A default hurts your credit score, but how long for? That depends on the default date recorded on your credit file. If a the default date is too late, it harms your credit score for longer than necessary.
The Key Rule to remember is “A default drops off after 6 years”. This always happens, regardless of whether:
- you have repaid it in full
- you made a partial settlement
- you are still making monthly payments
- you aren’t paying it.
For example, a default recorded in May 2022 will disappear in May 2028. So the earlier the default date, the sooner it vanishes from your credit file. This is why default dates matter so much.
This article explains:
- When a default date should be added to your credit file
- How to correct an incorrect default date
- Why, in some cases, a default can be a good thing.
Contents
What is the correct default date?
“3-6 months in arrears”
Industry guidance from SCOR (the UK credit reporting body) states the general guide is:
A default may occur when you are three months in arrears, and should normally be recorded by the time you are six months in arrears.
Here are some important specific situations:
Debt management plans and arrangements to pay
- If you’ve missed payments, made reduced payments, or entered a DMP, lenders can record a default after 3-6 months of arrears.
- If your monthly payments are low, the arrears mount up very quckly.
- If you don’t clear the debt quickly, having a default early can be better—because the debt will drop off your credit file six years after the default date.
- Without a default, the debt stays on your file until six years after you finally pay it off – which could take much longer.
At the start of a DMP or an arrangement to pay, you may not want a default – they do harm your credit score more than an arrangement to pay! But if you can’t clear the debt in a few years, having a default is usually better because your credit score will clear up sooner. See DMPs and Credit Ratings for details.
Overdrafts are more complicated – and defaults may be later
- There is no regular or minimum monthly payment to an overdraft, so the concept of “3-6 months in arrears” doesn’t 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 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.
- If you want a default added because you want the charges and interest to stop, you need to put the overdraft into a DMP or ask the bank for a payment arrangement.
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.
- This doesn’t mean you now have two defaults for the same debt – only one of the defaults is counted in credit scoring.
- 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.
CCJs
- If you have had a CCJ for a debt on your credit record, the default date on the date must be no later 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 on or before the date the CCJ goes.
Insolvency (Bankruptcy, IVA, DRO)
- All debts included in bankruptcy, IVA, or DRO must have a default date no later than the date of insolvency.
- If a lender uses a later date, you can ask them to correct it.
These articles look in detail at how to correct any default date problems after your type of 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 mortgages.
- 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.
What can you do if a default date looks wrong?
For some practical examples, see these Financial Ombudsman case studies. They give a feel for whether you can get your credit record changed. Here is an example of an Ombudsman decision telling Nationwide to backdate a default date.
If you think a default date is wrong, complain to the original lender (not the credit reference agency). Put COMPLAINT ABOUT DEFAULT DATE as the subject.
Include key details, such as:
- When you first missed payments (e.g., “I stopped making full payments in early 2018”)
- When you set up a repayment plan (e.g., “I entered a DMP with StepChange in November 2022”)
- What other creditors did (e.g., “Other lenders defaulted my debts in early 2023”)
Then state what you want the lender to do, for example:
- “Please remove the default as I was never three months in arrears.”
- “You should backdate the default to November 2015 based on ICO rules.”
- “My other creditors used a default date of 2021 so this one should match.”
If the lender doesn’t respond within 8 weeks, you can escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Four points to be careful about
1) Only the first default date for a debt matters
Once a debt is defaulted, credit reports show default markers every month.
That looks dreadful on your credit reports, but these don’t make things worse. Credit scoring only considers the first default date, and the entire debt disappears six years after that date.
Don’t complain about the later debt marks – they are normal and will not be changed
2) Is your debt nearly statute barred?
If you haven’t made any payments 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. 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.
But also read No calls all letters about a debt for years. Unless the statute barred point is very close, it’s probably better to get the default date sorted.
If the debt is already statute-barred ) then you can safely ask for the default date to be changed, as once a debt is statute-barred it will always remain barred.
If this feels complicated, talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about possible statute barring and the default date problem.
3) Don’t make your credit record worse!
While defaults harm your credit score initially, they can actually be helpful in the long run:
- A defaulted debt disappears after 6 years—even if unpaid.
- Without a default, the record showing missed payments or payment arrangements stays until 6 years after you settle it, which could be much longer.
Never ask for a later default date – it will keep the debt on your record longer!
4) Your credit record isn’t the only thing that matters
Why should you pay a debt at all if it goes from your credit record after 6 years?
There are two good reasons:
- it stops you getting a CCJ, which would harm your credit record for another 6 years
- seeing that a defaulted debt is settled may makes other lenders more likely to give you credit.
How much will my credit score change if…
when the lender is in adminstration
When can you get a default deleted?
E says
I stopped making payments on a Nationwide Credit Card in January/February 2018. I contacted Step Change Debt Charity in April of 2018 and a DMP became effective from May – with approx’ 6 years to run (I’m still on this plan). Nationwide did not register DMP with the CRA’s; they registered a default a year later in May of 2019. I recently became aware (this site) that this may not have be in accordance with the FOS rule.
Nationwide agreed it was incorrectly reported and will amend to December 2018. I wrote again expressing that I didn’t feel this to be a true reflection of events. and requested it be amended to the start of the DMP. Nationwide are standing firm that an account will only default after 4 missed payments. Presumably this should include reduced payments – i.e DMP? Should Nationwide be taking into consideration the payments missed prior to the DMP coming into effect? I was making the same reduced payments via Step Change in the 4 months leading up to December 2018 so this date makes no sense to me. Please could I ask for some advice about where I stand on this matter, please? Many thanks, again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What does your credit record show – were you in arrears by the time the DMP started?
E says
Hi Sara
Yes. Equifax shows: ‘1’ in April 2018 (although I know I missed at least one earlier payment) Then from May (when the DMP became effective) to – October all entries are all ‘I’ but I don’t know what this stands for. Nov’ shows ‘2’ and Dec’ shows ‘3’ , January 2019 ‘2’ , Feb ‘3’ , March ‘4’ , April ‘5’, and May 2019 ‘D’ . They are willing to amend to December 2018. – why this date I don’t know.
TransUnion shows the entries: ‘1’ in April through to June 2018. July – November 2018 shows ‘2’ and December ‘3’.
I need to check what Experian has.
I had a Nationwide overdraft which was also added to the DMP in May of 2018 but they reported the default in June 2018.
Nationwide says to backdate the credit card account to May 2018 would be incorrect. My argument is December 2018 is incorrect. How do you think I should respond?
Appreciate your time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1 , 2 etc here mean months in arrears. How much was the Nationwide credit card minimum payment at the start of the DMP? And how much were they being paid in the DMP?
E says
Hi Sara – it was the ‘I’ that I was unsure of rather than the ‘1’, ‘2’ etc.
I have just spoken with Step Change who confirmed that my payment plan did in fact start in April 2018 , not May, and I know I missed payments prior to April. Nationwide were being paid £22.81 every month until the debt was sold to Moorcroft in early 2019. I don’t know what my minimum payments should have been as unfortunately I have no paperwork left. I thought reduced payments would be viewed that same as missed payments? Incidentally my credit reports show missed payments all the way through.
Nationwide have said they default debts after 4 months of missed payments. This morning they have written 3 – 6 months. They state the default which has been amended to Dec 2018 is compliant with the Consumer Credit Act. I don’t understand their reasoning.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the missed payments before the DMP – did you make them late? how large was the nationwide debt that went into the DMP?
I thought reduced payments would be viewed that same as missed payments?
they are normally seen as getting you into arrears by the amount you are paying less than the minimum. So if the minimum was 3100, a payment of 322 gets you into arrears fast. But if the minimum was onlt £40 then it is pretty slow
E says
The payments were missed altogether. The balance was £1,200. I would imagine my payments on this balance would have been in the region of £40+ so this must be why the default took so long. Seems like they may win this one then, sadly. I haven’t referred to the FOS, I wanted to be clear first.
The other account, also on the payment plan from April 2018, they defaulted in June of 2018 (overdraft).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you have proof that your missed two payments before the DMP and that they dont show on your credit record for some reason as in arrears, it is worth challenging that as you would have started the DMP with 2 months arrears…
But this is all going to be clear by the end of the year anyway,
e says
Thank you very much Sara. I will get the paperwork together and refer to FOS.
