A default badly damages your credit score, so how long will it stay there?
That depends on what the default date is on your credit record.
In Britain, the credit record rules say:
the debt, including the default, is deleted from your credit record six years later after the first default.
A debt that is marked as defaulted will be deleted after six years in all the following situations:
- you have repaid the debt in full;
- you have made a partial settlement;
- you are still making monthly payments to it; or
- you haven’t made any payment to it for years.
There are no exceptions to this rule. So a debt with a default date in May 2016 will drop off your credit record in May 2022.
This means that the longer ago a default date is, the better because it will disappear sooner.
If you can get a creditor to change a default date from June 2019 to April 2017, the debt will disappear more than two years earlier.
So this article looks at what the default date should be.
Contents
When should a default date be added to a credit record?
SCOR, the industry forum that handles credit reporting, says :
As a general guide, [a default] may occur when you are 3 months in arrears, and normally by the time you are 6 months in arrears.
There are exceptions to this which may result in a default being recorded at a later stage, such as secured or long term loans e.g. mortgages, or if the product operates in a more flexible way e.g. current accounts, student loans, home credit.
Those are the main guidelines, but let’s look at specific situations.
Debt management plans and arrangements to pay
For situations where you miss a few payments, or make reduced payments, or enter a Debt Management Plan, the “3-6 months” guidance above applies.
If your arrears have already reached three months, then the lender can register a default, even if an arrangement to pay is then agreed or you pay the debt in full.
Arrears will usually continue to mount up when you have an arrangement to pay or a DMP, so later a default can be added even if you are making all the payments.
At the start of a DMP or an arrangement to pay you may not want a default – they do harm your credit score! But if you aren’t going to repay the debt in a few years, having a default is usually better because your credit score will clear up sooner. With no default date added, the record will stay until 6 years from the date the debt is finally settled which could be a long while.
So it can often be better to have a default early in a debt management plan rather than not have one – see this article on DMPs and Credit Ratings for some examples.
Overdrafts are more complicated – and defaults will be later
For most loans and credit cards the standard 3-6 month provisions apply – the common exception is current accounts.
There is no regular or minimum monthly payment to an overdraft, so the concept of “3-6 months in arrears” doesn’t really exist.
You may have abandoned an account with an overdraft and switched to using a different account. But unless you told the bank this or asked for an arrangement to repay it (for example in a debt management plan) or included the overdraft in a debt management plan, the bank may not have been able to tell.
So default dates for overdrafts can often be later than you would think.
Debt sold to a debt collector
When a debt is sold to a debt collector, the new creditor should use the same default date as the original creditor did.
If the original lender didn’t add a default, you can ask them to add one, then the debt collector will have to use that.
In the unusual case that the lender didn’t report to a credit reference agency at all, the debt collector should apply the same ICO rule that the original lender would have used.
CCJs
If you have had a CCJ registered for that debt, the default date must be earlier than the date of the CCJ.
The CCJ will stay on your credit record for 6 years, so the original debt will have dropped off before the CCJ goes.
Insolvency
If you have gone bankrupt, had an IVA or Debt Relief Order(DRO) then the default dates of the debts in your insolvency must not be later than the date the insolvency started.
This is covered in detail in these articles which tell you how to correct these problems after insolvency:
- Repair your credit record after Bankruptcy;
- Repair your credit record after an IVA;
- Repair your credit record after a DRO.
Mortgages
Mortgages and other secured loans are an exception to the general “3-6 months in arrears” guidelines. In 2007 the ICO issued technical guidance on Filing Defaults With Credit Reference Agencies, see paragraph 14 for this specific area.
A mortgage lender has much more discretion on when to record a default, but it should generally not be later than six months after any repossession.
Only the first default date for a debt matters
Once a debt has been marked as defaulted, your credit file will normally show a default marker every month until the debt is settled. That looks dreadful on your credit reports! But in the credit score calculations, it is only counted as one default.
So when people talk about “the default date for a debt”, it is the first default date that matters. Not the ones for later months. The whole debt will disappear six years after the first default.
What can you do if a default date looks wrong?
For some examples of how these principles have been applied in practice, see these case studies that the Financial Ombudsman has reported. They should give you a better feel for whether you can get your credit record changed.
To correct a problem with a default on your credit file you should write/email the lender (or the debt collection agency if your debt has been sold by the original lender), putting COMPLAINT as the subject, explaining why you think it is wrong.
Don’t just copy out the guidance above, add the facts and dates which relate to your specific case. Some common examples would be:
- “I first missed payments to this debt in early 2015 and set up an arrangement to pay in June 2015”,
- “I only made token payments from 2012”
- “This debt was included in my debt management plan with Stepchange in March 2017” etc.
Then say what you think should happen to your credit record, do you want it deleted, added, or changed to be earlier? For example:
- “Please delete the default date because I was never three months in arrears according to the ICO rules.”
- “You never contacted me to say the account was in arrears so it is unreasonable to have added a default. I had later accounts with you so you knew my contact details. I paid the debt as soon as I found out about it.”
- “I would like you to add a default date in November 2015 in accordance with the ICO rules.”
- “According to the ICO rules the default date of September 2017 is too late and I would like you to change it to May 2014.”
- “the other creditors in my debt management plan added defaults in 2014, they have since dropped off my credit record. You should be using that same date, so please correct it.”
The credit reference agencies only report what they are told by the creditors, so complain to the creditor not Experian etc.
If you haven’t had your complaint to the lender sorted within 8 weeks, send it to the Financial Ombudsman.
Here is an example of an Ombudsman decision telling Nationwide to backdate a default date.
