If you feel that your credit report is wrong, the normal first step is to ask the lender to put this right.
But when the lender is in administration, the administrators may not respond to requests from you to correct your credit files. And if the lender has been liquidated, there is no-one for you to contact.
Here the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) should help if you ask them to. Incorrect reporting is against the data protection rules.
Dos, don’t and better options
Do not ask for a record to be supressed if the lender is still going. This is not a short cut, it will just waste your time. Complain to the lender instead (not the CRA).
Do send the complaint to the administrators first if is not too late to make a claim. The suppression process should only be used if you missed the deadline to claim, it is not a quick alternative to making a claim as the the CRA will ask the administrators about your request and the administrators will reject it.
D0 use this suppression process when the administrators agreed to correct your credit record but failed to do so.
Do not think this will clean up your credit record if the debt was sold to a debt collector. Suppressing the record will only affect the credit record with the lender. You will need to complain separately to the debt collector if their record is wrong.
Problems that need correcting
Some of the possible reasons for an incorrect credit record include:
- the debt has been settled but it still shows as open;
- the lender had agreed to delete the credit record or to remove the default before administration but didn’t do this;
- identity theft – you never took that debt out in the first place;
- the default date isn’t correct, or the dates of missed payments arent correct or the payments you made were not correctly reported.
You may feel the lender should have not have given you the debt as it was unaffordable but it is too late to make a claim in the administration. In this case it is usually simpler to complain about one of the above problems.
The error may be showing on the records of more than one CRA. So you need to check the Statutory Credit Reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
You need to check those CRA reports, not other reports such as ClearScore or Credit Karma, because you want to talk directly to the CRA, not through a third party.
First ask the administrators
It is best to first ask the administrators to correct any problem. If this works it will be the fastest option for you. Check the lender’s website to find how to contact them.
For affordability concerns, you should send the administrators a Claim. If this is upheld, the administrators will correct or delete the credit record.
Sometimes the administrators will refuse, saying you need to contact the CRAs.
But if this is late on, then you will not get a reply. For example the Sunny administrators have passed the point in the administration where they reply to CRAs. And Wonga has been liquidated – there is no one anymore to contact.
In this case, you can go to the CRAs and you can say you have tried to resolve the problem with the lender but they don’t reply, or there is no-one to contact.
Will the CRA correct this?
This is what Experian says about correcting data – Equifax and TransUnion say similar things:
We can only change this information once your lender has told us about it, or with their permission.
But when the CRA asks the administrators they are unlikely to get any response… So the CRA has a problem – it can’t leave inaccurate data on your credit record and it can’t correct it unless the lender agrees.
The CRAs get round this by “suppressing” a record. If they do this, the record still exists but it will not be shown to lenders who make a credit check on you.
Ask the CRA to “suppress” the record
Contact the CRAs where the problem is showing:
- Experian – select Get in touch about > Errors on my Experian Credit Report > I think there’s an error with an account;
- Equifax – select Do you still have questions then log in to your account (you will have created one when you asked for a copy of your Statutory Credit Report) and complete the form;
- TransUnion – go through the Disputes process.
Tell the CRA:
- which records are wrong, listing the individual loans.
- explain what is wrong and that you have asked the administrators to correct this on dd/mm/yy but they have not replied/told you to talk to the CRA. Or say administration has ended and the lender no longer exists;
- ask the CRA to “suppress the record” as it is incorrect.
If the CRA refuses (or sends an irrelevant response such as saying the account will be deleted six years after the settlement date), explain again what the problem is and why you need the CRA to suppress the record.
Be persistent – this seems to resolve the problem in the end. Say you want to make a formal complaint if necessary.
The final option if you make a formal complaint and the CRA rejects it is to send the complaint against the CRA – not the original lender – to the Financial Ombudsman. I haven’t come across anyone having to do this when they have asked for a record to be suppressed.
Evidence that may help your complaint
Sometimes there is evidence to support what you are saying.
For example you may have reported identity theft to Action Fraud and have been given a crime reference number. You may have the email from the lender agreeing to delete the record or remove the default.
But sometimes there may be little or no evidence or it may be complicated.
It isn’t clear how much effort the CRAs will put into investigating these complaints. But if your complaint goes to the ombudsman they may ask you for some evidence.
Loan interest falls when score improves – good?
Overdrafts – a hard debt to get out of
Payday loans make getting a mortgage hard
Karina says
I only have the quickquid loan and one other default from an aqua card (sold to Cabot) which I am paying off monthly at the moment, think there are another 2 or 3 payments to go on that one. No other defaults and no recent missed payments
Nes says
I contacted Transunion for some information on my credit file which was incorrect. The company failed to respond and I was informed via email last week that the information would be supressed from my file until atleast the company responds.
However my credit file still shows the account, is this normal? If not after how long can i expect not to see this account at-least whilst it remains suppressed.