Jon says
Hi Sara,
I have a credit card debt with nationwide I pay through a DMP. The debt and default has dropped off my credit file as 6 years has past. I have rang them to see if they would accept £1000 to clear £4800. But they said if it’s accepted it would go down as a partial settlement on my file for 6 years. I tried to say the debts not on my file no more but she wasn’t understanding what I meant. Is this correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this debt will not reappear on your credit record if it is partially settled. Whoever you were talking to didn’t know much about credit reporting.
Sam says
Hi Sara,
Is there any way of complaining about the default date on a debt with a company that lo longer exists? I have a debt that was originally with Peachy and it was sold on before the company collapsed. The DCA say they can’t help me and Peachy has closed down. I want to dispute the default applied as after going through my correspondence with them I had set up a repayment plan with them and it was going according to plan then out of the blue they defaulted me and sold the debt on without any warning.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large was the debt? what were you paying a month? what date was the default added?
Sam says
It is just over £900, it was defaulted in Jan 2020 when all my other defaults are April 2019. Paying £5 a month towards it.
I also just identified that the email from Peachy telling me that they would default me if I didn’t pay within 14 days was sent around the same time that they sold the debt on but the default itself was put on 4 months before that. Therefore I didn’t get the default warning before the default was applied but 4 months after, I still have the email from Peachy so I can prove this. Could I ask for the default to be removed because I wasn’t given advance notice that it was going to be applied OR could that make things worse as they could then say ok then we will change the default date to be 14 days after the date of the default letter which would put me in a worse position than I am now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You want the default to be as early as possible, so it drops off sooner. You do not want it switched to be later. Nor do you want the default removed and a payment arrangement substituted – that would then stay on your credit record for 6 years after the debt is settled.
Had you been paying £5 a month to it from April 2019?
Sam says
Yes since April 2019
So you agree if I go down the avenue of not receiving the default email for months after the default was actually applied they could simply just amend the default date to be later? That I obviously don’t want but I was hoping the fact they have not followed the correct process for applying a default then they’d just have to remove it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Technically a default notice has NOTHING to do with registering a default on your credit record.
Jonny says
Hi.
I have a mix of credit cards and loans that i misses payments on since November 2023. Some are showing defaults already from April and some are showing 4 missed payments and 1 is showing 2 missed payments, thinking of going into a DMP. As i want to get the earliest defaults date possible on all of them,
Should i wait till all the credit cards/loans are showing Defaults before i go into a DMP or no need to wait?
Thanks.
Jonny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you made any payments since November 2023?
Sam says
Hi Sarah,
I’m in a real panic today…
I’ve had an arrangement with NewDay since 2019, I felt that it should have been default in 2019 and it would drop off my credit report in 2025 like all my other debts but sadly NewDay decided to just record it as arrangement to pay rather than default and the Ombudsman agreed.
Today I have received a letter from NewDay saying that effective 8th July the debt will be sold to a purchaser and the existing arrangement will be honoured by them.
What I am worried about now is that the new owner of the debit applies a default in 2024 that I’ll be stuck with until 2030. Can they do that?
There’s no mention of a default in the letter from NewDay and I called them and asked if it would be defaulted and they said no but the purchaser may think differently. They also told me the sale has already happened and the account is with the purchaser but the letter from NewDay says it is from 8th July, I am in a position where I’d be able to settle it in full before the 8th July but they’ve already gone ahead and done it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it is a shame you did not try to settle the debt with Newday before. I suggest you contact the debt purchaser and offer to settle it. They will be delighted if you offer to settle it in full. I cant guess whether they are likely to default it routinely
Sam says
Unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to before but I will be in a few weeks time. I’ll be doing F&F offers to defaulted debt and settling the NewDay one in full as it hasn’t defaulted – that was the plan anyway!
I checked my credit report last night and my NewDay card is showing as up to date on all 3 agencies with no arrears. Surely if either they or the purchaser wanted to default it they’d have to give me warning or opportunity to clear it before defaulting it?
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
So I’m a little confused with what’s cased as “arrears” is this missed/reduced payment or could this be 1 payment that is overdue by 3 months?
Example missing Jan payment , made February and March payment and then being defaulted for the January payment in May as it’s “3 months late”
Credit score shows Jan 1 , feb 1 , Mar 1 , April 1, may 8
Default notice was sent March 20th and default registers may
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This isn’t very clear. But many firms will do this for just 1 payment if it is very late.
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
I’ve reached out to the ICO to ask for clarification of the wording because it allows lenders to use it both ways depending on circumstances.
I’ve read sereval ombudsman case studies that use the term “3 – 6 months of missed payments towards an account” so I’m convinced they will see it as I do.
Is it common for a bank to default from just one missed payment? In your opinion
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you talk to the bank about the missed payment?
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
To start with I didn’t know I had missed the payment, then I was working away and on my return a had the default notice, which at this point was past the deadline and didn’t think I had any option but to accept it.
I didn’t call them and as far as I’m aware they didn’t call me.
On my final response letter they stated “send letters and a few text were sent”
After my default notice I received an arrears notice which referred to “notice being sent every 6 months, even if I fell further behind with payments”
I took this as the default wasn’t processing and just to carry on making my Monthly payments which I did in May.
I requested a settlement figure at the start of May because a family member was going to help me but then when I reached out to clear the arrears I was told it was too late.
The default was issued in March two months after missing the January payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you may struggle to get this default removed.
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
I know calling would have helped but even on the FOS website it says this:
“Sometimes, a borrower won’t tell their lender that they’re in financial difficulty. This might be because they’re worried about what their lender might say or do. But there are instances when we’d expect a lender to pick up on signs that a borrower is struggling even if the borrower doesn’t say this is the case”
My loan company was Halifax who i have a bank account and a mortgage with.
I’m hoping that just because I didn’t call it isnt the reason this doesn’t get fixed, I’m also surprised they didn’t call me.
Surely no one could believe this was the best decision for everyone in the situation and my understanding is that a default should be a last resort.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A credit record is meant to be an accurate reflection of your track record in repaying debts. You seem to have not noticed that you hadn’t paid in January. When you found out you then did nothing for a few more months. Were you in financial difficulty?
Ricky says
Yes, at the time it was the fuel crisis and we had just had a child so my wife’s money was reduced.
My bank account was always in my overdraft and living month to month, I started working away to pick up extra money and returned to the default notice.
After my wife returned to work in May I cleared all debt and paid this 13k loan off within 12 months of it being sold on.
Is me not calling worse than missing more payments ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I ma not sure what you expect me to say. I have said that the rules on when a default should be added are unclear but many lenders would add a default in that situation. I don’t know what would have happened if you had called in March and explained you were in difficulty with your wife just having had a baby – it is just easier to get a “goodwill” gesture from a bank if this is done promptly.
If you were in your overdraft constantly for a prolonged period (more than a year) you may be able to make an affordability complaint about If you can argue that the loan was unaffordable at the time it was given, then you should be able to get a refund of interest and all negative marks removed – but nothing you have said suggests that the loan was originally unaffordable.
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the comments I will look back.
I was just hoping that the fact they also didn’t call me would show they hadn’t exhausted all avenues of contact. Surely calling me when they didn’t receive my payment would have been expected? Im very worried that one stupid mistake will stop me getting a new mortgage next year, the default will be 3 years old then, would that be long enough for a high street bank ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you need a larger mortgage or to move? If it’s just a new fix, Halifax will offer you one without checking affordability or your credit score.
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
Thank you, I didnt know that! Well we wanted to move and we also have a help to buy mortgage so was planning to pay that off.
In regards to my default, does it say anywhere “if the borrower doesn’t contact the lender within a set time then the ICO guidance can be disregarded?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The ICO guidance is taken from the SCOR reporting rules. These are essentially the rules that people reporting to the credit reference agencies agree to all play by. It has nothing to do with what the borrower tells the creditor. But in practice there are a lot of gray arrears eg many lenders will not report a missed payment at all if you tell them immediately and correct it promptly.
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
On May 2nd I asked for an early settlement on this loan which they granted and was given until June 2nd to pay this off in full, within that month they closed my account and issued the default. My question here is, while this agreement is in place could a default be issued as surely this new agreement superseded the default notice?