Be careful – will doing this “reset the clock”?
If you haven’t made any payments to a debt for years and you are hoping it will get to the 6 years point so the debt is statute-barred, it is probably best not to contact the lender at all. If you ask them to change the default date then this will acknowledge the debt and “reset the clock”. See Questions about Statute-barred debt for more information as the conditions for some debts becoming statute-barred have changed in January 2019.
But also read No calls all letters about a debt for years? Is very common for you to be contacted about an old debt just a few months before it reaches the 6-year statute-barred point. So unless this is very close, it’s probably not worth hoping this will happen and it’s better to get the default date sorted.
If the debt is already statute-barred (are you absolutely sure? read the above article) then you can safely ask for the default date to be changed as once a debt is statute-barred it will always remain barred.
Important – sometimes a default is good news!
Defaults sound bad, right? So getting one removed must be good?
This is probably the most confusing thing of all, but No!
It can often be better to have a default on your credit record. If there is a default against a debt, then the whole debt will “drop off” your file after six years, even if you haven’t repaid the debt. With no default, the record will not go away until six years after it is marked as settled/satisfied in some way.
So don’t rush into trying to get a default removed… and never try to get a default date changed to a later one because it will wreck your credit record for longer!
Your credit record isn’t the only thing that matters
You may wonder why you should pay a debt at all if it will go from your credit record after 6 years if you don’t pay it. There are two good reasons:
- it stops the creditor going to court for a CCJ, which would harm your credit record for another 6 years
- seeing that problem debt is settled makes other lenders more likely to give you credit.
Your credit score improves when a defaulted debt disappears, but the debt still legally exist. See Do I have to pay a debt that isn’t on my credit record? for more details.
A credit record default is NOT the same as a “Default Notices”
This article has looked at when a creditor marks your debt as “in default” with one of the credit reference agencies.
Confusingly, the word “default” is also used in the term “Default Notice”. Under the Consumer Credit Act, a lender has to send you a Default Notice before taking you to court over an unpaid consumer credit debt such as a loan or a credit card. This has nothing to do with informing a credit reference agency that your debt is in default – your credit file may be marked as in default even if the creditor has no intention of taking court action.
If you have read things like the lender has to send you a Default Notice 14 days before starting court action and if you pay the debt in full within this time the lender can’t go to court these aren’t referring to credit records at all. Anywhere you read the phrase Default Notice you are probably looking at information about possible CCJs, not credit records.
How much will my credit score change if…
FAQs on statute barred debt
When can you get a default deleted?
Bonnie says
Just wanted to add a positive story here that since reading this thread I made a complaint to Safetynet Credit; I had an account from 2015 that was not settled to 2018 but had many missed payments. I got a default marker added for October 2015 and now the account is no longer on my credit report! 3 years earlier than if I took no action at all. Thank you Sara!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well done!
Holly L says
Hi, I’ve also had similar success with safety net. It’s definitely worth complaining to them. They don’t put up much of a fight.
Alex says
Hi Sara,
In November 2018 I entered a DMP and one of the creditor was Barclay card.
After a year Barclayscard sold the debt to Pra Uk Ltd.
Now I have cleared my full debts but I have a default notice applied with date November 2018 under Pra UK Ltd. How can it possible to have default notice November 2018 when I started the DMP November 2018?
Can I ask for Pra Uk Ltd to remove the default and/pr place it with the correct original creditor nam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Debts are very often marked as defaulted when they are sold.
This may actually work in your favour… the whole debt will drop off your records in November 2024. If the default was removed, the missed payments/arrears would carrying on showing and harming your credit score until 6 years after the debt was settled.
Other lenders can’t see the names of your creditors at all.
The Barclaycard debt – do you think Barclaycard had increased your credit limit to a level that was too high to manage? Or was it fine until you lost your job or something?
Alex says
Hi Sara,
The reason why I was asking is because I have been made redundant and although I paid off all my debts in full via payplan some employers checks credit files and they do not like defaults.
Do you think I can ask for goodwill gesture to remove the defaults? I do not have any CCJs or any other public registered recorda but not sure about defaults for employment.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It would be unusual for an employer to care about a defaulted debt that had been repaid. You can ask for the default to be removed but PRA may refuse.
Alex says
Thanks
I will try
Jk says
Hi Sarah,
I’m currently disputing a debt where the company who entered into the agreement was dormant at the time the original agreement was supposingly signed. The debt has been sold and the default was registered one day before the date on the assignment of the debt by the Debt Mgmt company which did not make sense. I assume I have every right to ask for the default to be removed given that the original company could not legally enter into an agreement with me. But I can’t understand why the default was registered by the Debt Mgmt company 1 day before the assigned debt anyhow?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you denying you ever entered into a contract like this with any party?
What sort of contract was it? Did the original creditor report the debt to any of the credit reference agencies?
Jk says
Hi Sarah,
It was a catalogue account. The debt is primarily interest charges and yes it was reported on the credit reference agencies. I have not denied the account, although I can’t see how if the debt in terms of (interest charges) can be considered debt if the original company could not enter into a credit agreement given they were dormant. No default policy was followed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How old is this account? Was the credit limit increased to an unmanageably high level? When did you first miss payments to the account, how long before it was sold?
Jk says
Hi Sara. It goes back to 2010. Yes it was increased to an unaffordable level. I first missed payments in December 19. It was sold in July 20.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have no idea if your argument about the legal entity being dormant is likely to succeed as I have not seen a case like this.
But I suggest you should consider some alternatives now that could may get you a good but different result.
First that is a pretty old account. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/ – if the debt collector (not the original creditor) cannot produce a true copy of the CCA agreement, the debt is unenforceable in court.