Gemma says
Hi
I made a claim to the Provident scheme and I won. There are 2 defaults on my credit file and these 2 loans were included in my redress. The loans on my file are still showing as defaults, they have not been wiped.
My question is who do I contact about this? They are on my credit file under Vanquis. The loans were passed to them after non payment. Is it Vanquis that I need to contact?
I understand that the scheme has finished and I cannot contact anyone through the portal anymore, I have tried.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you repaid these loans?
Gemma says
Yes, but not for the full amount (if that makes any difference)?
We came to an agreement last May to pay a % of the full balance in order for them to close the account and mark it as partially satisfied.
I paid this and they did close the account, and the status on my credit report was changed to satisfied.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so the payment you have received from Provident should have taken into account what you paid to Vanquis. The payout will have been lower as you partially settled it because you didnnot pay so much interest. If you think you were paid the wrong amount it is goping to be very difficult, probably impossible, to reopen this now.
It sounds as though you are only worried about the Vanquis default though?
Were the loans also showing as defaulted with Provident and have those defaults been removed?
Gemma says
I didn’t have any money back for these two defaulted loans, but I only paid a very small amount last year to close the account. I think I paid £200 to clear almost £4000. So I’m not worried about the money back now.
I don’t think the defaults have ever been on my credit report under Provident, as far as I know they have always shown as Vanquis. It was Vanquis that I paid last year to close the accounts.
The defaults aren’t up until September next year. They are the only bad marks on my credit file now so I’d love to get them cleared off. I’m just not sure who I should be chasing to get them off my file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, but the list of unaffordable loans from Provident included the two sold to Vanquis?
Gemma says
Yes 100%
I have checked reference numbers, loan start dates etc.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you email Vanquis (customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk) and explain that the loans they bought from provident have been determined to be unaffordable and ask them to remove the default from these loans. Give the loans details. Attach the emails from provident that said they were unaffordable.
If Vanquis do not agree, say you want to make a formal complaint about this. Point out that if provident was still in business and your complaint had been decided by the ombudsman, provident would have had to arrange for the defaults to be removed.
And then send it to the Financial Ombudsman if Vanquis reject the complaint.
let me know what happens!
Gemma says
Thank you for your advice.
I have sent them an email, exactly as you have suggested, with relevant attachments from Provident.
I will keep you posted!
Gemma says
“We have passed your query on to Provident to get back to you”
I have just received this email and that’s all it said. Can they do that because I thought that Provident had gone?
What should I do now? Should I just wait for a response from Provident?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. See what the reply is. I suggest you chase this up in a month or so if you haven’t heard anything.
Dominic says
Similar kind of story here, on my 2 (and only) historical Provident Loans.
Both were upheld as unaffordable on May 27th 2022. Redress received without issue but a bunch of missed payment markers remain on Ex and TU credit files.
I asked both about this on Monday and they both said they have “Referred the query to Provident” on Tuesday. Nothing since. If the administration is over, I doubt these referrals will lead anywhere…..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I said to Gemma above, if Vanquis don’t change this, send them a complaint and then forward it to the Ombudsman if they reject that.
Gemma says
Hi
It’s me again. It’s been over a month since I started this (July 31st) and I’m no further forward.
Vanquis said they passed my email to Provident, as it is them that need to fix this. Provident only responded with a generic email that gives some general information. Nothing to do with what I asked.
Also, Vanquis are now not responding to my emails.
Where do I go from here? Do I send a complaint to Vanquis first? Or go straight to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you have sent Vanquis a formal complaint have you? In that case, this is what you need to do now. You cant go to FOS until Vanquis have 8 weeks to reply to your complaint.
Gemma says
Hi Dominic
I was concerned about this and I replied to Vanquis asking if it would definitely get to Provident. This was their reply –
“Although Provident are no longer offering doorstep loans the company is still operating.
The Scheme of Arrangement was in relation to the doorstep Loans and although this area of the business is no longer operating the business will still investigate any complaints you have”
So now I will just wait, and as Sara has said, chase it up in about a month if I haven’t received a reply.
Emily says
Hello,
I have 3 defaults all within 3 months of each other, 2 are shown on Transunion, 1 on Equifax.
Can someone share the sort of email they sent to them, asking to suppress? I have no idea how to go about it, or where to dispute. Any help appreciated :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who are the lenders for these defaults? Supressing will only work if the lender has been dissolved or is in the late stage of administration.
Emily says
Hi, The lenders are Quick Quid and Peachy. Both are paid off, and were paid off around 1-3 months after the defaults (Mid 2019). I only missed the 3 payments. I also don’t remember having any information sent to me on they were issuing a default.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case you need to email TransUnion and Equifax and ask them to suppress the records. Say the lenders never told you were they were adding a default and you don’t agree they were right but you can no longer dispute them with the lender so you would like the records suppressed.