By given me a date of June surely I had this full month ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can argue it was unreasonable to add a default at that point. That isn’t quite the same as saying that they have broken any rules by doing this.
Ricky says
Yeah I know now I messed up not speaking with them, I’m just hoping the FOS can see it was hastily I’ve read loads of order cases where the ombudsman referred to it as 3-6 months of miss payments that they will look at what was fair concerning I only missed one payment before the default notice was issued
Ricky says
Morning Sara,
I thought I’d just look on my online banking app emails to see what I received around the time of the January loan missed payment.
In January or February I received nothing regarding the loan being in arrears but I did receive two emails regarding my current account using my agreed overdraft constantly for the past 12 month and identified I could be in financial difficulties.
Now surely my current account and loan would have been linked, so Halifax would have been fully aware I was in financial issues regardless if I called or not? Also if I didn’t receive any emails or letter or calls before the default notice in March is that showing Halifax also failed to all they could before starting the default process?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you received no notification by email, text, call, message, letter etc that you had missed a payment in January, then in March when you got the default notice you would have had a very good chance of getting it removed. At this point you can argue that they should have contacted you but you agree you were in financial difficulty, so it’s not clear that any contact would actually have made a difference to the fact you couldnt pay that payment.
Ricky says
Hi Sara,
Yeah they have told me they haven’t tried to call me before and I don’t have any records of letters or emails before March ( default notice)
I’m also hoping as this is going to the FOS that they take the fact I requested the settlement figure and was given the opportunity to pay it off until June 2nd defaulting me 15th of May would have been unfair
Adam says
Hi Sara
I filed a complaint against Aqua/Newday attempting to get a default date changed. I entered into a DMP in early 2019 however I wasn’t aware the best way to have done this would have been to stop making payments and wait for accounts to default. I entered straight into a DMP as I thought continuing to make some payments would have been a better “moral” thing to do. Newday didn’t issue a default until October 2022. As expected NewDay rejected my request to have the date changed and today I received a rejection from the financial ombudsman aswell.
I feel like I am being unfairly punished for not stopping payments immediately and this will now have a much. longer lasting effect on my credit file. I do have the option to appeal and take the case to an ombudsman but is there much point in doing this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what did the adjudicators response say?
Adam says
I understand that in hindsight, you’d have liked for your account to have been defaulted earlier. But I can’t see that you expressed this to Aqua when you started experiencing financial difficulties. You contacted PayPlan who made arrangements on your behalf to prevent this from happening.
I can see that Aqua had been supportive and agreed to the payment plans by accepting the offers received from PayPlan on your behalf. In March 2019 they entered you into their Hardship Payment Plan and your account didn’t fall into arrears as you were making payments above 1% of your balance. At this point they re-aged your account.
This type of “re-aging” is one that can benefit the borrower. It occurs when you work out a debt repayment plan with a creditor, and they agree to stop reporting the account as delinquent. Instead, they re-age the account and report it as current, which can improve the borrower’s credit score.
You’ve provided me with an Ombudsman decision where the Ombudsman decided to backdate a default date. As we look at each case separately, I can’t comment on what you have sent me. But I note that a difference between two cases is that in this case PayPlan has been contacting Aqua regarding the payment plan, so it wasn’t up to Aqua to establish if your financial situation had a potential to improve before the payment’s plans were set up. Therefore, they’ve acted with forbearance by agreeing to the plans and not registering a default until the account was 180 days in arrears.
Adam says
You faced financial difficulties and you approached PayPlan, who contacted Aqua in March 2019 to set up a payment plan. As you were paying more than 1% of your balance, you were set up on their Hardship Payment Plan. This is a formal plan which will report to Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) to say customer is in on a plan, but it’ll show it as up to date. If the payments are kept up to date the account won’t fall into the arrears.
When the payment plan was set up the account was re-aged, which means the arrears were cleared. This action was taken in March 2019, so a default wouldn’t have been registered at that stage.
On 8 November 2019 Aqua received a new offer of £21.39 from PayPlan. As this offer was less than 1% of the account balance, a Fair Treatment Plan was set up on your account. This is an informal plan so the account wouldn’t report as being on a plan to CRAs, it would continue to show the account as the months in arrears. Under this plan if account is not brought up to date, it may be sold from 180 days of arrears.
A default notice was sent to you on 22 December 2020 asking you to pay £31.89 by 12 January 2021. It also said that you should continue making payments even if you’re unable to clear this payment. As you were making the payments, that continued to reduce number of days in arrears and a default wasn’t registered.
However, as the account continued to build the arrears, Aqua issued a Notice of intent to register a default on 8 June 2022 – advising of their intentions to register a default. The letter states “we will register the default any time after 28 days from the date of the letter”. Your account reached 180 days in arrears in October 2022. A default was registered on 31 October 2022 and your account was sold to Lowells.
You raised a complaint regarding the date a default was registered and Aqua didn’t think any errors were made on their behalf. As you were unhappy with this response you referred your complaint to our service.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know how much Aqua were being paid a month by Payplan in March 2019?
did they inform you about this Hardship Payment Plan?
when do you expect the DMP to end?
have you considered making an affordability complaint to Newday about the Aqua card and any other Newday cards you had? If you win an affordability complaint, some interest will be removed from the balance to the DMP will and sooner. And you may be able to get any negative markets removed from your credit record when the balance is cleared. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/tag/refunds/ which has articles about making these complaints about different types of debts. You could also consider complaints about other debts in your DMP.
Adam says
Hi Sara they were receiving £20.58. I have massively reduced what I was paying into the DMP saving the rest towards F&F payments so the DMP is skewed towards a longer date. I was more hoping to have all the defaults drop off my file in a similar timeframe to help with the mortgage application that will be going in in the next 12/18 months. I do not recall ever receiving a hardship letter.
I currently have an ongoing affordability complaint for a NewDay loan. If I decide not to take this default issue to the ombudsman for final review could I still put an affordability claim in on the credit card.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why havent you already made affordability complaints about the Aqua card? There is no reason to delay this.
Ignoring this Aqua card, what is the expected date for the rest of your credit record becoming clean and for having settled the debts?
Adam says
Defaults start dropping off from next March the last one will be this Aqua Card in 2028 if I can’t get it removed. The DMP shows as being clear in 2032 but this will be sooner with F&F payments
I did win an affordable lending claim against lendable does that have any bearing on future claims? I wont appeal the default decision but will raise an affordability claim against this and other accounts.
I was regularly offered credit increases on this account aswell even with taking out more credit
Sara (Debt Camel) says
winning an affordability complaint about a loan shows you were in a mess at the time the loan was given. It doesnt automatically make other lending unaffordable
Rob says
Hello,
I’m in a DMP that started in July 2023 and is due to finish in December this year (2024)… £6500 total debt.
Since then I have had 3 creditors register a missed payment each and every month on my credit file… where as other creditors have put defaults or a payment arrangement down on my credit file.
Would it have been better to of had the three accounts noted as a payment arrangement or defaulted, and if so can I now get this done retrospectively?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A default drops off your credit record 6 years after the default date. That would typically be 3-6 months after a DMP started.
A payment arrangement drops off 6 years after the debt is settled, but harms your credit score less than a default.
So the question now is it worth trying to get default added for what is a VERY short DMP. Normally I say probably if the DMP lasts 3 years or more. But for such a short DMP I am not sure its worth it.
Rob says
Thanks for the advice – would the creditor retrospectively add a payment arrangement to my credit file or would I be wasting my time? In which case is its just going to be a case of sucking up the late payments on the credit file!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can ask them to add a payment arrangement to your credit record
S H says
Good Morning
I went bankrupt on 5 Sept 2022 and was discharged on 5 Sept 2023 (I have a discharge certificate). All the creditors have removed their defaults now that I have been discharged except for one who has refused to do so. They say:
“At some point after taking the loan, your circumstances changed and you entered into bankruptcy. We received notification of this on 9 September 2022 and it was confirmed on 13 November 2022. Your account was categorised as defaulted the same day bankruptcy was confirmed.