Second if the credit limit was raised too far, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ and make any complaint to the original creditor (not the debt collector). If you win this, any default and missed payments would have to be removed from your credit record. Ignore the lender saying this complaint is too old, send it to the Ombudsman anyway.
Paul says
Hi, I have a query regarding my Amigo Loans account.
I took out the loan in June 2017 – £10,000 over 5 years at £395 per month – again, stupid!
My husband was my guarantor and his name is exactly identical to mine – same sex couple with the same first and last names.. after a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, my husband was removed as a guarantor because adequate checks were not completed on Amigos part. Irresponsible lending.
The account is now solely mine as he was removed as the guarantor over 2 years ago.
I did try to get them to remove all the interest (I gotta pay back £22k for a £10k loan) due to unaffordability and irresponsible lending but it was refused – I was willing to pay back what I got though.
Do I have a cause to put in a further claim in order to reduce the interest?
Anyway, fast forward 4 years of non payment (I was on benefits so couldn’t afford it) – the account has been showing as ‘delinquent’ for more than a year but no default has been registered whatsoever for over 4 years now.
The loan is due to come to a close in a few months as the 5 years will have past..
Is Amigo waiting until then before applying a default? Is that allowed so late on? In effect if they do, It would remain on my report for 11 years (almost 5 years to date then 6 if applying the default this late).
What are my options (not bankruptcy)?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do I have a cause to put in a further claim in order to reduce the interest?
On what grounds? Because you can’t afford the repayments or anything else.
Do you have other problem debts? This is just a normal unsecured debt now, you can put it in a debt management plan or in insolvency. Why do you want to rule out insolvency?
You can also ask Amigo to add a default back when you stopped paying – the debt would then fall off your credit record 6 years after that date. But if Amigo isn’t harassing you at the moment you may prefer to not bother.
Paul says
Hi Sara, thanks for replying!
The claim to reduce the interest would be based on the original irresponsible lending that had my husband taken off as a guarantor – by looking at one set of financial accounts instead of both – had they done due diligence, they would most likely have refused the loan – they used one set of accounts / that being benefits – biggest mistake was applying in the first place!
I do have other debts that I’m paying off yes – these are of course significantly smaller and more manageable.
My amigo status is delinquent. it’s been almost 5 years. Do delinquent accounts drop off files in the same way and time as defaults? If so, I will leave it.
I fear of BRO if I go bankrupt as I’ve had 2 family holidays, not paid particular attention to debts and avoided them – my debts are surrounded by husbands ill health where he had compulsive spends and I was forced to leave employment to care for him and I’d like to start a small business. BRO’s disallow starting a small business
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do delinquent accounts drop off files in the same way and time as defaults?
No. A debt that does not have a default date will stay on your record for 6 years after you have settled it.
But getting a debt to drop off your credit record does not mean it has gone away. Amigo will still be able to get a CCJ. (This debt will not be statute barred for at least 6 years after you last acknowledged it – that may have been the last communication about your complaint. But if you now ask for a default date to be added, that resets the statute barred clock for another 6 years.)
So if your small business does well, you may be looking at having to start repaying Amigo.
Most people who go bankrupt are worried that the Official Receiver will say they are to blame in some way. But less than 2% of people who go bankrupt get a Bankruptcy Restriction Order – and for most people a BRO anyway makes little difference to your life, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/bankruptcy-restriction-order-bro/
You can’t be a company director during the year you are an undischarged bankrupt. But you may be able to start a small business as self employed, see https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/debt-solutions/bankruptcy-2/is-bankruptcy-right-for-you/job-and-work-impact-of-bankruptcy/. If you think that is impractical then an option is to go bankrupt as soon as possible and postpone your plans for the business for a year until you are discharged.
I am not saying you should go bankrupt – you need to talk this through with a good debt adviser. I suggest you phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. If your total debts are under 30k you may qualify for a Debt Relief Order instead.
Neil says
Hi Sara,
I have an Onstride account, that I got a default for, showing default date February 19. Lantern who then bought the debt, have changed the default date to 7th April. I know this is incorrect and would at least warrant a rectification on my file.
But also the payment history across the CRA’s shows only 2 missed payments originally for Onstride, then an “OK” payment, then the default was added. My Credit file is currently showing defaults for both of them.
Obviously, on stride are in administration.
Who do I write to? Do I write to both of them? and do you have or know of any template letters to adjust and send?
Thanks for your time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many payments have you missed? Are you currently in arrears?
Neil says
Sorry Sara, I never saw this reply.
My credit file shows as I originally posted, maximum 2 months late, then ok and then a default added. Obviously Onstride have gone bust etc and won’t reply. The account was then sold off to lantern, Ive set up a payment plan with them for the remainder of the balance, so yes its technically in arrears.
They are asking me “why is the info incorrect on your credit file”. I can see that they have the default date wrong, they have it listed as lantern with two agencies and motormile finance with another. Lots of mistakes.
If I tell them where they are wrong, will they just adjust it? I’d rather get it removed obviously.
cheers
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Motormile finance rebranded as Lantern, this doesn’t make any difference.
Send your complaint to Lantern and say why you think the default date is wrong
Neil says
Thanks for the reply Sara.
Do you think its worth complaining to on stride about only being 2 months in arrears before the original default was added, as they’ve gone bust? and if I had to have it suppressed by the CRA, would Lantern then have to follow suit and suppress it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But did you actually start to pay it again? Otherwise more arrears should have been recorded and a default.