Gemma says
No, I haven’t sent a complaint yet, I will do that first thing in the morning.
Thank you.
Gemma says
Hi Sara
Just an update for you. Vanquis have had 8 weeks (as of Monday 31st) I very much doubt they’ll send me anything by then.
So on Tuesday 1st I’ll have to take it to the FOS.
They acknowledged my complaint by return email, so I know it was received and ‘passed to the relevant department’. I’m just so angry that that they haven’t replied at all.
Anyway, on to the next stage now. I’ve got all my evidence ready and hopefully the FOS will sort it out for me.
I wanted to update you, but mostly wanted to thank you again for all your advice whilst navigating this crazy system. I’m so happy that I found your site, and I’m sure that many more would agree.
Gemma says
Hello again
I got a call from FOS this morning with a resolution. Finally!
Vanquis have removed the defaults on my credit file (well, they removed 1 account completely, then changed the other one to show that it was all paid, so no default) and they have offered me £150 compensation.
The compensation wasn’t really important to me, I’d rather have had this sorted last summer instead of wasting all this time. But never mind, it’s done and dusted now and I’ve got a little bit of cash that I wasn’t expecting.
Thank you for your help.
Gemma
Philip says
Too early to attempt a suppression with Provident do you think?
Deb says
Hello,
I had four loans via Sunny/ Elevate unfortunately missed the deadline for dispute and they were bought by Merligen Investments. Currently repaying those through Moriarty Law. Recently queried with Eqifax that info not correct and showing as though no payments being made. They say that since Elevate have gone into liquidation they will remove those accounts from their data. Will that affect the Merligen accounts which have the same original loan numbers but showing as in default?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you saying the Merligen entries are not being updated for the payments you are making?
Deb says
Thanks for the reply Sara,
It appears so. The accounts also have same original loan number of the sunny/elevate loans that Eqifax are deleting from my file. Will that have any affect on the Merligen accounts with those loan numbers or are they treated as different accounts?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you have to complain to Merligen if they are not updating your credit records. Removing the Sunny records will not affect the Merligen records.
Mark says
Hi,
At what point can this process be used against records from Provident? Have they now officially. closed and are no longer contactable? I’ve emailed the Customer Services team about an old default on my record from 4 years ago that I didn’t manage to get in the unaffordable lending complaint. I’ve not had a reply.
How does the “suppresion” work, does it just hide the record and your credit score stays the same or will your score increase once the “surpress” is in place?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago did you email them?
Mark says
About 2 weeks ago
Brooks says
I took the plunge and have sent in a suppression request for the Provident entries on my credit file. 15 days so far and I haven’t been told of a response from them yet by the CRAs, so I’m feeling hopeful that they’re not responding. Particularly as when I last emailed Provident in June they responded within the hour!
Mark says
Could you keep us in the loop about the outcome?
Thanks
Brooks says
Will do, I’m eagerly counting down the days myself!
Brooks says
28 days passed with no response from them to TransUnion so the record has been suppressed, result!
Adrian Evans says
Thanks for the update about to try myself :)
Mark says
Hi Brooks,
Do you happen to have a copy of the suppression wording you used?
Be good to use it as a template.
Cheers
Brooks says
I raised a dispute directly on the account on my statutory report with TransUnion, with the below wording:
“In communication with Provident Financial they advised me that they should not have supplied this loan to me and that upon review, they would be updating the Credit Reference Agencies to delete the entry from my record. This has been actioned by Experian and Equifax, but not yet by yourselves.”
Tim says
I put in a request to Experian to have Provident removed as I had tried every email/ phone number for them and the only responses were automatic saying mailbox closed etc and saying there is no way to contact them. Experian came back within a few days saying provident responded to them “The data we have provided is an accurate reflection of the customer borrowing and repayment history. Whilst we have ceased to lend and are closing our business, this does not change the payment history for the customer. They did not participate in our scheme of arrangement which would have assessed their claim of unaffordable lending.” I find it hard to understand they have responded to Experian but a customer has no way of contacting them at all. I have said this to Experian but they say I would have to contact Provident to dispute, which I have explained is impossible. For anyone else I would wait a bit longer to try and suppress!
Sara, do you think there is anything else I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is there something specific you can say about why the records are incorrect? Provident had a bad reputation for inaccurate credit reporting, often failing to add defaults which means that missed payments showed on credit records for much longer.
Tim says
Not that I can see, I didn’t miss any payments but I have won many claims for unaffordable loans from the same time period and believe the provident ones were also unaffordable but I didn’t know about the scheme until it was too late. I would just like them off my credit report when looking for mortgages, from what I can see they aren’t marked as a payday loan which is a positive.