As you entered into bankruptcy, a default was applied to your account. Once you were discharged from bankruptcy in September 2023, the outstanding balance was written off. When you are discharged from bankruptcy, you are legally released from any obligation to repay the debts that were included. However, it does not mean the default must be removed as a result. What we are obligated to do, is show the account as ‘settled’ or ‘satisfied’ and I can see the account was updated to show as ‘satisfied’ as of October 2023.”
My credit report shows that my bankruptcy will remain on my file until 5 Sept 2028, but the default will remain until 13 Nov 2028.
Should the dates not be the same? and why would some remove a default (after I requested them to) and others not?
Thank you and kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Once you were discharged from bankruptcy in September 2023, the outstanding balance was written off. When you are discharged from bankruptcy, you are legally released from any obligation to repay the debts that were included. However, it does not mean the default must be removed as a result. What we are obligated to do, is show the account as ‘settled’ or ‘satisfied’ and I can see the account was updated to show as ‘satisfied’ as of October 2023.”
That is what they should have done, with the very minor exception that the debt should be shown as ‘satisfied’ from September 2023 not October 23. This makes so little difference I suggest it isn’t worth arguing about.
The only thing they have got wrong that will impact you is that the default date should have been 5 September 2028, not a couple of months later. As you say, this will mean the default will still show when the bankruptcy has dropped off. It is onlt a cuple of months, but if you want to get this corrected, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-file-after-bankruptcy/ which has a template to use.
why would some remove a default (after I requested them to) and others not?
Either they got it wrong, or they didnit care enough about it to argue with you.
Laura says
Hi sara my amigo debt is now with lantern they have got back to me with my default information i will paste below i still dont understand what it means about how they report and how it will show if you could help please
Lantern
We can confirm we hold the default date of 20/02/2019 and it will remain on your credit file for a period of six years and this is reported on a monthly basis.
We would also not directly add any markers to reflect that a payment arrangement has been put in place. The details of any active payment arrangement would be reflected by the continued reduction in balance.
Also it just shows missed payments from amigo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what shows on your credit records at the moment – is there an entry from Amigo? From Lantern?
Has the debt just been sold to Lantern or was it sold last year?
Laura says
No everything is still the same in terms of amigos on there and a missed payment reported last month
Its been a few months this year march/april maybe but it took a while to set everything up with them in terms of payment arrangement and im on to my second payment coming but in terms of the reporting thats the information i have
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this your only problem debt?
Laura says
Yes it is thankfully now but it does seem more problematic compared to other debts and having a solution to them as i dont know if it stays on my report permanently as missed payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so you have two options.
First is to try to get Amigo to add a default date on 20/02/19, then it will drop off after 6 years. The problem with this is it may not be at all easy to get Amigo to do this and they may simply refuse, and tell lantern that there was no default, which would be bad news for you.
The second is to wait until next year when the scheme has finished and Amigo is being liquidated. At that point you make sure Lantern has a default date of 20/02/19. And make a complaint to the Credit Reference Agencies saying Amigo has reported it wrong and this is the proof – the email from Lantern… You don’t want to try this to early – you want to wait until Amigo won’t be responding to any questions from the CRAs.
Laura says
Ok yes amigo has point blank refused to add the default so im leaning to the second option i have the email of lantern confirming the default date so if this is not added by them do i simply just complain to the CRA agencies with this information what date do you suggest i do this please next year? And thankyou again for this help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It depends on how things go… I suggest you ask me again in about March
Sam says
Hi Sara,
I have 2 defaults for overdrafts with Lloyds Banking Group, one with Lloyds and one with Halifax. Both accounts had roughly the same overdrawn balance which was at their limit (£3000 each) and I put them both in a DMP at the same time in May 2020. For some reason both accounts have very different default dates one is August 2020 and the other is January 2021 so they were treated very differently despite being with the same group.
I want to complain about the 2021 default being applied late but it has been sold on. Do I complain to the purchaser about the default date or the Lloyds group?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You complain to Lloyds. Then the debt purchaser will have to use the same default as Lloyds if they backdate it.
But that sounds like a lot of overdraft problems. Have you looked at making an affordability complaint about these two debts, and indeed the other debts in your DMP? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/tag/refunds/
John says
Hi Sara,
I started in a DMP with StepChange in October 2016. I had around 12 companies I owed money to and it just became too much to handle. In total I was in around £70K of debt.
I have now come out of the DMP (August 2024) and all debts have been cleared.
Through the process I ended up with 3 defaults, but they all occurred at different times.
M&S Current account – Defaulted in January 2019 after over 2 years on the DMP
TSB Current Account – Defaulted in September 2021 almost 4 years after being in the DMP (they only logged an arrangement being in place with CRAs from April 21, showed 1 missed payment in Aug 21 and then a Default in Sept 21). Oddly this account shows all payments were up to date right up to April 2021, but that may be due to the payment from StepChange being enough to keep the overdraft alive.
Intrum (Original debt was with RateSetter). Defaulted in April 2022. It shows as an arrangement in Dec 2020, which is when I assume it was sold to Intrum from Ratesetter. Specifically on this one – I don’t understand why this didn’t get a default significantly earlier. There was also no ‘missed payment’ activity on this account – it just went from Arrangement straight to Default.
All of these accounts were being paid via StepChange from October 2016 so I am not really sure why the defaults are on different dates, and by such a big difference.
Based on the limited data above, do you think I can I challenge the dates on any of these?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the other 9 debts weren’t defaulted? That is bad news – defaults are good as they will be cleared from your credit record sooner.
M&S Current account – Defaulted in January 2019 after over 2 years on the DMP
Not much point in worrying about that – it will drop off your credit record in January 2025.
TSB Current Account – Defaulted in September 2021 almost 4 years after being in the DMP
I assume you weren’t using the account?
it would be interesting to know if they were still charging interest after the DMP started. I suggest you ask TSB for a statement of account showing all credits and debits from say July 2016 to the closure of the account.
Intrum (Original debt was with RateSetter). Defaulted in April 2022.
I suggest you send ratesetter a complaint saying that a default should have been added in Dec 2020 when it was sold to Intrum, or earlier. If Ratesetter change this, Intrum have to copy it.
John says
No, none of the other debts defaulted. When I check my credit file, depending on which website I use, they highlight 2 or 3 negatives on my file and those negatives are the defaults.
Can I go back to those that didn’t default and ask them to do that (seems like an odd thing, and risky thing to ask someone to do!)?
TSB interest was frozen at the point of going into a DMP. I was still able to use the account though.
So without the others defaulting do I have to wait 6 years from last payment before they have been removed? Which would be Aug 2030!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a shame you didn’t stop using the TSB account, then it would have defaulted much sooner – did Stepchange not advise this? They normally do. As you were still using the account I doubt that there is anything you can do as the rules around adding defaults for overdraft are very vague.
So without the others defaulting do I have to wait 6 years from last payment before they have been removed? Which would be Aug 2030!
yes. Up to you if you want to try to get defaults added – you want an early default added, sometimes this is works, sometimes not. And decisions from the ombudsman are pretty erratic
John says
Thank you for your quick responses.
Interestingly I don’t appear to have missed payments logged on most of the debts. There is really only 2 (with Equifax), one of this being the TSB account immediately prior to default.
My credit rating with Equifax is showing as ‘excellent’ but if I do a soft search for any credit cards or loans (not that I want one!) then I’m only presented with bad credit options.
With Trans Union it shows the 2 more recent defaults but no mention of missed payments.
Experian shows all 3 defaults but I can’t see information on late payments.
All seems a bit hit and miss!
Dave says
Hello I have read your pages on default dates but have a query please.
I have a series of credit cards and loans which became unaffordable around Dec 2023. I was paying minimum payments and in Jan 2024 I contacted steochange to enter a DMP. I was granted govt breathing space on 9.1.2024 and payment to my dmp started in March 2024.
My question is at what point should the defaults be added on my accounts please because I’ve been in arrears since Dec 2023 but I’m only just getting some notices now, and in some cases a default hasn’t even been added at all yet. I’m hoping to contest the default dates to push them further back as a result.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no simple answer. The SCOR rules say a default should be added when you are 3-6 months in arrears. If you didn’t make any payments in breathing space that would be two months arrears. Then it depends how much less than the minimum payment the StepChange payment it. If it’s half, you would be in a half a months arrears each month. If your credit report shows 6 months arrears that is clear, but still some lender say it’s up to them.