Tim says
Good evening Sara,
I had a Vodafone contract years back which I had a number of issues with including the contract being mis sold at the time, VF refusing a request to cancel contract etc. But that aside, I last made a payment in July 2015, this was confirmed in a chat transcript in 2017 with two seperate online chat advisors. I had both conversation transcripts emailed to me at the time and still have access to them. However, my date of default with CRAs is shown as 01 Jun 2017. Obviously there’s quite a significant difference between the two dates, and I appreciate I’m only just approaching six years come next month going by the last payment (Jul 15). I really don’t want to be in a position of waiting a further two years for this to drop off – what would you suggest?
Thank you for your time/help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does the debt show as cleared at the CRAs? what is the settlement date?
Tim says
It’s currently an open account as I was disputing the sum, among other things. There’s been no contact between myself and Vodafone since 2017.
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion all confirm the account as 6 months late/arrears on Jan 2016 – 18 months before a default is reported to the CRAs.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well this is what you need to dispute – if it was cleared in July 2015 (and you have the evidence) then there should have been no missed payments and no default and debt is settled.
Don’t get tangled up with arguing about the default date when you are disputing you owe the debt.
Gary H says
Hi Sara,
I have a Barclaycard in default. The default date is Aug 2018. This is 38 months ago after going 6 months unpaid.
However, in June 2017, I missed a payment. In July 2017 I missed again and went over my credit limit. By Sept 2017 I was 4 months missed payments and £200 over my credit limit of £4,100.
Do you think I am able to ask that the default be set at that time? Thus adding another year in time to this default?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can ask, but they may not agree. The point of not defaulting you when you were 4 months in arrears is to allow people to return to paying without having a default. Which you did.
Can I ask if you think Barclaycard raised your limit too high? Did you also have a Barclay account with an overdraft?
Gary H says
I did, but only for 1 month, then I was continually late/missing until the default a year later.
I have already been down the irresponsible lending route with them and it wasn’t upheld. I never had any other account with them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you send you complaint to the ombudsman?
Gary H says
Having just looked back, I’m not sure that I did to be honest. Which is surprising because I have with multiple other debts with varying success. I may look to do that.
In any case, do you think I have a case to request that the default date be put back and if so, how strong is it given the information above?
Thanks for all you do Sara – this website has been a wealth of useful information for me. I can’t thank you enough.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I do know how likely it is to work. They are following the rules so you are asking for a goodwill gesture.
Of course if you win an affordability complaint then the default would be removed…
Miss c says
Hi Sara,
I’ve just been on the phone to Aqua card to check on when I defaulted with them. The card account closed in 2016 then was passed to Cabot. The gentleman on the phone told me my default was only recorded in 2018. I’m wondering if my card account was closed with Aqua in July 2016 and passed to Cabot then shouldn’t my default have been recorded earlier? The debt is now repaid in full.
I’m just looking at ways to improve my file. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can ask Aqua to add a default to your credit record back when they sold the debt as the article above says. Cabot then have to use that.
Was this a large debt? Had Aqua raised your credit limit to a daftly high level?
Miss C says
Hi again, the debt was for £1400. I’ve started an unaffordable lending claim against Aqua last week too. I was just checking my default dates and noticed this one seemed a little more recent than it should be.
Jon Moon says
Hi Sara,
I have been on a debt management plan set up by Stepchange since March 2015 ,one of my debtors on the plan being Thesis servicing. This morning three letters came through my mail box from Thesis Servicing for old style student loans taken out in 1992,1995 and 1997 and each one was a default notice., so basically Thesis servicing have defaulted me almost seven years since I started an uninterrupted debt management agreement with them. I was wondering if these defaults have any legal standing having happily accepted almost seven years of reduced payments through Stepchange?
Kind regards,
JM
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can ask them to backdate the defaults as th3 article above explains
Jon Moon says
Hi Sara,
I’m afraid they’ve refused to do this.
I called them up and in each default notice they’ve put two figures outstanding, one incorrect and one correct. This was by their on admission an IT error.
The particulars of breach are also incorrect for all three default notices.
Would you know if this would invalidate each default notice?
Anyone I’ve requested all three CCA, issued a SAR and started proceedings through the Ombudsman, so we’ll see what happens.
Kind regards,
JM
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Default notices are not relevant to when a default is added to your credit record. As the last section of the article above explains.
Jon Moon says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your superfast response.
It is extremely common for creditors to issue a 87(1) default notice and then mark the account as being in default on your credit record however.
Kind regards,
JM
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is because when you don’t make payments they should be recorded on your credit record and when the lender wants to start making noises about court action, then have to issue a Default Notice. So it’s common for them both to happen at the same time.
That doesn’t mean a creditor has to issue a Default Notice before marking your credit record as defaulted.
So defects in the Default Notice don’t really help your case that default should have been added to your credit record earlier.
A better argument is that the creditor knew you were in difficulty because default notices were sent. And the SCOR principles say when you are 3-6 months in arrears a default should be added. So the creditor should have done this.
You don’t want to make a muddled argument that a default should not have been added, you WANT a default for these DMP debts, but one backdated to early in the DMP.
Jon Moon says
Ah I can see this more clearly now. Thank you very much for your help Sara.
So ideally a default notice usually between three to six months which should have been followed by a default marker in the credit file shortly after. So really they should have been adding reduced payment markers to the credit file to show the data is up to date also They’ve never made any entries to any of the Credit Reference Agencies
Yes Thesis would have been aware of any difficulties given the longevity of the debt plan furthermore Stepchange also annually perform financial reviews to which all my creditors would have had to agree.-No question of them not knowing.