The only thing I can see is that one of the dates seems 1 day off (says 26th and the loan was funded on 27th) however I doubt this be grounds for removal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Loans that were repaid on time don’t hurt your credit score. A lender can’t see who you borrowed from. They could probably make a good guess from the amounts borrowed and repaid, but I am not sure they would be bothered to do this for debts repaid on time that are well in the past.
Richard says
Dear Sara,
Is now the right time to request suppression of QuickQuick, On Stride, PoundsToPocket closed loans? Have the administrators now completely stopped talking to the CRA’s?
R
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The comment above from Brooks suggests this may be ok
Sharon says
Hi Sara, two provident loans are showing on my exp and tu credit files. I did claim for unaffordable lending in the scheme arrangment but I can’t find the email with the outcome. I know that the defaults were removed from both and now only missed payments are showing. I was in payment arrangments on both. I would have repaid in full but the loans were settled as part of the scheme arrangment. One says settled and the other partially settled, which is unfair as I would have paid in full. I think that the loans were not deemed unaffordable but I did not appeal. I took the loans in quick succession and they were unaffordable. No defaults are showing so the accounts will remain until 2027. The defaults would have meant the accounts fall off next year. Is there anything I can do to get these accounts removed. This seems unfair. Experian sent a query to provident to see whether the info is correct and at first they didn’t reply so the accounts were supressed but then out of the blue provident did respond to say the info is accurate so they came back frustratingly – can I still go down the route of them being unaffordable? Any help would be great..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but you should have appealed.
But do you have proof that there were defaults on them that were removed?
Sharon says
I am going to check if I can get proof of defaults I am quite sure that the loans defaulted in 2018/2019. I am not sure whether I can get old copies of credit reports? Or perhaps I can ask the CRAs to check their records to see when the defaults were removed from the accounts. I accept I should have appealed. If I get proof of defaults do you think that I could try to get the accounts removed on the date they would have dropped off due to the defaults. It seems unfair for them to remain after that date..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no you cannot get copies of back dated reports. And I doubt the CRAs keep these sorts of records.
The defaults should not have been removed, but it may be provident never added defaults to the credit records at all.
Jodie says
Hi I previously asked for some advice regarding bright house debt.
On my credit report it states I owe brighthouse/ I’ve 2 defaults since 2019
As things have now come to a close with bright house, I’m wondering if it’s the best time to get them suppressed and if so how do I go about this please
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what happened to your complaints with BH?
Jodie says
Totally ignored
I’ve had no contact with them since 2020.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The administration hasn’t yet been completed and in their last report they were still talking about selling the loan book. They have sold a lot to ACI but you should have heard if your debt had been included in that.
I suggest you wait another 6 months I am afraid.
Jodie says
Hey
Thank you,
I just checked – the last contact was April 2021, where I was frantically trying to get help with the matter. They told me to contact them via phone and it never went anywhere.
Since then I’ve never heard from them again. I’ve never had any other company contact me either regarding the account.
I’ll hold out another six months.
I’ve seen on here some people have been told their accounts will be wiped off and the CRA informed… makes me wonder if I should reach out to AIC … but as I’ve said they’ve never contacted me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have a look at your credit records to see if the debt has reappeared with a debt collector.
Jodie says
Hi,
I’m constantly checking my file to be aware of what’s going on with my credit report and the brighthouse debt is only on my file listed as a default from caversham finance.
There’s no other debt collection company on my file with the debt.
There’s been no data updated on the account since 2019 and says it’s in default
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I would wait another 6 months and see if the administration gets nearer to the end.
J says
Thank you.
I’ll hold tight
Kay says
Hi Sara,
I defaulted on a loan with 247 Moneybox (active securities), I took out the loan in Feb 2019 then I entered a DMP in April 2019. Credit Karma is showing the default date as 30/06/2019 with arrangement to pay between March and July then the ‘D’ on August. ClearScore is showing the default date as 30/05/2019 and Experian isn’t showing the loan at all.
I got the statement from Stepchange showing that I paid 4 times from April till June so the balance was cleared on 13/06/2019. I can’t find a notice of default from 247 Moneybox (not even sure I received an email or letter) but the dates are different. I have complained to them but as they are in administration they are refusing to look at the claim and the ombudsman said the same. Is it worth messaging the CRA’s to try to suppress the loans with the grounds of being unaffordable or would they remove the loans as all the dates are different and I’m not sure when/if it even defaulted and they cannot have incorrect information showing.
Thank you for all of your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can I ask what the rest of your credit record is like?
Kay says
Hi Sara,
I had many loans; sunny, 118, lending stream, satsuma, piggy bank, onstride, and 4 credit cards – aqua, capital one, Vanquis, Zopa. These have all been removed (apart from Aqua which was my first card) with affordability claims, and 3 defaults removed (118, Capital one, Onstride) thanks to your forums! This default from 247 Moneybox is the last one on my credit file (I was too late submitting to the administrators). It was only 2 smaller loans of £80 then £125, I’m surprised I even got accepted (these were the last loans I ever had after everything else and I started the affordability claims after these so everything was very apparent on my credit file. My credit is rebuilding, I have a few missed payments from Aqua in 2020 but everything else is cleared apart from this one default left.