Have you made affordability complaints about every debt in the DMP? Winning one will speed up the DMP and may get your credit record clean sooner.
Dave says
Thank you foe the prompt response!
My Contractual payments were around 50 to 100 £ per calendar month but the DMP reduced that to around £6 each per month.
Marbles was my biggest debt but luckily they have already removed all interest without question once I told them I was struggling. I have a few others that also still appear to be adding interest which I’m currently contesting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then all of the debts should be 6 months in arrears by end June if you didnt pay during the breathing space. Ask for a default date to be added then as the article above suggests.
Which debts have stopped adding interest, can you list them?
And which debts have stopped – you can still make affordability complaints against these and get some previous interest removed from the belance.
Dave says
Marbles removed all historical interest and fees, pretty much halving the outstanding balance. That’s the best result I’ve had so far as like I say I didn’t even need to contest with them, as soon as I told them I was experiencing problems they did that off their own back.
A couple of cards have continued to apply interest, Zable and Wave which I’ve already escalated and due to some being with collection agencies now I’m just waiting on the balance evidence to check on the others.
But thank you for the advice on when the default date should ideally have been, that will help me knock a few months off in the meantime hopefully.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so also make affordability complaints against Zable, Wave and the other cards, whether they have stopped adding interest or not.
Pedro says
Hi
I owed around £10.000 to Scottish power and I never made any payment towards that then on 2018 the debt showed on my credit report as default and on 2024 the default has cleared from my credit report then after that the debt collector started to chase me for the debt, I was wondering if they still able to take me to court for that which I think that’s fall under the legislation of Statute Barred. I appreciate if you help me with that
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. They can talk about whether this is statute barred and what your options are.
Martyn says
Hi Sara,
I’ve had a loan that no payment has been made back on it was taken out in June 2017 (Amigo)🤦 I was in accident a few weeks later in the car I borrowed the money for. Due to trauma to my head I’ve not been myself till I recently managed to stop the medication. Anyway I’ve been trying to sort all my finances out. Amigo reported every missed payment but no default I went on my ClearScore & Experian today and see the debt now says settled. My question & worry is that because they did not record a default after 3-6 months of missed payments & just reported missed payments till November 2024 does this stop the 6 year rule coming into affect I’ve tried to read as much as I can some say that breaking regulations? My worry is they may have sold the debt on mark it as settled and soon I will have a debt collection agency who bought the debt coming for me? I have had no contact with them and I’m worrried about doing so as this could start the whole process off again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did they never ask your guarantor to pay?
And what date does your credit report say it was settled?
Martyn says
No the guarantor sadly passed away in the accident and the date for settlement was November 15 2024
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesnt sound as though there is any point in chasing this now.
Amigo may have decided to write off the debt not sell it (at this late stage in a scheme this is just about possible). In which case you won’t hear anything from a debt collector
Or it has been sold and at some point you will hear from a debt collector – at that point you can challenge that it is statute barred as you have never made a payment to it. Whether this will work or not, remains to be seen. But there seems not point in brining forward the argument.
If you dont hear anything in 6-12 months,you should be able to get your credit record corrected as Amogo will no longer be around and you can get the record “suppressed” as it is inaccurate.
Martyn says
Thank for the quick response that’s seems a good way to look at it as I’ve read and looked up as much as I can and without contacting them directly I won’t get any answers. So thank you I will continue on the course suggested. I will also be able to save what free money I have in case of any contact
Martyn Ellison says
Hi Sarah,
Good News had a email today telling me there wiping the whole 13k debt away so it turns out they didn’t sell it the wiped it so good news
As you may be aware, Amigo Loans is in the process of an orderly wind-down. This is an important update regarding your Amigo loan.
After a thorough review of the account and taking into consideration all current circumstances, we have made the decision to write off your outstanding loan. This means that you will no longer be required to make payments on this loan, and any remaining balance will be cleared.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent.
Mark says
Hi Sara,
Due to financial problems, I started missing payments in August 2018, I sought help, and I was able to get a DRO awarded in December 2018. I had 3 items in debt, 1 Nationwide credit card, 1 Barclaycard credit card, and 1 Halifax loan. The credit cards reported missed payments from August until November 2018, these have now gone from my credit report. The Halifax loan reported missed payments from August until January 2019. These totalled 5 missed payments, which were shown on my report until 4 of them dropped off a few days ago. I have 1 remaining missed payment reported, BUT, my concern is the ‘Default’ is still there, and clearscore show this as impacting my score. When I click on this, there is still a default being reported. After reading this web page, I believe that the default is from the earliest point, which was August. Should this have gone? Also, given that my history of missed payments over the 6 year period, 2018 has gone, but 2019 is still visible, will this stay on until 2026? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the date of the default showing on the clearscore report? if you can’t see the exact default date, use the equifax statutory credit report https://registration.my.equifax.co.uk/#/personal-info?product=10009
Mark says
Many thanks for your response!
I didn’t have funds to do the equifax check for my statutory report (it is free for 30 days I think, but then there is a charge, and I wouldnt have the funds to do that), but I was able to use moneysupermarket Credit Monitor, and I am able to download 1 report per year for free. From this report, I can see under the transunion report generated, that in January 2019, I had 4 months of missed payments (I was sure it was 5 as this is what Clearscore shows?), and after the January entry for 4 missed payments, the next entry was the default date, which it shows as 14th February 2019. So, my expectation is that maybe 5 or 6 weeks after February 14th 2025, I should expect the default to go? If so, will the missed payments also go? Perhaps I misunderstood the ‘earliest point’? It was my expectation that the default would be the date of my first missed payment to this loan? Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Statutory credit reports are ALWAYS free. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/
The default date should have been the start date of your DRO, so December 2018.
But as this is going to drop off in February 2025, there is little point in complaining as it will be gone from your record next month. the whole record will go, so the previous missed payments will as well.
Yes you have misunderstood something thing the default should be on the first missed payment, that isnt correct as the article above explains.
Jimmy says
Hi Sara,
I have a debt from Vanquis from 2019. It’s reporting on Equifax as Vanquis and with Cabot also with all 3 agencies. Vanquis date of default is September 30th 2019 and all 3 CRA have it as 31st of October this year with Cabot. Is this something I should be trying to sort? I have been making small payments for years and not sure if it’s worth trying to get the date removed and the Vanquis default gone as it’s reporting as 2 defaults on my credit record?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Vanquis date of default is September 30th 2019
That date is how Vanquis have been reporting it to Equifax?
Jim says
Yes, so on check myfile it shows date of default as that date under Vanquis. But on Cabot who are the debt collectors who got it have it as the following month. So it shows as 2 defaults with different dates.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well its up to you if you think its worth the hassle of complaining, given this will all disappear later this year
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So when you say “all 3 CRA have it as 31st of October this year ” you mean October 2019?
in that case it will disappear from your credit record on October this year.
You can ask Cabot to correct this to September 2019 if you want – but there is no reason why the Vanquis default should be removed.
What is the current balance? If Cabot cannot produce the Consumer Credit Act agreement for the debt, then it is unenforceable and you could simply stop paying, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/
Jim says
Yes that’s what I mean and the default will remove then.
Reason I asked about the Vanquis one is I thought it should only be reported as one default like when it is sold on it’s no longer a default from Vanquis but now from Cabot, but I must have got that wrong. I thought it was any debt could only be 1 default and not another once sold on.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the new debt should use the same default date as the old one – then they will only be counted as one by the credit scoring system
Jim says
Ok thanks, so I should get the date changed then it will only be one default? Because it’s definitely showing as 2 at the minute.
Thanks for you help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There will always be two defaults. But only one of them should be counted in the credit scoring system – if they have different default dates I don’t think the credit scoring can tell they are the same debt so it may be counting them as two.
Caro says
H Sara,
I had a CU loan in 2015 default and get CCJ in 2017. I defaulted on 10+ lenders/accounts during the same time period, resulting in multiple defaults and 3 CCJs. I eventually paid off all accounts and satisfied all CCJs. Then just a waiting game for all accounts to fall off based on various original default dates. I did notice years ago that this one account didn’t have a default date, but I was overwhelmed at the prospect of getting that corrected and kicked the can down the road until the rest of my file was nearly clean anyway/it could actually make a difference.