Kind regards,
JM
Amy says
Hi Sara, great advice thanks. I defaulted payments to EON dec 2018, jan 19 and feb 19. The added a default on 31st Jan 2019. This was because they increased my direct debit to £688 pm (debt on account t left by ex husband). I couldn’t pay it so cancelled the direct debit. I contacted them on Jan 23rd and was passed to step change and submitted a payment plan to clear the arrears in full by increasing my Direct Debit over 4 years. I have noticed in your article about being 3 months in arrears which I was not at the time the default was added. I also would not have missed the February payment if they had not insisted I went to step change. Is there anything I can do aside from appealing to their goodwill? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
were other debts included in a DMP with StepChange?
Amy says
No I didn’t have any other debts and I never have
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This seems unusual. Did you tell StepChange that you could repay the dd in full?
StepChange should have explained that a payment arrangement would harm your credit record – did they?
Amy says
Yes I did and an agreement was made to pay the debt off over 4 years with eon. This was made on 23rd Jan and the default was on 31st Jan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a very long while to pay off a debt that you could have paid. You can make a complaint about the timing as it seems premature, but you do not want them changing the default to be later… Also with a default, it will disappear from your credit record in Jan 2025… if this is changed to a payment arrangement, that will stay on your credit record for 6 years after the debt is settled. So you may prefer the default to stay?
Oliver says
Hi there. I just wanted to say a massive thank you for this post. I entered a debt management plan in May 2019, however 3 of my creditors recorded the first default date in August 2019. I’ve used your wording above and 2 of my defaults have been recorded to start from May 2019 :-) Thanks very much.
JoJo says
Hi Sarah, wondering if you could advise on this. 2018/19 i got into financial difficulty and went into a DMP (all now finished and finally debt free) since Feb 21. I thought i would have a look through my credit files. 03/01/19 was default date of one of my CC. following this the debt was sold to collectors and all repayments were made via them until fully settled. The DC has also applied a default – same date but its actually registering as 2 separate dafaults. Surely i should only have the 1 default for the debt and not 2>?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is what is supposed to happen when a debt is sold. In this situation the credit scoring calculations only count one default.
JoJo says
Hi Sarah, thanks for your feedback. so on 1 report it says i have 5 defaults. 2 of those 5 relate to the 1 repaid debt. so really i should only have 4 defaults which is bad enough (lol) just trying to see if i can just have the 4 noted and not the 5.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no you can’t get this changed. Creditors looking at your credit record will understand what has happened.
Mr A says
Hi Sara i’m hoping you can help me understand this a bit more as it will help me out,
My situation is Jan 2015 i had store credit with an online store, i bought some items things went wrong and i made no payments, The account was passed onto a DCA who have put account in default date on my credit file as being June 2017 with the last update on my credit file being Jan 2021 as account in default partial settlement.
So if i have this right then June next year the default should drop off or would i have a case to contact the original store and ask that they move the default date closer to the Jan 2015 date (3-6 months after) and hope it gets dropped off earlier.
Over the last year i have been sorting out my credit file and this is the last negative on there it’s for a small amount of money and i am worried if i contact them it restarts the clock and it will stay on there for another six years so i am a bit wary.
Thank you for any help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nothing you do will stop this dropping off 6 years after the default date.
And you have settled the debt so you cannot get hassled to pay more.
If you paid nothing after Jan 2015, then a default should have been added by July 2015 – ask the original lender to correct this.
Gabriel says
I entered a DMP in 2012 after falling into arrears with my creditors. All my debts have dropped off my credit file except Creation who did not register the missed and reduced payments with CRA. It transpires the debt was sold to Lower in sept 2016 and has registered the debt with a DMP flag commencing September 2016. I spoke to Lower who said that Creation never defaulted my account therefore it has to stay on my file
Is this correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to ask Creation to add a default. Then Lowell will have to do the same. See the article above for what to say to creation.
Can I ask what the balance is? Do you have a lot of other debts from the DMP that you are still repaying/
Mick says
I originally had a credit agreement for a loan with provident back in 2010 which I defaulted on. I ended up not paying for some time but then from about 2012 onwards was paying a minimal amount to Provident’s in house collectors, CK edrupt, until January 2022. In Jan I called provident to query the balance etc snd was informed all outstanding loans are now dismissed and no payments should continue. I was also advised to make a compensation claim which I did. I have now received a letter from Lowell telling me that I have an amount outstanding to Provident, and that they are aware my payments have recently been stopped. I stopped them in January by cancelling my direct debit to Ck edrupt as advised during my call to provident however I have never had any interaction, agreement or arrangement of any kind with Lowell for this debt to provident. I have been making payments to CK edrupt for many years so I do acknowledge the debt but I am now quite confused. I am now concerned that Lowell are going to apply a default. Can they apply a default for the fact I have cancelled my direct debits to CK edrupt? And in general, if you have a defaulted credit account, and enter into a long term payment plan with a DCA that continues long after the original credit agreement and default drops of your file, can the DCA apply another default for breaking your payment arrangement with them years later?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I am guessing here.
It may be that Provident sold your loan to Lowell while you were paying their in-house debt collector and have just been sending the payments to Lowell. Of course they should have told you. And so should Lowell. But that is the only way I can make sense of what has happened.
I suggest you phone Lowell up and say you have never heard of them and you have no idea why they are contacting you about a debt you have been paying provident for years.
Does this debt still show on your credit record? Please check reports for all three credit reference agencies – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/ for how to do this. It may show under provident’s name or Lowell’s or both.
In January when you phoned, did someone look up your details and say the debt had been cleared? Or do you think you were just told a standard statement that debts had been written off?
