There's a persistent misconception that a lot of addresses on your report looks bad — as though moving frequently counts against you. It doesn't. The addresses themselves are neutral. What matters is the credit history recorded at each one.

An address link appears when:

  • You register on the Electoral Roll at that address.
  • You change your address with an existing lender.
  • You apply for credit using that address.
  • It's used as a delivery address for a credit-related product — a mobile phone, say.

There's one that catches people out: an address can be linked to you through a financial associate. If you hold credit jointly with someone who doesn't live with you, their address may appear on your report.

Why old addresses are useful#

Address links are how your credit report follows you when you move. Without them you'd be starting a new credit history at every address.

They also save you work at application time. Because the links exist, you don't have to recall every address you've lived at — a lender searching your report can see the full picture.

That fuller picture generally works in your favour. The more history a lender can see, the more confident they can be that what they're looking at represents how you actually handle credit.

A valid old address can't be removed, and there's no reason to want it gone. It's a historical record, not a mark against you.

Why the same address appears twice#

If your local authority and your lenders have recorded an address in slightly different formats, it won't merge into a single entry.

A missing building name, a flat number recorded one way by one source and another way by another — any mismatch in format or date produces two links rather than one.

Since address links have no direct effect on your score, a duplicate isn't something to worry about.

Why the dates don't match when you lived there#

The date shown against an address link is when the link was last confirmed, not the period you lived there.

So it won't necessarily line up with your actual dates, and that's normal. Again, the link itself doesn't affect your score or your applications.

An address you don't recognise#

This is the one to act on.

An unfamiliar address link can be something trivial — a wrong building name, a missing flat number — or something more serious, like an attempted identity fraud. Either way, it's worth finding out.

The lender that created the link is named alongside it on your report, and they're the ones to contact. They reported the information, so if they accept it's wrong they can update it.

Where no lender details are shown, only the agency reporting it can tell you who created the link. In that case a data dispute is usually the most efficient route: the agency investigates whether it can remove the entry and, if not, confirms who's still reporting it and why. How to dispute credit report errors sets out the process.

Address links and searches usually reach your report before any account taken out fraudulently does, which makes them a genuine early warning. Anything you don't recognise is worth a phone call.

Moving house without losing ground#

If you move and don't update your address details or register on the Electoral Roll at the new one, that will affect your score.

You'd be missing the chance to show stability and good credit behaviour at your current address — and you risk missing payments outright if bills are still going to the old place. That can make it harder to get credit at exactly the moment a move tends to require it.

If you've moved recently and the new address isn't showing yet, don't worry. Some lenders update the agencies only once a month, so if you made a payment just before moving, your new address may not appear until the next report.

The key things to remember#

  • Linked addresses don't affect your score; the information recorded at them does.
  • Valid old addresses stay indefinitely, and that works in your favour.
  • Duplicates happen when formats differ between sources — harmless.
  • The date shown is when the link was last confirmed, not when you lived there.
  • Investigate any address you don't recognise; contact the lender named beside it.
  • After moving, update your address with lenders and register to vote at the new one.