7 years later and all my defaults, CCJ, any bad markers have fallen off besides this account. I want to apply for a mortgage. I now need to ask the CU to add a default date to this account, as without it, its sitting there still on my report showing 2 years of missed payments. This is incorrect- I defaulted and was issued a CCJ in 2017 and the account never came right again until 2021. (I started paying a reduced amount to the CU after they issued the CCJ, which I eventually stopped paying in 2019, causing them to pass the account off to Dublix, who I then paid monthly until settling in full in 2021.)
I need to ask the CU if they’ll simply add the default date without needing to escalate, but am not sure how to best approach them. I’m actually still a member- they never closed my savings account, and I’ve paid in small amounts in recent years and it currently has about £100 in it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have repaid in full, so asking them now can’t make them ask you to pay more.
I suggest you just email them – they should have added a default date at the date of the CCJ.
Caro says
Thank you
Yes, I realise I really have no leverage as such. That’s why I didn’t know best way to reach out to them- in writing? Threatening to escalate to ombudsmen etc if they do not correct it right out the gate? Or just ask nicely at first?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Email them with a complaint. Include the word COMPLAINT in the email subject
You are not asking a favour, you are pointing out that the SCOR default reporting rules (https://www.scoronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Principles-for-the-Reporting-of-Arrears-Arrangements-and-Defaults-at-Credit-Reference-Agencies-vesrion-2a-final.pdf) say that where a debt results in a CCJ, a default should be added to the debt that is on or before the date of the CCJ.
Ask them to add a default date of dd/mm/yy which was the date of the CCJ
You can then go to the Ombudsman if they reject this or dont reply within 8 weeks
Caro says
Thank you, I will do this
Philip Troup says
Hello,
I opened an account in March 2016 and initially made payments until I was made redundant.
Since then, the creditor has not contacted me in anyway, and I have made no payments to this debt. In addition, the creditor did not add my debt to Experian throughout my account with them and I received no default notice after 3 months or 6 months, or even the subsequent years.
So, up until recently I have been frequently checking my Experian report to make sure everything is accurate and everything on my report is in good standing. However, out of nowhere, a default has been retrospectively applied to February 2023 by a debt purchasing company called JC International Acquisition. This means that it has been 9 years since the account opened, and 6 years since the statue barred time.
Can they applied this to my credit file after 9 years from opening the account, without any information reported to Experian regularly, in other words monthly. In a way, this account has become a 14 year account, negatively effecting my credit file until 2029 when the debt should not exist after 2023. Also, can the debt purchasing company apply defaults instead of the original creditor.
I am upset because I have not defaulted recently as shown on my credit file until JC International Acquisition applied it from 2023, even though I never defaulted on any debt in 2023.
What can I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What sort of account was this – loan, credit card, or what? How large is the balance?
Philip says
The account was for an unsecured loan. The balance is £13,721.
At the very latest, it was 2019 when I failed to make payments and should have been in default.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have 2 separate problems, whether the loan is statute barred (which may be tricky if the lender never sent you a Default Notice) and how to get a default added to your credit record.
Getting a default added should be easy – do what the article above says. HOWEVER before you do this talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about whether this loan is statute barred, as it may not be.
Philip says
The Creditor never issues me a default. However, the debt collectors has. They issues the date as February 2023. This would be some 4 years after missed payment. Surely this can’t be allowed, as creditors could never issue debtors defaults which mean they would owe the money in perpetuity.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I agree this is very unsatisfactory, but I suggest you talk to National Debtline for advice on your options.
Mike says
Hi Sara,
I have a debt agency contacting the wrong address. I feel on purpose they’ve already sent me letters the past few years (statements and such) but now they’ve started addressing these to the wrong house number down the road and my neighbour is getting annoyed
The debt is getting slower to SB. How do I get this to stop and update the address (and complain perhaps) without then resetting the clock?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you can.
chantelle watson says
Hi Sara
I moved house, and Thames Water registered a default against me in September 2019, with a debt I can’t prove is not mine, nor did I know it even existed. The debt was then purchased by a company called JC International with a balance of £600.00. I initially entered into an agreement when they made contact with me in October 2024 and agreed to pay £50.00 a month. I noticed on my credit file it was still showing as defaulted, even though I was still making these payments. I contacted Check My File and explained this situation and they informed me of the following
*Once an account has been removed from your report all information, along with the default markers, will be removed Any defaulted account will be removed 6 years from default date.*.
I missed a payment last month, and they cancelled the agreement plan. I called just now to reset this up, as I received a text stating they would be taking legal action. I opted to pay a discounted settlement figure, whereby they said I could pay £210, but it would show as partially paid on my credit file. When I said I was fine with this as the debt should technically be falling off my name in September anyway of this year, I was informed that the default marker would still show up on my credit report as JC purcahsed the debt off Thames Water. Can I confirm with you if this is true what the lady has just said? I really do not want a CCJ because of this, but I dont want to pay £400 if I do not need to
Thank you so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
JC should have used the same default date as thames Water, so Sept 2019. And this will drop off in September 2025 if it is partially settled or fully settled or still being paid.
Chantelle watson says
Thank you so much for clarifying Sara. Best wishes
Kathryn says
Hi took out a 5k credit card with LLoyds in 2016, debt was sold to LINK Financial Outsourcing.
I have since been paying £20 a month to Link. I Have only just (don’t judge) downloaded my credit report to see both Lloyds & Link accounts in default dated 10/11/22. I was shocked how late this date was. So I have gone through bank statements and I actually missed 5 consecutive payments from September 2019 to Jan 2020…. I then started paying again in Feb 2020. I continued to pay until the last 3 months before it was sold to link in December 2022 with a default date of October 2022. Surely the 5 months of consecutive missed payments in 2019 can’t be ignored?
I obviously don’t have access to any credit card statements from Lloyds so not sure who I would query default dates with?
I’m not even convinced the transfer balance is right as my bank statements show decent monthly payments to Lloyds up to it being sold to Link.
On Experian the payment history markers on the LLoyds account show missed payments from October 2021 to September 2022 with 1st default marker October 2022.
On the Link account on Experian payment history shows as default markers from August 2020- October 2022 with no further payment history reported after this.I really don’t know what to do for the best.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I actually missed 5 consecutive payments from September 2019 to Jan 2020…. I then started paying again in Feb 2020.
Did you go back to making normal payments or a payment arrangement with lloyds? During the 5 month period, did you tell lloyds you were in difficulty?
kathryn says
Hi Sara thanks for your reply – no i didn’t, i just hid my head in the sand and was just relieved that i was able to start paying them again. I paid £50 per month for the rest of that year, which was on my own accord and not through a payment plan. Looking back the £50 monthly payments i were making at that time were probably not covering the minimum payments – especially given the 5 months defaults.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you looked at your credit report? That should show the balances for each month going back 6 years.
What is the current balance? Is this your only defaulted debt?
kathryn says
Thanks for your reply,
On Experian There are 2 accounts for the one for the one debt. The original Lloyds debt, and Link Financial when it was sold – both showing in default and with a balance of £4619
Lloyds on Experian payment history show missed payments from October 2021, and show 11 continuous missed payments until a default marker in September 2022.
Link Financial on Experian shows history as August 2020 as 1st default marker which continues to Oct 2022, with no more payment history showing after this.
I had a loan with BETTERBORROW which is also defaulted on my experian account and was sold to Lowell – currently paying monthly to them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go back to lloyds and ask them to correct the default date as it should be earlier, when you were 3-6 months in arrears
Kathryn says
Brilliant thanks so much!
Anna says
Hi,
I’ve received a Default Notice from my lender saying I must pay the arrears by 12 March otherwise they will terminate my agreement, close my account and my balance will become due in full.
I dispute the debt (it was a loan for an Ikea kitchen, which never got finished due to poor goods/service). I have today made a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service about the bank, due to their failure to deal with my claim under s.75 Consumer Credit Act about the problems with the Ikea kitchen.
Is there anything I can do or say to stop the lender from taking any further action whilst the FOS deal with my complaint? I know the FOS could take a number of months, but I don’t want the lender demanding payment in full, or selling the debt on, or anything else.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What did the bank say in reply to your s75 complaint?