Mick says
Hi there,
There is no record of this on my credit karma, Experian, or Equifax profiles. I check them regularly.
When I called in January a recorded message advised that provident is no longer trading, and any outstanding loans are no longer owed. If I remember correctly there was also a few sentences on the compensation scheme. There was no interaction with any person who checked my specific details. When I called the compensation number, the lady was surprised that I hadn’t received any notification from provident on my loan status or on the status of provident. Apparently they had been routinely sending out notification but I was unaware.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suspect my guess is right.
If you phone lowell up they will explain.
If the debt no longer shows on your credit record, then the chances are that it defaulted more than 6 years ago. In this case it can never reappear.
If you win the affordability complaint you have submitted to the scheme that may reduce or clear the balance still owing. How much is it? Do you have other problem debts?
Mick says
Hi,
My worry is that provident/ck edrupt never actually registered the original default. Although I am certain there was a long period of time where I didn’t pay anything, I can’t remember 100% and it may be that I never actually missed any payments but instead just paid a reduced amount each month. An amount which continued until I cancelled it in January. The account is definitely not on my credit reports. Is it possible that the account can be entered on my credit report again by Lowell, who can then add a default? Or if the account is now off my reports then it has already defaulted snd dropped off? Am I correct that this is more likely as the account would still be on my credit profile with active payments being recorded if I had never actually missed a payment?
The debt is £1400 and no I do not have any other debts or financial problems.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If Provident didn’t register a default then
a) it would still be on your credit record as a debt with no default that hasn’t been settled will never drop off
b) they should have, so you can ask for a backdated one to be added now.
I suggest you phone Lowell and said you have never heard of them and you have been paying provident. See what they say.
James says
Hi Sara!
This article was SO helpful (thank you!).
I had a debt with Cash on Go Ltd from September 2014. The full repayment was due on 31 October, but I couldn’t pay and entered a DMP on 20 November. Cash on Go have been accepting my small monthly payments ever since then, until I cleared the balance last month. [To note: The debt was purchased by ACI in May 2021].
It’s only now I have found out they registered a default on my account in April 2021, over six years into monthly payments, of which I missed none. This default could now cause me havoc well into 2027!
Am I right in thinking I have a good case to get the default backdated to early 2015 (meaning the whole debt would now have fallen off my credit file)? And am I right in assuming that’s much better than trying to get the default removed?
Thanks so much for any advice! So pleased I found this website!
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, a default should have been registered a long while ago. Unfortunately Cash On Go went into administration which is just ending, so there will be no-one to reply to your complaint about this.
You can ask the Credit Reference Agency – TransUnion in this case – to “suppress” the credit record as you cannot contact COG to ask them to put it right. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/correct-credit-records-lender-administration/ for more about this.
But you also have to ask Perch/ACI to add a default. If they refuse, send the complaint to the Ombudsman.
James says
Thanks for such a fast response!
I will log the disputes with the CRAs tomorrow to try and get the record suppressed. The record with the default is showing on my file under Perch/ACI, even though it was COG who registered the default, so I have emailed ACI in the hope they may be able to back-date the default COG applied – would that normally be possible do you think?!
If they can’t touch the 2021 default, would them applying a 2015 default to the same record then cause it to drop off I wonder?
Thanks again – there are really few other places online with such a wealth of information around this!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Perch/ACI should copy what the original lender did.
You can’t have 2 default dates on a debt, you are asking them to backdate the date to 2015 because 2021 is incorrect and as COG are at the end of their administration you cannot get them to correct it. be clear that you will send this to the Ombudsman if they do not agree to do this.
James says
Thanks, Sara – really really appreciate your advice!
Hayley says
Hi Sara,
I had a student overdraft back in 2010. I was paying this in a payment plan but stopped and haven’t made a payment or had any contact from them since at least 2014. It never even showed on my credit file. In Jan 2021 it was added as a default to my credit.
Do I have a case to get this changed to 2014 and then have it drop off my credit report? Shouldn’t it be statute barred by now?
Thanks so much for your help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Statute barring for overdrafts is complicated. I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about this and about your options.
Craig says
Looking for some advice please.
I have 2 defaults registered with Lowell who bought the accounts from BT. They both relate to BT sport subscriptions.
I recognise the first account which drops off in November this year. I do not recognise the second account and suspect that as I was living in a house of multiple people and held a sky acccount that this was added via the red button. There were also problems receiving post at the address i used to have so think this might have been a reason why I missed anything to do with the account.
Any advice on challenging this. Surely if I already had a default from BT SPORT (I stopped subscribing because of poor connection) they wouldn’t have allowed a second account 16 months later?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to go back to BT and challenge this, point out you knew nothing about second account and why would they allow it when the first had defaulted.
Craig says
Success – default removed yesterday – thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
Mac says
I had a defaulted debt from Argos for a phone. (£300 Outstanding)
The debt defaulted sometime 2018 – I believe the debt was than sold to Lowell sometime last month.
Due to the amount, I planned on just clearing the debt in full.
I’ve just checked today and the defaulted account has been removed from my Credit File on Clear Score and Experian?
My question is, if I acknowledge the debt/pay it off in full, will any changed be made to my credit report/will another default be raised?
Thank you so much for all you guidance and assistance! This is really stressing me out and ideally want to get this cleared and left in the past but can’t handle any potential issues with my credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is hard to guess what had happened. if the debt reappears, it should still have the same default date as it did before.
you can contact Lowell or wait until they contact you.
Lowell may well accept a settlement offer from you if the 3300 will be too much for you to pay.
