Credit agencies: opt out of their marketing, and check your credit file

Last checked: 28 Sep 2026; links rechecked 12 Oct 2026; credit file section 19 Oct 2026, added here 6 Nov 2026

Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are best known for credit files, but each also runs a marketing-data service, separate from the credit file. Their marketing data includes names and addresses from the open register. You can opt out of each one. Opting out doesn't touch your credit file; to check or correct that, see your credit file below.

Your right to object. The UK data protection regulator (the Information Commission, formerly the ICO) says you have the right to ask an organisation to stop using your information for direct marketing, and that organisations cannot refuse. They can keep your details on a suppression list so they know not to use them. The regulator's right to object page has a template letter. See also how to object.

Start by opting out of the open register, since all three agencies name it as a source. Then:

Experian Marketing Services

How: Experian's online opt-out form. It asks for your name and address, with email optional.
Options: opt out of "All data processing for direct marketing, including any profiling", or choose specific sectors or channels (post or email).
Other routes: email uk.dpo@experian.com, or write to Experian Customer Service Team, Experian Ltd, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF.
Good to know: Experian keeps a suppression record so your details aren't added back; you can separately ask for that to be deleted. Opting out doesn't affect messages about any account you have with Experian.

TransUnion (formerly Callcredit)

How: email ukconsumer@transunion.com and ask to opt out of marketing services.
Timing: TransUnion says it adds you to a suppression list, which "may take up to 30 days".
Good to know: TransUnion's marketing data includes names and addresses from the open register, which it resells through Sagacity (below). It says it keeps open-register data while you're on the open register, plus two months.

Equifax

How: Equifax has no dedicated web form. Contact it through its contact page, by phone (0333 321 4043 or 0800 014 2955), by email to UKDPO@equifax.com, or by post to Equifax Ltd, Customer Service Centre, PO Box 10036, Leicester LE3 4FS.
Good to know: Equifax says its marketing services are "limited", use open-register names and addresses for postal marketing, and that it doesn't disclose credit files or "credit derived" data for direct marketing. It adds people who object to its suppression files.

Sagacity ("My Data Choices")

How: the My Data Choices site ("Suppress my data"), email dpo@sagacitysolutions.co.uk, or post to the DPO, Sagacity Solutions Ltd, 5th Floor, 24 Monument Street, London EC3R 8AJ.
Why it's here: Sagacity resells open-register data for TransUnion and supplies data to ukphonebook.

Acxiom UK

How: email ukconsumerservices@acxiom.com, or post to Consumer Services Department, Acxiom Ltd, Bankside 3, 90–100 Southwark St, London SE1 0SW.
Good to know: Acxiom's current UK policy says its product data is kept in an aggregated form so individuals can't be identified.

Suppression lists, not deletion

Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Sagacity all say they keep a suppression record after you opt out, so your details aren't added back from another source. Asking for everything to be deleted, including that record, may make it more likely you're added back later.

Your credit file is separate: get it free and fix mistakes

The credit reference agencies still receive the full electoral register by law, but for credit checks and anti-money-laundering duties, not marketing. Opting out of their marketing services is a separate thing from your credit file.

Your credit file is the record lenders check when you apply for credit. MoneyHelper lists four UK credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva. Each may hold different information, so it's worth checking all four.

Get your report free

By law, every agency has to give you your "statutory" credit report for free, and checking it doesn't affect your score (MoneyHelper). The ICO says you don't need to buy a monthly subscription: look for the words "statutory report".

Agency	How
Experian	Online, or by post to Customer Support Centre, Experian Ltd, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF. Experian says the report usually takes up to 7 working days, and doesn't include its credit score.
Equifax	Online with a free Equifax Basic account, or a paper form to Equifax Ltd, Customer Service Centre, PO Box 10036, Leicester LE3 4FS.
TransUnion	Online from its consumer support page ("Your Free Credit Report").
Crediva	Online form, or phone 0808 129 3210. Crediva's complaints are handled by LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

If something's wrong

Contact the agency, or the lender that reported it. The ICO says lenders, phone companies and utilities own their entries, and agencies can't change them without that company's permission. While it's checked, the entry is marked as disputed and lenders shouldn't rely on it; MoneyHelper says this shouldn't take longer than 28 days.

TransUnion: free, online through your statutory report, by phone on 0330 024 7574, or by post (TransUnion).
Equifax: through its Online Helpline with a copy of your report, or by post. Equifax says the company that supplied the data has 21 days to respond (Equifax).
Experian: through your Experian account or by contacting Experian. It says the supplier decides whether the entry changes (Experian).

Accurate information about missed payments usually stays for six years.

Add your side: a notice of correction

If an entry is accurate but misleading, for example a missed payment during an illness, you can add a statement of up to 200 words. This is a legal right under section 159 of the Consumer Credit Act: you ask the agency to correct or remove the entry, it has 28 days to reply, and you then have 28 days to ask it to add your notice. If it won't, you can apply to the UK's data protection regulator.

Experian says a notice doesn't change your score but may slow lenders down, and it can be refused if it's defamatory or unsuitable. You have to ask each agency separately. Equifax's own page about this was unavailable when we checked.

Break a financial link with an ex-partner

The ICO says you shouldn't be linked to someone just because you live at the same address, and that once a joint account closes you can ask the agency for a "disassociation". TransUnion says it can only do this once all joint accounts are closed. Experian says you can ask it to break the link.

The electoral register and your credit file

Credit agencies use the electoral register to confirm your address. Experian says registering to vote improves your credit score. If you opt out of the open register, GOV.UK says you still appear on the full register, which can be used for checking credit applications. We haven't found an official source that says outright whether opting out affects your score.

Refused credit?

Under section 157 of the Consumer Credit Act, a lender that turns you down because of an agency's information must tell you which agency. You can ask in writing within 28 days of the application ending.

If they won't fix it

You can complain to the ICO about an agency that won't correct an obvious mistake, though the ICO says it doesn't rule on financial disputes. For how a lender treated you, MoneyHelper points to the Financial Ombudsman Service. MoneyHelper also says most paid "credit repair" firms only help you do what you can do yourself for free.

Sources

This page describes your options and how organisations say they handle requests. It isn't legal advice. See About & sourcing, or report a correction.