Liam Gray says
Hi,
I got a car back in 2017 on finance. I defaulted in 2018 and they took the car back and auctioned it off. The company put a default on my credit file back in 2018. The last payment i made to them was in March 2019. The default sum is just over £8k. The default was removed in December 2024. Around a similar time they sent me a letter of claim. They have now proceeded to issue court proceedings against me where they are seeking a CCJ. This has affected my credit file for 6 years and it is about to affect my credit file for another 6 years. Feels slightly unfair. Is there anything I can do about this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and/or post on the Legal Beagles forum https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues/received-a-court-claim
You need to know your options and act fast now a court claim has been started.
Shaz says
Hi Sara,
I’d appreciate your guidance on settling old defaulted debts and their potential credit impact.
Background:
– In 2018, I defaulted on accounts with Capital One, Halifax, and HSBC.
– These defaults have now dropped off my credit reports (Experian, Credit Karma, Clear Score), and my file reflects a positive history since.
Current Status:
– Lowell now owns the Capital One and Halifax debts and has offered settlements.
– I’m handling HSBC debts directly with the bank.
Questions:
1) If I agree to a partial settlement with Lowell, can you confirm these debts won’t reappear on my credit file?
2) Could future lenders still access this history through internal records, and how might a partial settlement be viewed?
3) Based on my current credit standing, would you recommend partial or full settlement with Lowell?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Best regards,
Shaz
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1) yes
2) yes, but few may care about such ancient history and those that do will be caring about your original default, not how you settled it.
3) partial! if Lowell won’t agree https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/guides/credit-agreements-getting-information-ew/to something very reasonable, think about asking them to produce the CCA agreement for the debt (doesn’t work for overdrafts), see
Shaz says
Thanks a lot, Sara. I appreciate your prompt response.
Jun says
Hi there,
BT mistakingly claimed I owed them money and sold the account to Lowell. Lowell applied a default to my credit file and bombarded me with letters and calls. The default wasn’t valid and I had been trying to deal with his with BT but it took over a 12 months to resolve. The default was on my credit file and meant I was unsuccessful for many loans applications which I needed.
BT and Lowell have finally resolved this and said it would take 50 days for the change to appear on my credit file. Lowell gave me £75 but I don’t think this justifies all the stress it caused, impact to file & mental health.
Should I take this complaint to FOS?
Should I also complain about BT?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have evidence of rejected loan applications?
Was this the only problem showing on your credit record?
Jun says
Hi Sara,
I do have evidence of rejected loan applications and of a business bank account being rejected
There were other problems on my credit file but the default from BT was the longest standing problem
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you may find it hard to prove a loss if the rest of your credit report wasn’t great. But you can try
Toni says
Hi, my husband has a current DMP which all debts have been marked as defaulted on his credit file. The dates are all slightly different but the majority are coming up to 6 years, so grim what I’ve read on your website, will come off soon. My question is, if he was to pay partial settlements on them all now, would they still disappear from his credit file from the original default dates or will the partial settlements remain for a further 6 years? Should he wait until the 6 years has elapsed before making the partial settlements? Thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They will drop off after 6 years whether they are settled in full, partially or he is still making payments. They will not reappear if he settled them, in full or in part, after they have already dropped off.
Toni says
Hi Sara, Thank you very much for your quick response. I appreciate your help.
Marcus says
Hi Sara,
I have an account which has gone default in April 2019 due to arrears in payments. Since then I have been paying outstanding balance until July 2021. This account is not in my Experian credit record but is in my Transunion credit record and status shows as ”Your account was closed (satisfied)”. Also, I can see payments made each month between the time this account has defaulted up until it settled.
My question is, as this account has gone default in April 2019 should I expect this account to completely disappear off my credit report hopefully this month or May (in case there is delay in processing), or will I still see payments which were made between April 2019 to July 2021 for the next few years (as of course 6 years from July 2021 will be July 2027)?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It should drop off this month
Lee says
Hi Sara, I went on to a debt management plan in 2019 and have been paying regularly reduced payments on all my debts throughout the time. I had 9 defaults due to this from March 2019-May 2019 and I’ve been happy to see these dropping off my credit file recently. One of the defaults was a nationwide credit card which defaulted in March 2019. It dropped off recently and my credit file said that it had been removed, however a few weeks later it’s reappeared on my credit file and being reported as delinquent. Is this right? It was my understanding that after it defaulted it should no longer be on my file??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the creditor?
Lee says
It’s nationwide credit card
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and it hasn’t been sold to a debt collector?
Lee says
No, still with nationwide.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send Nationwide a complaint, saying the debt dropped off as it was over 6 years since the default date in March 2019, so it should not have been added again.
Lee says
Hi Sara, I have spoken to nationwide this week and they have stated that as there is still money owed and I am not paying the original contracted amount, even though the default has expired and been removed it still has to be reported to the CRA’s as delinquent. My DMP is going to be running for the next 5 years so is this right that they will be reporting this as delinquent for a the next 5 years and then I’ll have to wait a further 6 years from then for the late payments then to drop off? 😫
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it isn’t right. Send them a formal complaint to karlene.white@nationwide.co.uk with “COMPLAINT – incorrect credit reporting” as the title. Say the complaint goes to the ombudsman if this is not removed
Lee Marshall says
Thanks Sara, I have emailed. I will let you know the outcome when I receive a response. Your support is much appreciated :-)
Lee says
Hi Sara, I emailed the address you mentioned, got a phone call the next day saying they are looking into it. 3 days later I got another call saying the flag had been generated by the computer system and was a mistake. They apologised for the error and sent me £100 compensation for the error. Result! All records now deleted and credit score restored! Thanks for your help and support, much appreciated 😊
Rhianna says
Esure car insurance has served me a 2nd default notice, I spoke to them re the first one as they didn’t take money from my account and said that the bank account details were incorrect (can’t have been true as I paid them the month previously for the initial car insurance and set up fees). The agent on the phone assured me the error was fixed and that it would be fine now, the live chat agent told me the default won’t be registered and is just for info on their end.
This happened again this morning and their customer helpline isn’t open till 9, my bank has money in for them to take and I’m so scared now! They want the money upfront and in full, but I don’t want to do that and I can’t cancel the insurance policy because now they’re saying I owe them the full amount!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What did they say when you got through to them?
Andrew says
Hi Sara,
Looking for some guidance if possible; I entered into a DAS in 2018, it is in place until 2027, I’ve made all payments and am looking forward to finally being debt free in 2 years time.
Given I’m nearing the end I started to look at my credit files to make sure that everything was accurate, as I knew many of my defaults would have been dropping off this year, however I still have a couple of lenders (Barclaycard, Halifax & Lloyds) who appear to have never entered me as default status and are still reporting to my credit files that I am in various states depending on the credit agency, for example Barclaycard are reporting me as 2 months in arrears with Experian, Arrangement to Pay with Equifax and DMP to TransUnion.
My question is should all of these companies have set me to default like all my other lenders did? If not, is it correct that they can report me as being in arrears still? My worry is that by doing this, these markers will stay on my file for another 6 years once I complete the DAS in 2 years time. Do I have any grounds to challenge their approach, as I feel this could be detrimental and harm my chances of getting a mortgage once I’m clear of the DAS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask a Scottish debt expert by posting in the comments on this page https://www.advicescotland.com/home/debt-arrangement-scheme/
Chris says
Hi Sara,
Just asking for some help here! This article has really helped me, thank you.
I’ve sent a complaint to Link Finance Collections regarding a debt they bought from NewDay in July 2017, the Link Finance is now settled and remains on my credit report, with a default date of November 2019. Yet, the original account they bought from the original creditor NewDay went into a DMP in Feb 2017, this account no longer appears on my report at all. So to me this suggested that it defaulted prior to July 2017 before it was sold to Link. Yet, it seems Link have re-registered the default to me.
I’ve sent a complaint to Link on 20 May, and multiple follow ups, I’ve not even received an acknowledgment from them.
What do you think about my case and what should I do with Link not replying? Either way, I feel this has all been unfairly handled. When would the Link account drop off my report anyway, would this be November 2025?
Thanks so much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Link have got 8 weeks to reply to you.
