According to a recent report the 25 million victims of the data that was lost by HM Revenue and Customs could be entitled to free credit checks from the country’s major credit reference agencies. Although the government has been in talks with credit reference agencies over the provision of free credit reports for those affected by the blunder the matter of who will fund these checks, which could run to costs of tens of millions of pounds.

It was found that HMRC had lost the details of 25 million customers, which included sensitive banking information putting them at increased risk of fraud and identity theft. The government has been discussing the chances of free credit checks with two of the nation’s largest credit reference agencies, Call Credit and Experian. However, it is not yet clear whether those affected will have access to ongoing reports for the coming weeks or just to a one off report. Funding still has to be sorted out, and one official from Call Credit stated: ‘No agency, including ourselves, is going to do this out of the goodness of their heart. Whether the Government will cover the costs or not at this stage is unclear, but there is a reason why agencies are stepping forward like this.’

Another credit reference agency, Equifax, has offered discounts of 60% on credit reports to aid the situation. Consumers can get a copy of their credit report for £2 or can benefit from ongoing access for a subscription fee of £6.99 per month. Government officials have urged those affected by the data loss to be extra vigilant with regards to their accounts, and one of the ways in which affected consumers can keep an eye on their accounts is through monitoring their credit reports to look out for any suspicious transactions.

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