C says
Hi Sara,
I wondered if you could help me out with something. Without going into all the details, I have a complaint in with the ombudsman right now, about a good number of things. The initial decision has come back not agreeing with me, so I’ve asked for it be referred to the ombudsman, and am going to be sending further info to them.
Most of my complaints started with a default that was issued after 2 months missed payments. They were not sequential months, and I carried on paying my monthly payments for months after. My argument is that I never missed 3 months of payments, but I cannot find what I should quote to back the 3 months up. And what I can find is that a default can be issued when a relationship has broken down, so my other argument is that it didn’t ever break down as they were not sequential months and I continued paying for months after, by direct debit so they took the money. The initial adjudicators decision is based on the fact that the companies ts and Cs state that they can issue a default after 2 months missed payments, therefore they’ve done nothing wrong. And now I’m confused by what I can argue as I can’t find legislation to back up the 3 months.
Thanks x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
Did you make up the missed payments or just made the new months payments?
How long ago was the first missed payment? And what date was the default date on your credit record?
C says
Sorry I’ve just seen your reply.
It was car finance, I missed February payment, and May. They defaulted me in June. I did make arrangements to pay the extra, but after the default, they arranged to increase the payments but didn’t and just continued to take my normal monthly payment. They repossessed the car a few months later. This was all done over covid.
I have lots of arguments that they didn’t treat me fairly for lots of reasons and lots of things they did, but fundamentally if they hadn’t defaulted me the rest couldn’t have happened. Everything I can find is that a default happens after 3 missed payments, but I can’t find anything legal to back that up.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Here is National Debtline’s factsheet on Hire Purchase (which includes car finance) that talks about Default Notices. If you aren’t sure how this applies to your situation, talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000
Confusingly these are not the same as having a default added to your credit record, as the article above explains.
Apart from the issues around the default and repossession, can I ask if you feel the car finance payments were too expensive for you to manage from the start?
C says
Thank you for that. The fact sheet is really interesting, I wish I’d read it before they took my car, but I didn’t..
There’s no information in that about timing about default notices though. Everything I’ve read is about if they’ve put the default on late, then they must change it to after 3-6 months of missed payments. Everything I read say they cannot default you until after you’ve missed 3 payments, but I’m struggling to find anything to quote to the ombudsman to back that up. The adjudicator basically said its in their t’s and c’s so they can do what they want.
As for affordability, I wasn’t working when I got it, and definitely couldn’t afford it, had bad overdrafts etc. i started working 3 months later and I had been offered the job when I got the car, but the hp company didn’t know that as it’s not part of the application, and I couldn’t afford it when I got it, and it wasn’t much better after I started working. I haven’t mentioned this within my complaint though
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the Default Notice has nothing to do with adding a default to your credit record. The Default Notice is a formal procedure under the CCA act that a lender has to do before they go to court or repossess a car. You can Talk to National Debtline about whether they did this too early or not.
I suggest you look at starting a separate complaint about affordability – this has nothing to do with your current one. How much did you borrow for the car? (not with the interest added, just the amount borrowed). How much did you repay before it was taken? Have you paid anything since?
If you win you should get some money back and probably the balance owed cleared – if you tell me the numbers above i can be clearer. And your credit record should be cleaned.
The template for these complaints is here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/. Who was the lender?
C says
The lender was moneyway, the inital price was £5200, and I paid about £2400. I had only paid 18 months out of 60 so I hadn’t paid the third.
Can I make the affordability claim before the current one come back through the ombudsman? Or do I need to wait.
Thank you so much for your help x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No you don’t need to wait. These are two very different complaints.
If you win a complaint in this situation, where they have taken the car, what would typically happen is that any balance you owe them would be cleared and you may get a small refund.
L says
Hi Sara, I hope you can help, or guide me in the right direction.
I have been on a DMP since Oct 2016,never missed a payment, and I had a default issued on Feb 2017 from Hitachi, however, I have recently learned that they did not issue me a “notice of default” letter which they have advised me that they should have, so they are now looking to get the default removed completely (which is good) However, I am unsure what I should ask them to do about my payment markers on my credit file, as at present they are all marked “D” rather than “A” for an arrangement. That default would drop off in Feb 2023, but I will still be paying via stepchange until April 2025 on my DMP,. How long would an account stay on my credit file whilst in a payment arrangement?
Also, I am wondering if it would be better to just leave it as it is so that the credit account completely drops off in Feb 2023, or whether to seek some sort of remuneration as well as them correcting my credit file. Could you possibly advise on best/next steps? Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a disaster for your credit record. With the default the loan will go next year. With payment arrangements the debt will stay for 6 years after the debt is settled.
Reply saying that they should have marked your credit record as defaulted and that it is not treating you fairly to remove this.
Gary says
Hi Sara,
I have been in a DMP for almost 6 years now and all of my accounts (bar one) are showing as ‘In Default’, I have no issue with these.
However Halifax is showing as ‘In Arrears’ since early 2018 and as such they post as ‘Missed Payment’ to my credit report every month. Is this something I can have changed to a Default or is this just the police of Halifax ?
Kind regards
Gary
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This doesn’t sound right. read the article above and send them a complaint.
How near is your DMP to the end?
Gary says
Thank you. I’ve still got about 4 years to go and the defaults are due to fall off this year. I’ll get in touch with the Halifax to see if they can back date it to a default.
Gary says
Hi Sara,
Halifax are a bit of a nitemare. They don’t have (or I can’t find) a dedicated complaints email address. I messaged them on line only to be given a telephone number that died on me several times without answer. Even though I selected the automated options I was given.
I eventually got in touch via Facebook Messenger and was given another telephone number. I spoke to various people as I was passed pillar to post.