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Moneybox loan – was it all to be repaid the next month or what was the term of the loan?
Kay says
Hi Sara, the first loan of £80 was taken on 18/12 and paid back in January then the 2nd was £135 on 11/02 and was supposed to be paid back as one instalment in March. I entered the DMP in April so paid them 15/04 (£69), 02/05 (£2.70), 15/05 (£71.95) then 13/06 (£60.29)
I obviously didn’t miss 3 months payments for the default but I did read that they can sometimes issue a default if you’re paying lower than originally agreed but I didn’t get a letter or email so not sure if/when I even did default.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so it was in arrears for more than 3 months. But the whole dates thing looks like a mess and you should have had a sensible reply from Moneybox which you have not had.
I suggest you ask TransUnion to Suppress the loans as the data is not write and Moneybox refuses to talk to you about it as they are in administration.
This might be better left for 6-12 months until the administration finally ends. It’s hard to guess.
Matt says
Hi sara and dc
I would just like to let you know , i raised a complaint about quick quid on my file as it was showing over six late payments on two accounts . I ask for this information to be removed . After 28 days received an email to say they have suppressed the account as they have had no response . Hope this helps anyone trying to get there account with quick quid suppressed .
Matt
Chloe says
Hi – I submitted a complaint to Safety Net Credit due to irresponsible lending from 2018 in August 2022. They did not respond to my complaint, I submitted a case with Equifax and this has now been supressed due to no response and it has been and my credit score has jumped up to 676 (Equifax – Very Good). The company has now gone bust so I doubt they will ever respond to credit reference agencies. The agreement will drop off in Nov 2024. I have one outstanding CCJ which will be removed in July 2023 so I am hoping my score will continue to grow.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is very early in the administration so I wouldn’t expect this to work so this is very interesting.
Chloe says
Hi – I have also submitted a dispute with Transunion with the same details that I used with Equifax and Transunion have also supressed the agreement from my file however there has been no change in my score with Transunion – do you think this will update shortly?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The debt that was suppressed – did it have a default or a missed paymen?
What other problems show on your credit record?
Chloe says
Yes it had missed payments & default.
I have a CCJ which will expire in July 2023 x3 defaults which wont expire until 2025
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so what is your score? do you also have credit cards or catalogues with a high utilisation?
Chloe says
My score is 554 – I have one CC with a £2k limit which I currently about 30% utilisation which always gets paid off each month. I am using LoqBox save which will end in May and have not missed any payments for 2 years. I am aware that the supressed record is only tempory as they could respond to CRA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With a CCJ and 3 remaining defaults I doubt your score is going to increase much from 554 I am afraid.
I would keep your card utilisation down though. Well under 30%.
Daria says
I finally paid my IVA in 2022, got my certificate and waited till Feb 2023 after 6 years to get a clean credit report to apply for a mortgage.
Then to only find out I have 4 defaulted accounts still hurting my credit report. I managed to remove 3, but the last one is more complicated.
I had a loan with Avant credit that was included in my IVA. Back in 2020, Avant went bust and they sold my account to Perch capital. Avant made my account default on 20 August 2017. This was incorrect, they should have mentioned the date of IVA (27 Feb 2017). I manage to close the dispute with Perch and they have removed all defaults from my credit report, but Avant is still showing. Perch send me a letter confirming they have purchased my account from Avant and I have sent it to Equifax. Equifax is not helping me at all, keep replying they need confirmation from Avant. I don’t have time for this, need my record clean as there is a house waiting for me and apart from this, my credit is spotless.
Will this suppression help me? How to convince them to do it ASAP?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can try this.
PS make sure you go through a broker to apply for a mortgage. Some lenders ask questions about insolvencies even when they do not show on your credit record – many won’t care but you do not want to apply to one that does.
Daria says
Thanks. I have a broker, he is helping me a lot as well.
After the call with Equifax, they only promised to escalate my claim. Said they will reply within 48h, let see I hope this will help as I am getting desperate here.
Stuart says
Loans at Home went into administration on 17 March 2022. They stopped collections in December 2022 and look to be winding down, though they did apply to extend the administration period at the same time they stopped collections. Too soon to try suppression?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
probably. Have you made a complaint to them? Do you gave defaults, missed payments showing on the record/
Stuart says
No, I’ve not done anything yet. Have a default from them thats gonna take a good 18 months to disappear. Record clear apart from that
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well if you think the loan is unaffordable make a claim asap! soon it will be too late. (It may already be.)
