CIFAS Marker Removal
Learn more about CIFAS, CIFAS Markers and CIFAS Marker Removal.
1.
General Information
CIFAS Markers indicate the placement of a fraud marker against an individual’s name. They can prevent access to mortgages, bank accounts, credit and / or employment in the financial services industry.
In most cases, CIFAS Markers result in the closure of an existing bank account, credit account and / or employment in the financial services industry.
CIFAS Markers for under 21 year olds last up to 3 years, and for over 21 year olds they last up to 6 years, but the good news is that CIFAS Markers can be removed if challenged correctly and successfully. You can complete a CIFAS Marker Removal process without the need for a solicitor or a lawyer, but it’s always best to use a specialist.
2.
What is CIFAS?
CIFAS, or Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System, is a Not-For-Profit Organisation of which most of the financial institutions, including but not limited to major banks and creditors, are Members.
CIFAS manages the largest database of fraudulent activity in the UK. There are over 500 Members that are registered with CIFAS. These financial institutions record, or load, information onto the database where there have been confirmed cases of fraud or where a customer has posed an unacceptable risk to its business.
The records made by financial institutions acts as a marker and is an automatic warning that informs CIFAS’ Members of a customers’ risk by disclosing the information held against that customer on the CIFAS database. This is typically actioned at the point of an application for a financial product or service and normally results in a rejected application response.
The main aim of the CIFAS database is to prevent and deter financial losses to financial institutions, the public and to protect the economy of the UK. It does this by sharing data to Financial Institutions about customers who may present a definite risk to the financial sector.
Once a CIFAS Marker has been recorded, applications for bank accounts, credit and / or employment in the financial services industry will be subject to further checks where the application may then be rejected. A financial institution is not allowed, under the Principles of the CIFAS database, to automatically reject an application solely based on a CIFAS Marker.
3.
What is a CIFAS Marker?
A CIFAS Marker, commonly referred to as a CIFAS record or CIFAS loading by financial institutions, is a record made by a financial institution, of which are a Member of the CIFAS database, documenting fraudulent misconduct, financial crime and / or a fraud risk posed to a financial institution in the UK.
When a CIFAS Marker is recorded, other financial institutions can access this record if they are a Member of the CIFAS database. This record is then placed into automated-decision-making, which then results in further checks being carried out against the customer that made the application.
CIFAS Markers last up to 3 years for under 21 year olds, and up to 6 years for over 21 year olds from the date the CIFAS Marker was recorded. It will impact any ability to obtain and maintain bank accounts, including but not limited to basic bank accounts, finance and credit accounts, including but not limited to basic methods of finance such as; personal finance, business finance, mortgages and motor finance, and any form of employment in the financial services industry until the CIFAS Marker has been removed either automatically, or by the CIFAS Marker being successfully challenged.
4.
How do I know if I have a CIFAS Marker?
Many customers of financial institutions, typically major banks, learn that they have a CIFAS Marker once they are notified by their bank that the bank are closing their account due to a record on a fraud prevention database.
To check if you have a CIFAS Marker, you’ll need to complete a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) directly to CIFAS.
Submitting a DSAR will return the data of which CIFAS holds about you. The information included in such returned data is universal, therefore it may not explain to you exactly why there has been a CIFAS Marker recorded against you, but it will give you an idea.
Unless you have subject to being the victim of fraud or have registered yourself for CIFAS’ Protective Registration, a CIFAS Marker will not show on a credit file such as those with Experian, Equifax and / or TransUnion. If a CIFAS Marker does show on your credit file, it is a Victim of Impersonation (VM2) Marker, or a Protective Registration Marker, recorded to prevent a fraudster from making applications and opening financial products and / or services using your information.
5.
The types of CIFAS Marker
Different types of CIFAS Categories are used to record different types of fraud.
Protective Registration
This CIFAS Category is recorded at the request and purchase of a customer.
Duration:
2 years.
Victim of Impersonation
This CIFAS Category is recorded with relation to being the victim of Identity Fraud.
Duration:
13 months.
First Party Fraud
This CIFAS Category is recorded where there has been no intention to repay the promise of future repayment in exchange for goods or services.
Duration for under 21s:
Up to 3 years.
Duration for over 21s:
Up to 6 years.
Application Fraud
This CIFAS Category is recorded where an application is made in the customers’ name, but false details such as salary, address, employment or falsified documentation is provided to expedite the likelihood of a successful outcome.
Duration for under 21s:
Up to 3 years.
Duration for over 21s:
Up to 6 years.
Misuse of Facility
This CIFAS Category is recorded where an account has been opened to facilitate fraudulent activity. Typically used as the Category Type for money mule scam victims.
Duration for under 21s:
Up to 3 years.
Duration for over 21s:
Up to 6 years.
Facility Takeover
This CIFAS Category is recorded where an account has been taken over by a fraudster and used to facilitate unauthorised transactions, or where the details on the account have changed.
Duration for under 21s:
Up to 3 years.
Duration for over 21s:
Up to 6 years.
6.
How to remove a CIFAS Marker
The good news is that CIFAS Markers can be challenged and if challenged successfully, they can be removed. The following steps explain each part of the process of removing CIFAS Markers.
The steps governing the process are as follows:
Step 1: Request a CIFAS Report
Make a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) to CIFAS, requesting a letter setting out the details of the information they hold about you on their database.
This can often be a relatively small amount of information, and the institution that recorded it is not required to provide the evidence the CIFAS Marker was based on.
Step 2: Contact the institution that recorded the CIFAS Marker and request removal
Once the CIFAS Report has been received, you can then contact the institution that recorded the CIFAS Marker to request further information prior to asking for the CIFAS Marker to be removed.
