party you have appointed as an access seeker. If an organisation asks us for a copy of your Experian credit report, we will let them know there is a ban in place and reject their request. This ensures they are aware and alerted to the potential fraud risk on your account.
You can lift a ban at any time during your initial ban period or ban extension period. Before we can lift a ban on the credit reporting information held by Experian, you will be required to validate your identity to Experian. If you gave Experian consent to send your request to place a ban to Equifax or illion you must also visit their websites directly to lift your ban on the credit reporting information held by them.
You can lift a ban on your Experian credit report here.