Stuart says
I decided to contact the CRA’s directly. Experian agreed within a week to remove the default. I presume LAH agreed too, for that to have happened so quickly. TU were emailed the same day as EX, but haven’t gotten back to me. What are your thoughts, does it seem to you too that LAH agreed to remove? I think I should have success with TU?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t really guess.
Nathan says
Hi
I had a payday loan from Indigo Michael and in Jan 2017 couldn’t pay. They issued a default on 31st August 2017. This is due to drop off my file this year however I have an urgent need for a mortgage and so need to get it taken off.
The entry also states it is for a credit card when it wasn’t.
ICO ruling states they should have issued the default after 3 months so if that is the case do I have the right to ask them to suppress the entry. The company has appointed administrators and I have written to them about the date awaiting response. What chance do you think I have to get this suppressed or removed because the type of loan information is incorrect?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know what the administrators will decide but
a) it may not seem as urgent to them as it does to you
b) the IM debts don’t meet the technical hurdle to be flagged as payday loan because the advertised interest rate was less than 100%. You can argue that this advertised APR is incorrect, but the administrators may not see it as their job to make that sort of decision.
c) if they decide the debts were not credit cards but loans, it will hardly help you if they are reclassified, not removed.
Nathan says
Ok but what about the ICO ruling that they must issue the default on 3 months? Surely 7 months from not paying is too long a time to then issue it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which ruling is this? the normally accepted time frame is that a default should be added when you are 3-6 months in arrears.
Nathan Townsend says
Yes so it was added 8 months from the first missed payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you can complain about that. But it may be very hard to get the administrators to do anything in a speedy fashion. Or indeed at all.
Phil says
FYI, if anybody has anything that they need suppressing with Provident, I think enough time has passed in the administration for them to go now. I put in a dispute with Transunion at 10am yesterday morning asking for one to be removed, and had an update just over 24 hours later that the dispute has been success and my record will be updated (and it already has been!)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
thanks for letting us know.
Kay says
Hi Phil, what was your reason given for the dispute? Was it that the loan was unaffordable and it’s too late to claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Saying the default date is wrong or missing will be common with Provident – they were very sloppy at credit recording.
Phil says
To be honest I didn’t even give them that much, I just said the entry was incorrect as it should have been deleted before they went into administration
Kay says
Did you also put in a request with Experian? I put a request in last month and they have said that Provident have confirmed that the data is accurate so won’t remove.
Kay says
Experian are refusing to suppress the provident loan saying that provident have confirmed that it is correct. Even after saying that it is too late to make a claim with provident for an unaffordable loan they are still telling me to contact provident directly but only giving me a postal address. Is there any other way around having it suppressed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the default date on the credit record? How long after you stopped paying was that?
Kay says
Hi Sara, it’s 4 late payments with Provident, the account didn’t default. I entered a DMP in April 2019 so February shows a late payment, March shows 2 months late and April and May show 1 month late then all good until the account was settled in December 2019. Transunion only shows a missed payment for March then April to November are down as ‘DM’. I was too late to dispute it being unaffordable with provident and now they are in administration. I have won affordability complaints with multiple other lenders even before these loans so I know it’s unaffordable. I haven’t tried with Transunion yet but Experian are saying that Provident has confirmed that the information is correct. Obviously I missed the payments, the dispute is that the loan was unaffordable but I’m not getting anywhere.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not sure you can anywhere with this. At least the problems are in the past and will drop off in 2025. Many lenders won’t care about them.
Kay says
Hi Sara, my boyfriend and I will be looking at applying for a mortgage in April 2024, are you saying that most lenders won’t look at the missed payments or will it need to be a ‘bad credit lender’ with higher interest rates?
This article says that data could be suppressed if ‘the lender should have not have given you the debt as it was unaffordable but it is too late to make a claim in the administration.’
If Experian aren’t looking at how unaffordable the loan was, they are just telling me to contact Provident but the phone lines are closed and nobody at provident would email back then I don’t know what to do, feels like I’m stuck In between a rock and a hard place.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am saying that it likely that there are some high street lenders that will give you a mortgage at an OK rate. Obviously i have no idea what the mortgage market will be like at that time.
Normally when a firm goes into administration and then into liquidation there is no entity left to respond. Provident is an unusual situation in that other parts of the group still exist.
Experian have no way to look at whether a loan is unaffordable or not.
Sharon says
Hi I’ve had problems with Provident too. At first the CRAs supressed on the basis that I said the information was wrong but then Provident made contact with them and said it was accurate. I contacted Provident lots of times to ask them to enter a default and they didn’t respond to me. They responded to CRAs not me.. but then I complained to FSA and they quickly entered a default. The account will drop off next year. So no quick fix but at least an end in sight..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You complained to the FCA? or to FOS?
