How do I do an electoral roll change of address?
By
HuutiMoney
In this brief blog, we are going to answer the question ” How do I do an electoral roll change of address ” and discuss why an electoral roll change of address is good for your credit score.
Whenever you move homes you will need to reregister to be on the electoral roll. This is very important as when you make credit applications the lender will usually look to see if you are on the electoral roll at your current address. If you are not on the electoral roll on your current address then you may find that a lot of credit providers may reject your credit application.
Why is being on the electoral roll important?
Being on the electoral roll is very important as it is noted on your credit file and can help boost your credit score as it tells the lender how long you have lived at a particular address and also allows the lender to verify that you have lived in the address that you state you live in.
Can I change my voter registration address online?
Yes, you may be able to change your voter registration online through the government’s website. You will simply need to re-register at your new address. You can do this via this link.
Can I still vote if I moved?
Yes, you can still vote if you moved as long as you have done en electoral roll change of address to your new address. You may be able to use your old address to vote but this isn’t our advice.
Can I view the electoral roll?
No, You Cannot view the electoral roll. The electoral roll is managed by each local council at their electoral registration office and there isn’t a centralised pool where you can search to see who is on the electoral roll. If you want to see if you are on the electoral roll then you should contact your local electoral registration office.
You will usually receive a letter from your local council asking if the data they hold on you still up to date. This is a very important letter and you should treat it as such if you receive it. This letter will usually go to the last address that you registered to vote with and you may not receive this letter if you have moved address and didn’t perform an electoral roll change of address update.
Changing your address to the right address on the electoral roll is very important as a lot of lenders will use this to verify your current address when considering whether to offer you a credit product. This could be a mortgage, a loan or even a credit card.
How do I do an electoral roll change of address?
To do an electoral roll change of address very simple. To do an electoral roll change of address you should contact your local council by phone or online by using the government website and following the instruction which has been left there.
To do an electoral roll change of address you can also contact your local councils electoral roll office by email or phone and request to do an electoral roll change of address. You can find your local councils contact details here.
What happens after you have an electoral roll change of address?
Once you have done an electoral roll change of address you will then have to wait up to16 weeks before you see the change take effect on your credit file. If this isn’t the case then it is likely due to an annual canvass which is underway.. Your local council will usually take a month to update the electoral roll and once this is done it will then take another 12 weeks to see it appear on your credit file.
If you want to see an electoral change of address happen much faster then you should ask your local council for a letter which confirms your date, full name, the new address which has been updated on the electoral register.
You can then take this letter and send it to the four credit bureaus such as Crediva, Experian, Equifax and Transunion so they can update your credit file. There is no guarantee that this will work and some of the credit reference agencies may prefer to receive the data directly from the local council.
Each year all credit bureaus update the electoral roll data they hold by collecting this data from the local councils. This data collection is done separately and each credit bureau manages its own data collection and does it at its own time. This means there can be a lot of possible errors or discrepancies from one credit bureau to another.
If you have just recently done an electoral roll change of address then you should wait for16 weeks to pass and then contact each credit bureau to confirm when they last collected and updated their electoral roll data. You should then seek a copy of your credit file from each credit bureau to verify that the data they have updated is correct.
You can get a free statutory credit report from each credit bureau if you want to check that the data they hold on you is correct.
If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.
You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.