Upshot is apparently my account is still showing as active therefore they cannot mark it as in default. Bearing in mind it’s been active for the past 6 years I don’t se them changing the status of that anytime soon. So it’s basically stuck showing late/missed payment every month which is damaging my credit report. Even though they know I am in a DMP & I have never missed a payment of this in 6 years. They are trying to say, even though I am in a plan, I am not making my original contractual payments therefore I am behind.
I think they are wrong and somewhere in the process the wrong status/procedure has not been followed by The Halifax. Like I said before every other card in my DMP is showing in default.
Unfortunately there is not much in the way of a paper trail here as all info has been passed via telephone call. I am now going to physically write a letter to The Halifax so that I have something in writing. If no luck with this then I will go down the line of ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you send a secure message through the app?
Gary says
When I did message them via the app they said I’d need to phone “their specialist department who can assist with this.”
Once I went down the route of phoning the specialist department I got nowhere.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you try using this https://www.halifax.co.uk/contactus/how-to-complain/complain-online.html
Gary says
Nope, hadn’t seen this. I’ll give it a go, thank you very much again.
Gary says
Hi Sara,
I competed the online form, complained that way & got a complaint reference number.
This morning I got a call from Halifax and they said they would not be able to remove my late payments markers and change to a default. They said because I am in a DAS (Debt Arrangement Scheme which is a DMP) then Halifax do not mark it as In Default. Since I am not paying the minimum amount I was supposed to under my original credit card contract then they will continue to mark my credit file as late/missed payment until such time as the DAS scheme is finished . The DAS still has several years to go whereas all my other cards/accounts (In Default) are all due to fall off my credit report later this year.
Do you think I would have any luck going down the route of the ombudsmen ?
Thank you
Gary
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that doesn’t sound right to me, but I suggest you ask a Scottish specialist – leave a comment on this page: https://www.advicescotland.com/home/debt-arrangement-scheme/
Leon says
Hi Sara,
I’ve been in a DMP with stepchange since Sept 2019. I was paying more to my creditors at the beginning but have been making token £1 payments to my creditors for a while now. The majority of my creditors applied a default soon after I went into a DMP.
HSBC have now said they will apply a default on my bank account (overdraft) in May 2022. I’ve asked them why they didn’t apply it back when I first went into a DMP. The advisor said they didn’t want to make my financial situation worse but with £20k of debt to all creditors I was never going to be in a situation where I can pay off my debt quickly
My question is can I argue that the default date should be made much earlier. I don’t argue that I’ve defaulted on my account but I don’t see why they’ve waited nearly 3 years to apply a default and I still owe them £1.5k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say how large your remaining debt is across all your creditors?
Token payments are not a good option for the long term – do you expect this to change in the next couple of years? Do you have health or other problems that makes this unlikely? Do you have priority debts?
And the overdraft – was this large? Do you think HSBC previously raised your overdraft limit too high – was it larger than your monthly income?
User says
Hi I have question I have default on account drom 2017 is showing update in 2019. It wasn’t never paid. Now I can repay but my question is if six years is counted from 2017 or 2019. If I start repay now another six years will start again?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so there is a default date on your credit report in 2017?
What sort of debt was this?
Steven says
Hi Sara,
I appear to be in a very unusual situation. My water company defaulted me on a balance just over six years ago. They then opened another account so they could continue reporting going forward.
In December just gone, the original default dropped off my credit file, and they have now started marking the newer account with 6 payments late markers.
Their reasoning for this is the original account which defaulted was (ringfenced) and due to it not being paid, they added the balance from that default to the newer account once the default dropped off.
I don’t believe they are allowed to do this, but would love some clarification on the matter.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that seems unusual. Which water company is this?
You are up to date with payments on the new account?
Have you been making payments to these arrears?
What is the rest of your current financial situation like?
Steven says
The water company is Welsh Water.
I don’t believe the second account was the account reflecting current payments either, as this is on my partners credit file (as a third account)
I believe they must have been marking the second account with green markers up until December due to the other defaulted account reporting that no payments were being made, and now that the default dropped off they have decided to continue marking that no payments have been made off the debt amount via the second account.
Surely that should have also defaulted several years ago aswel instead of just being left open indefinitely.
No payments have ever been made to the arrears on either account. They were also awarded a CCJ by default for the total debt (for both accounts) back in November 2017
Other than this Welsh Water issue, my financial situation is looking good and we were looking to take out a mortgage in September, even with the old CCJ via a specialist broker, however I think these monthly late payment markers that started in December, are going to rule us out of the mortgage.
They are saying the second account will not default, and the markers reflect the age of the debt, however that is not what is looks like to lenders. They can just see the 6 payment late markers every month since December
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which credit report are you seeing this on?
You have an unpaid CCJ and you are going to get a mortgage? that will be expensive – why haven’t you just paid off the CCJ?
Steven says
I have used checkmyfile and it’s being reported to TransUnion and Experian.
Yes it’s a cheap property in the South Wales valley’s (around 55k) and I have the required 15% deposit put aside. I understand it will be expensive for the initial 2 year fixed period, but when I remortgage the CCJ will have dropped off
If I pay the CCJ off this will not significantly improve my lending options in the short term I believe, and as it’s dropping off in just over 12 months anyway, I may be throwing good money after bad
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can make a complaint to the ICO about this – I don’t know how well it is likely to go.
Steven says
Thanks Sara,
I have put a complaint in to the ICO about a week ago and I am waiting for a response from them.
I have also involved the consumer council for water.
My specialist mortgage broker is going to attempt to get me a mortgage offer with these markers, but I will let you know what happens with the ICO
Thanks Steve