Sharon says
Sorry not the FSA, the financial ombudsman. I told Provident I had done that and then they added defaults for September 2018 for each of the loans which I understand will mean that they are removed in September next year. They would have otherwise disappeared in 2027 as the settlement date for both was 2021. But Provident have not corresponded with me at all – but they have taken the action I asked them to take and they did respond to the CRAs to confirm the information was accurate. I thought this might be helpful to others.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok you took a case against Provident to FOS or against the credit reporting agency?
(I am trying to be very clear so other people know what has worked.)
Sharon says
Against Provident. Provident wouldn’t answer my complaint but would tell the CRAs that the information on my file was correct so they stopped suppressing. I made a complain to the ombudsman and Provident then quickly added defaults for Sept 2018, which means that the accounts disappear next year. These accounts are the only problem with my credit so now I’m hopeful that I can move forward. I’ve done the above and sorted out other problems using the advice on this site so thank you very much for what you do x.
Sam says
Too early to try with safety net?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. Way too early.
Lauren says
Is it still too early with SafetyNet? Put in an SAR request back in August and administrators sent it over. Sent original complaint nearly 8 weeks ago and no communication, not even acknowledgment of the complaint. Chased it up today but if they still don’t respond, would I be right to ask the CRAs go suppress?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it’s too early. It needs to be very late in an administration to get the CRAs to suppress records.
Lauren says
What would you recommend I do if the administrators don’t reply to my complaint, and FOS are no longer taking on SafetyNet cases?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was your complaint?
Lauren says
Unaffordable credit and irresponsible lending. I had 4 recent defaults when the loan was given and the SAR request showed they had my net income down incorrectly. I said that due to them going into administration I am abstaining from seeking reimbursement of interest and fees, I am just requesting the deletion of negative remarks on my credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to chase this up. On the phone first and then in writing. I think this is still too early.
Jack says
Does anyone have contact email for provident pleas? They paid my compensation and agreed to supress my record on the online compensation portal back in July 2022. However, the records still appear on my TransUnion account.
Thanks
jack
Auz says
This may or may not be helpful, but I am in a similar situation. My situation doesn’t involve a compensation claim, as I missed the deadline. However provident told me in 2018 that they were issuing a Notice of Default. Unfortunately this was verbal, and they stopped chasing me after I last spoke to them. I assumed Lantern now owned the loan (silly I know, but I was younger and a bit naive).
Auz says
I contacted the CRAs, who told me to contact the lender. I found out that Provident rebranded as Vanquis Bank. I sent a complaint to Vanquis and they said the following:
“Provident Personal Credit (PPC), trading as Satsuma has ceased trading and is in the process of liquidation. All data has been deleted or put beyond operational use in accordance with the requirements of the ICO. I confirm therefore that as the company has followed ICO guidelines there is no data held that is capable of being searched or extracted to review and amend your credit file.
Whilst the Group rebranded to Vanquis Banking Group, the ability to amend credit files was with Provident Personal Credit. However, the credit bureaus have been notified that PPC has ceased trading and they are able to amend credit records for you. You are able to contact the credit reference agencies to request a data amendment if you believe there is an error, details are shown below.”
They also reference each of the subsidiaries of provident financial that are currently being liquidated: Provident Personal Credit Limited, trading as Provident, Greenwoods, Satsuma and glo (in members voluntary liquidation)
I called the ombudsman, who confirmed that if the lender has been liquicitizenthat they can’t take on a complaint – even if the parent company is still trading under a new name, and should have held liability but I don’t know enough to say this applies here.
I’m going to call citizens advice and the CRAs tomorrow. However, it looks like the the buck stops with the CRAs.
I imagine your dispute will have more weight if you need to escalate to FOS, to make a complaint against the CRAs. I’ve only got a couple of emails and texts! Haha. Its hilarious when you think about it, and horrifying at the same time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As the above article says, you should ask the CRAs to “suppress” the relevant credit records because they are inaccurate, eg default dates or missed payments were wrong. Provident’s credit reporting was often inaccurate! Don’t just say the loans were unaffordable.
Suppressing the records means other lenders can’t see them.
The CRAs normally agree to this. If they don’t, make a formal complaint and take that to FOS if not sorted within 8 weeks. I don’t remember a case where this has been necessary
Auz says
Thanks Sara! I found this article just before I reached out to the CRAs and Vanquis. It was very helpful! However, I’ve encountered a bit of an odd situation. I listed every single inaccuracies, along with the missing default, and explaining to the CRAs that Vanquis/PFG does not have the ability to amend credit files for PPC customers, whilst reinforcing there responsibilities to ensure data integrity. They the contacted Vanquis (as the data supplier). Vanquis responded to experian asking for me to call to discuss my dispute. The other alternative was to make a formal complaint to Vanquis. I opted for the latter. It looks like if I dispute inaccuracies to the CRAs, they will reach out to Vanquis each time. I expect Vanquis to respond to my complaint with a “we’re not responsible”. I’ll probably need to escalate a complaint for the CRAs and Vanquis to the FOS, just to keep within the 6 month time limit. Posting this just incase someone else runs into something similar. PPC are being liquidated, but it sounds like Vanquis may still retain certain liabilities? Who know…
Mac says
I’ve 2 defaults from bright house which are due to drop off next year, do you think it’s worth asking for them to be surpressed given the situation with the company?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At the moment, probably not. I don’t think the administrators have yet passed the point where they will not respond to CRAs.
