Wheelchair-bound mum’s credit reporting bungle stops her from getting a CBA bank loan
A wheelchair-bound mother has been refused a bank loan after a bungle with her financial details that left her with black marks against her name that didn’t belong to her.
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A wheelchair-bound mother seeking a bank loan to build an access ramp was rejected after the lender and credit reporting agency confused her for another woman with the same name and birth date.
Lisa Evans, formerly Campbell, applied for a $10,000 extension on her Commonwealth Bank mortgage to allow her to build a wheelchair ramp at the back of her property but she was denied the loan.
The 50-year-old cancer survivor from Morwell in regional Victoria was provided credit file information from the CBA and credit reporting agency Equifax showing multiple credit cards and home loans, some of which were not hers.
They belonged to a Lisa Campbell who lived 150km away.
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Mrs Evans was also sent the other woman’s driver’s licence number and bank account information such as balances. She was even given details of the money owing on multiple loans and credit loans, plus the woman’s place of work.
The pair live about 150km from each other.
Mrs Evans said she told the bank the debts belonged to another person, with a different middle name.
“I think it’s disgusting,” she said.
“Especially after the news of the Royal Commission they’ve gone to the other extreme, instead of being loose with giving loans they have gone tight and fanatical.”
Unable to move around her home easily she said “every time I go out the back of my home I nearly fall” because she has been unable to afford the wheelchair ramp.
The mother-of-four was left shocked after contacting credit reporting agencies including Experian and Equifax to clear up the errors.
She told News Corp Australia she was “furious” over being denied a loan because of the mix up.
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On February 1 CBA sent Mrs Evans a letter informing her they were looking into her discrepancies on her credit file.
A CBA spokeswoman told News Corp they assess home loan applications on a case-by-case basis to ensure they meet responsibility lending laws.
“Where we are advised that any of the information contained within the credit report is inaccurate, we will lodge a dispute with the external credit agency on our customer’s behalf,” she said.
An Equifax spokeswoman said they “have a vested interest in ensuring that any data held is accurate, complete and up to date.
“Should there be any concerns as to the accuracy of the information on an individual’s credit file, they can contact the relevant credit provider or credit reporting body to have it investigated for free,” she said.
Originally published as Wheelchair-bound mum’s credit reporting bungle stops her from getting a CBA bank loan
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