My data sets have expired - what should I do?

Summary

All QAS products use data sets that are ‘time-stamped’ to expire after a fixed amount of time. Once QAS data sets have expired they can render either the data set or product unusable. This is to prevent users from using old data which can compromise the data quality of addresses captured, verified, or enhanced by QAS software.

All postal data sets are continually changing and as a result of these changes Experian QAS supplies regular data updates to all its customers. If your data has expired you will need to perform a data update using the latest available data, providing you are licensed to do so.

Symptoms of data expiry:

For Plug & Go or Standalone products, a data expiry warning dialog will appear. The data expiry error dialog box will differ depending on the QAS product line being used:

• QAS UK product line (e.g. Pro UK v3.15 Plug & Go) will produce the error dialog box shown on the left below.
• QAS World product line (e.g. Pro v6.75 Plug & Go) will produce the error dialog box shown on the right below.

Please note this error message may vary depending on the QAS product in use.

API products will give one of the following errors:

-1021 Data File has expired

-4570 Dataset cannot be used

Server products can be configured to send notification emails with expiry warnings.

Solution

1. Locate Most Recent QAS Data Update

Locate the most recent QAS data update sent by Experian QAS. You can identify the vintage of the data from the label on the media you were sent, or from your personalised data updates letter that came with your media.

If you are having difficulties locating your QAS data update please bear in mind that every customer of Experian QAS has a designated contact for receiving data updates. They may know more about the whereabouts of your QAS data updates.

To check how up-to-date your QAS data is please refer to the data release schedule. Please note that you do not receive all your data updates at the same time. If you use multiple country data sets from Experian QAS you will receive the latest version as and when it is available. The data release schedule contains the release information of all QAS data sets.

If you have not received your latest data update, please request a reshipment through our contact page and we will arrange for your data to be sent to you.

2. Close All QAS Applications

Shut down all open/active QAS products.

3. Perform QAS Data Install

The instructions differ depending on the platform you are using. Here are the two most common:

Windows Users

If you receive your data updates on CDROM you can use the data installer present on the CD to help you install your data.

For more help performing your data updates please see “Performing Data Updates” in the data area.

UNIX Users

You need to copy the correct individual data files from the CD to your data directory. Please note: data files are different for each product. Check which data files are installed within your data directory and only copy over the latest version of those data files.

For all other platforms such as Mainframe and AS400 please consult your product manual for detailed instructions.