For a higher likelihood of a successful outcome, complain to the financial institution by using their CEO’s email address as this will ensure an Executive Complaints Dept or Team looks into your complaint. To find a financial institution’s CEO email address, use https://ceoemail.com/.
Financial institutions are required to adjudicate on the matter within 8 weeks under the DISP Regulations imposed and enforced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Where a financial institution fails to respond within those 8 weeks, you are able to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Step 3: Request CIFAS Review
If the institution refuses to remove the CIFAS Marker, you can then request a review directly from CIFAS, provided that a Final Response Letter (FRL) was issued by the financial institution. If there wasn’t an FRL issued, contact the financial institution and request for one to be issued.
CIFAS are required to adjudicate on the matter within 14 days. You don’t need to await CIFAS’ response to be able to take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Step 4: Complain to the relevant ombudsman or complaint service
If CIFAS uphold the financial institution’s decision, or you decide not to await CIFAS’ response, you can refer your complaint to the relevant ombudsman. If, for example, the financial institution is a bank, then the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) would be the relevant authority to contact.
If it was a mobile phone company, the relevant ombudsman would be the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS).
7.
What do CIFAS Markers affect?
Every time you apply for credit, or a new financial facility, it’s possible that any CIFAS Markers recorded against you may impact your application.
The most typical applications on which it can have an effect include:
Mortgage Applications
Mortgages are perhaps the most significant financial arrangement most of us will enter into. It’s therefore understandable that creditors will take a keen interest in our credit and financial history when we make an application.
CIFAS Markers on your account don’t automatically mean yours will be rejected, but it might perhaps slow the process down. However, it is a more common occurrence for an application to be rejected than an application to be approved.
Car Insurance Applications
CIFAS Markers do not prevent a car insurance application from being accepted, although it might mean that payment methods are limited.
You may be declined credit facilities, and instead, be asked to pay for your insurance upfront. It may also result in a more expensive premium.
Other forms of lending
Any form of loan agreement that you enter into could result in a fraud prevention database check that reveals the CIFAS Marker(s).
If you’re looking for business finance, a personal loan, an overdraft, or a mobile phone contract, any application will be affected by a CIFAS Marker.
While the CIFAS Marker may not result in your application being automatically rejected, they can complicate matters or may cause an application to be paused whilst the CIFAS Marker is being challenged to be removed.
Will a CIFAS Marker affect my Student Loan Application?
Unlike other forms of credit, student loan eligibility is not based on your creditworthiness, however if a CIFAS Marker has resulted in your bank account being withdrawn and / or closed, then a student loan cannot be paid.
8.
Does a CIFAS Marker show on a Criminal Record or through a Disclosure & Barring Service check?
CIFAS Markers pertain purely to financial conduct and are not recorded on any criminal record. If you have been prosecuted for any financial misconduct related to CIFAS Markers, then it is likely to appear on a criminal record.
CIFAS Markers are not a criminal record.
9.
Can employers become aware of CIFAS Markers?
Employers can access the CIFAS database should they so wish. In practice, checks are generally restricted to certain sectors, such as finance and law. They will then use any information they obtain to form their decision about who to employ.
10.
Useful links
Easy access links to important and useful information.
CIFAS Data Subject Access Request (DSAR)
The CIFAS Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) is a request that is made to CIFAS to return a report with data held against an individual on the CIFAS database.
This will show basic information as to which financial institution recorded the CIFAS Marker against you, and what the CIFAS Marker was recorded for.
The 8 Principles of the CIFAS database
The Principles of the CIFAS database are the Principles that all registered Membered financial institutions must adhere to when recording and removing CIFAS Markers.
They are self-regulations set out by CIFAS and, unless the Principles of the CIFAS database are adhered to in full, a CIFAS Marker cannot lawfully be recorded on the CIFAS database.
Financial Ombudsman Decisions
The decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) give a wide insight into the guidance provided by UK Finance relating to CIFAS related complaints. This will give you a good basis to challenge the CIFAS Marker on.
This could be the difference between you successfully challenging a CIFAS Marker and it being removed, or failing to successfully challenge a CIFAS Marker and it not being removed.
11.
Other Fraud Databases
There are two main and additional fraud prevention databases referred to as SIRA and National Hunter.
Both SIRA and National Hunter hold fields of data derived from applications made to financial institutions who are Members of SIRA and / or National Hunter.
The limited data held includes an applicant’s name, date of birth, address, phone number(s) (home and mobile) and email address(es) supplied during an application.
National Hunter’s Members are all financial institutions regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), though National Hunter is not regulated by the FCA.
Where SIRA is concerned, its Members supply the data but also an assessment: ‘clear’ or ‘refer’. Where ‘clear’ is recorded, this signals that the Member has found nothing inconsistent and / or fraudulent in the application.
Where ‘refer’ is recorded, this signals that the Member believes there to be inconsistencies and / or form(s) of fraud in the application that require further investigation. Both ‘clear’ and ‘refer’ assessments stay on the database for six years.
National Hunter operates in a similar way, but its Members can also use the additional terms ‘inconsistency’ and ‘suspicious’ about the information provided by applicants.
The same approach as that to CIFAS Marker Removal can be taken to challenge entries recorded by both National Hunter and SIRA.
12.
ADVICIFAS: CIFAS Marker Removal
We’ve demonstrated years of industry-leading skillset and specialisation deriving from forefront experience against financial institutions, allowing the finances of 300+ of our valued clients to be freed from CIFAS.
If you’re struggling with a CIFAS Marker, or with removing a CIFAS Marker, we can help you. We’ll supply you with a service that will remove your CIFAS Marker, guarantee, within 8 weeks. To learn more, visit CIFAS Marker Removal Services.
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