Have you asked Newday whether they applied a default and what was it?
Yes the Link debt will drop off in Nov 25
Chris says
Thank you! I’ve not asked them, but I will. I’m guessing if it goes in November 2025 I’ll spend that long chasing, but if it’s been on there 2 years longer than it should that’s quite annoying.
Terry says
Hi Sara,
I had a Fluid (NewDay) credit card, but got into financial difficulties, and they agreed to reduced payments for a while. However, they suddenly sold the account to Link Financial without defaulting it first. I asked Link to default the account in Oct 2024 and got a Notice of Default shortly after, but the account still isn’t showing as defaulted on any of my credit reports. I chased Link up in March, and they said it would happen in the next few weeks, but so far nothing. I’m worried this is a deliberate tactic by Link to extend the time they have to collect and that they have no intention of defaulting the debt.
1. Can I force them to default it somehow?
2. If yes, when is the earliest I could get the default date set to?
3. Has the Notice of Default set the statute barred clock ticking even if they don’t register the default with the CRAs?
Thanks for your help
Terry
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So first, how long ago did you stop paying Newday?
what other debts do you have? how large is this fluid/link balance?
Terry says
Paid newday reduced amounts from Aug 23-Sept 24. Haven’t paid link anything.
Link balance is about £1300.
Owe about £7500 to another debt collector, but it’s old so am trying to deal with it through the CCA route. Have other defaults from 2024, but these debts have been dealt with.
Decided to get link account defaulted as didn’t want AP markers being added to my credit file month after month as I would only be able to make token payments and so the debt and the AP markers would be on my file for many years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1. You can make a formal written complaint saying that they havent added the default to your credit record that they said they would, point out this is against the SCOr credit reporting principles and a the FCA’s consumer Duty. And take the case to the ombudsman if they don’t sort it then. Unfortunately credit reporting cases have a rather random success rate at the ombudsman, but thats not a reason not to try
2. the date link bought the debt. It you want it to go back further than that, you need to as newday not Link.
3. Probably. But its 6 long years away until this becomes ststute barred, and its pretty unlikely to get to that point without link taking you to court.
Terry says
Thanks Sara, that’s really useful information. Regarding “its pretty unlikely to get to that point without link taking you to court”, I’m hearing mixed things about the way debt collectors work; some people suggest they take most people to court within the 6-year time limit, but others (who seem genuine and knowledgable) say they only focus on around 30-40% of cases and let the rest slide for whatever reason. Any clarity on this? Or were you saying Link are particularly litigious?
Also, there’s lots of information online about the 6-year period for a debt to become statute barred, but what happens if a debt collector takes you to court within the 6-year period and loses, e.g., due to an improper CCA,-as the debt can’t become statute barred any more can they keep coming back to court as many times as they like? Or simply carry on with collections activity for as long as they like?
Thanks again for your help; your site is a great resource for people in debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All people know is what happens in their cases or what they hear about. And often that may not be a representative sample, as the people some people become “regulars” in a Facebook group or on a discussion board, so they talk a lot and other people assume what they say happens in most cases. I doubt many people actually lie, but you have no way of knowing what they are basing their statements on or how long ago their preconceptions were formed.
Terry says
Fair points. What about my question about what happens to debts after a debtor wins a CCJ hearing? I’ve not seen this explained anywhere.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are very few cases where a debt collector lost a county court case because they couldn’t supply the CCA as these are normally dropped before a judgment. I don’t recall hearing of any problems afterwards if someone has won a case. In general a creditor who has lost a case can’t simply go to court with the same case again.
Rosie says
Hi Sara,
I entered a DMP back in 2022 and most of my debts defaulted that year. The following haven’t and have defaulted at later dates:
An updraft loan that I entered into a DMP for in 2022 was sold to Lantern in 2024 and they subsequently defaulted me 29/05/24. I complained about this loan but the complaint wasn’t upheld.
Nationwide defaulted me 04/11/2023 over a year after me entering into a DMP. I hadn’t missed any payments during that time. I have complained about this debt and I’m waiting for a decision from FOS.
Is there anything I can do about this? Updraft didn’t register a default so I’m assuming Lantern were within their rights to register this.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what year did the updraft loan start?
Rosie says
The updraft loan started in 2021
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you make an affordability complaint to Updraft (not lantern). If you win that the negative mark may be removed.
Same to Nationwide and also look at this for all the other debts in your DMP! Winning any will reduce the DMP balance and may help clean up your credit record sooner
Rosie says
I have made affordability complaints for both. The updraft one was not upheld by FOS and I am waiting for a FOS decision on the nationwide loan.
I’m wondering if I can ask Updraft to apply the default from an earlier date even though lantern defaulted it once it was sold to them? Same with nationwide although surely it would be more straight forward as they still hold the debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can The 3-6 months in arrears rule applies to Updraft and Nationwide. It depends a bit on how much they were being paid in the DMP – if they were being paid half the normal amount it takes 6-12 months of DMP payments to get into the 3-6 months arrears situation.
If Updraft add an earlier default date, Lantern then has to use that.
It’s up to you if you think the hassle is worth it to try to get the default date moved back a few months.
Rosie says
Thank you. The original updraft payment was £169 a month and I was paying £28 a month so I would have been in arrears fairly quickly. I have written to updraft as that is the default I’m most concerned about due to it being a 2 year difference. I will let you know how I get on.
Shelley says
Nationwide cancelled my £1000 overdraft in 2019 due to FCA “fairer lending” changes & on 10/09/2020 a default was applied. My credit file shows AR for March, April & May 2019 – I belive this was the 3 months notice they gave me to repay my overdraft. They then started recording missed payments /arrears (1,2,3 etc) from June 2019 and from Oct 2019 the marker remained at 6 until default was applied in Oct 2020. In Oct 2020 I started a DMP with Payplan and the default was added as “standard practise for DMP’s”. I tried to argue the case that a default then was unfair because the overdraft being cancelled wasnt my fault & i wasn’t aware an external DMP would trigger a default. I also requested the default be removed due to irresponsible lending but this got declined. Now, although the debt was cleared in Feb 2023, it is my only remaining default on my credit file and doesn ‘t drop off until Oct 2026. I am wanting to get a mortgage and this is causing issues. What can I do please and how should I manage this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
a debt that defaulted in 2020 and was cleared in February 2023 will often not be a problem for a mortgage application. Have you talked to a good broker about this?
Shelley says
Yes, its a problem because I am applying for a shared-ownership mortgage so they are stricter, especially as I am in receipt of UC.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry, but what Nationwide have done sounds normal to me. I doubt they will agree to remove the default
Shelley says
Thanks, could I not request for the default date to be changed to September 19 when the debt was 3 months in arrears (3months AR & then 3 months after they wanted it repaid in full by)? It seems unfair they waited until Oct 2020 to issue a default when it had been in arrears for so long?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can request anything you want. The SCOR rules talk about how many months “in arrears” you are, and say a default should be added when you are 3-6 months in arrears. And they say that other rules may apply to overdrafts.
If you can point to a date where you are 6 months in arrears, that should help
Leanne says
Hi Sara,
I received a notification from Experian on 25.06.25 that there has been a default put on my credit report. It has been registered by what appears to be a debt collection agency and simply lists it as ‘water’ and JC International.
It is listed as the account being opened in April 2020.
Then it says that the default date is November 2023 but it is only just now being shown in 2025.
I had no knowledge of this default and it is for an address I no longer live at and haven’t lived at since September 2022.
In that time I have moved house twice, bought my first house (been approved for a mortgage) and am in the process of moving house again (having been approved for the new mortgage just 3 months ago and it is currently going through conveyancing).
The amount of the debt is £535 – if I had been aware of any debt then I would have paid it. I would also still be able to pay it in full if it would help. I have no other defaults, ccjs or anything in fact my credit score was 999 until this.
I have no idea what to do from here and I’m completely panicking as I know the mortgage lender will run another credit check on completion date and I may lose my deposit and the house because it is likely that they will not release the funds.
Any help will be hugely appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Paying it now will not delete the default.
If you are going through a broker, tell the broker what has happened and ask for their advice. Otherwise tell the mortgage lender that you have no knowledge of this and will be disputing it.
And get in touch with the water company.