Tim says
I have a default with Onstride Financial which applied to my credit file in May 2019 and kept being added until July 2020.
I missed 2 payments in February and March 2019 but paid on time in April 2019.
At this point I was under the belief that my account was then settled and paid up.
I was unaware of any amounts outstanding (fees) until much later and ended up paying a large amount in fees in July 2020.
Later, when I checked my credit file, I found that Onstride had added defaults each month until July 2020.
I heard nothing from Onstride about these defaults until I checked my file.
I’ve seen that Onstride have gone into administration – what would my chances be of getting these defaults suppressed, as I can’t contact them anymore?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Onstride was a brand of Cash Euronet. The administration ended in 2022 – there is no-one to contact about this.
You can ask for this record to be supressed. Say the credit record is incorrect as you paid the account in full in April 2019 and were never informed about any late fees, but there is now no-one you can ask to correct this, so you would like the record supressed.
Liz says
Hi Sara, I had a payday loan in 2017 with Emergency cash trading as Wizzcash I ended up in a bit of a financial mess so entered into a payment arrangement with them for about 2 years it was sitting on my credit file as 6 months in arrears, so I disputed this with Equifax and they suppressed the record on my file, this was 2020. It reappeared on ,my credit file in November last year with a default date of 06/2/2018 so I wasn’t that worried about it as I knew it would fall off this year, sure enough it fell off. Its just reappeared on my credit file, same start date in 2017, same account number the balance reported is £1385, when the actual balance is actually £765. I am still paying them a small agreed payment every month, but surely they can’t add this account back when it had a default date that passed and it fell off my credit report. I’ve raised a dispute with equifax, but was looking for some advice as would like to email emergency cash and request they remove the data from my report. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They should not have readded this record after the previous one had dropped off because of the default date. Complain to Wizzcash about this, not Equifax.
Gillie says
Hi there is an loan showing taken in June 2016 with instant cash loans, was taken by my ex husband and not paid after the first payment, no deafult was ever issued. When i discovered it in December 2020 with a debt collector i settled it. However its states it on my report as showing from 3/1/2021 as settled so therefor be reported from then for 6 years, can i get this suppressed, i have no other bad credit and a default was never issued?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the debt collector?
Sam says
Hi Sara,
I had a debt with Peachy which defaulted in Jan 2020 and was sold to a DCA in November 2020. The loan was taken out in June 2019 and showing on my credit file would have been a lot of debt and two fresh defaults one of £1500 and one of £950 which were registered in April 2019. I was not asked at the time about the defaults. I know Peachy have long since gone in to administration so I will never see a penny back but I was wondering about the default.
I complained to the DCA that the loan should never have been granted and provided evidence of the defaults just 2 months before the loan was granted. I said I was not asking for any money back but for the default to be removed. They declined to remove the default as in their view it was accurate.
Is there any point in approaching the Ombudsman? I know that it’s impossible to fully assess the checks they completed but considering I had 2 very recent defaults just before taking the loan out I was hoping that the FOS would see the likelihood was that the lending was irresponsible and ask the DCA to remove the default. Again I do understand that I would not get any refund of interest etc and I am not really bothered about that anyway.
My other defaults drop off around April next year and I am hoping to get a mortgage that’s why I am keen to have the default removed. The balance of the default has been cleared and it is showing as satisfied but will still impact me getting a mortgage.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any reason to think the default date or any of the other details on the Peachy credit record are incorrect?
When was the debt settled? How large was the Peachy loan?
Sam says
Peachy had a default and I managed to get that supressed (thanks to this article) but there is still a default with the company who purchased the debt up until it was settled last month. It was £500.
I do think the default should have been applied earlier than it was but ultimately I don’t think they should have lent it to me to begin with.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can make out the case that the default was too late – if you can get it moved earlier, then it will drop off sooner.
Melody says
Hi,
I have a default with safety net from feb 2019. Transunion are reporting it every single month since then as a default. Wish now I had put in a complaint about unaffordable lending so it would have been wiped from my credit report. Is there anything I can do? I am trying to get a mortgage just now and this default is causing issues. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has the debt been settled? Was the default date correct, or should it have been earlier?
It will drop off your record in Feb 2025, waiting until then may be the simplest option.