“This default is destroying my credit score – how do I get rid of it?”
This is a very common question!
It’s sometimes asked when people’s finances have improved and they are trying to clean up old problems on their credit history as fast as possible. Or sometimes the default feels unfair in someway
I will look at various cases to see what – if anything – can be done for each of them.
But first, there is no magic trick that an “expert” can use to do this. Don’t ever pay a firm that says they can sort this for you – their claims are often exaggerated, they can’t do anything that you couldn’t do yourself.
Contents
The rules about when debts disappear from your credit record
There are three credit reference agencies (CRAs) in Britain – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They all apply the same rules about reporting defaults.
How long a debt stays on your record depends on whether the record shows a default date or not. The two rules are:
- a debt with no default date stays on your record for six years from the date when it is settled. This applies whether it was settled in full or partially;
- a debt with a default date stays for six years from that date. You may have paid it in full, made a full and final settlement, not paid anything to it, or still be making payments… none of these matter, the debt is still going to drop off after six years.
So the default date is an important piece of information for you to know. Don’t guess! Check your records with all three CRAs so you know exactly what they say.
Having a debt drop off your r4ecord because the default was over 6 years ago is the same in practice as having the default deleted.
Situations where the default should be removed
I am not saying these will be easy, but these are the most likely cases to succeed.
“I never owed this money”
If the debt isn’t yours, you should tell the lender and ask them to remove it from your credit record. It’s not just your credit record that matters here, you don’t want to be chased for money by the creditor or be taken to court for a CCJ.
If you recognise the debt but you don’t think you were ever in arrears with it, ask the lender for a statement of account to see where the problem is.
“It’s not fair – I only missed one payment”
In this case, no default should have been added as you were never three months in arrears!
Write to the lender, then appeal to the ICO if the lender refuses to correct it, see the above article about what the default date should be for details.
“A debt collector has added a later default”
They shouldn’t have done this. A debt collector can add a new record, but it should have the same default date as the original lender.
Write to the debt collector and ask them to correct it, and then appeal to the ICO if necessary.
“The default was added very late”
The rules say that a default should normally be when you are 3-6 months in arrears compared to what your normal payments would have been.
If a creditor has added a default later than this, it should be changed to be earlier. That means it will drop off sooner, and your credit record will be clean sooner.
See “What should the default date for a debt be?” which describes how to get your record corrected. For many people this is just as good as getting the default deleted and it can be a lot easier.
Cases where you have to win the argument to have it removed
“I was never properly informed about the debt”
Arguments can occur between you and a creditor if you feel they didn’t properly write to you about the debt, explain what the debt was or the size of it. Perhaps you moved house and the creditor carried on writing to your old address even though you notified them you had moved – this sort of thing.
If you paid the debt promptly as soon as you know about it, you could ask the lender to remove the default. Pointing out that you previously had a good history of paying their bills on time and that you don’t have other credit record problems can support your argument. You may have more luck going to the relevant Ombudsman rather than the ICO if the creditor refuses.
“The debt isn’t enforceable”
Sometimes this will work, sometimes it won’t.
- sometimes a lender will admit – or a court may decide – that a debt isn’t enforceable because it is statute barred. In this case a default should have been added to the debt more than 6 years ago, so you should ask for the default date to be changed so that it is earlier and then the debt will drop off your record.
- when a creditor cannot produce the CCA agreement for a consumer credit debt it is unenforceable in court. See Debts – why, how & when to ask for the CCA agreement for details – this does not apply to all types of debt. Here the debt still legally exists and you owe it so the default will not be deleted.
“I should never have been given the loan!”
Many thousands of defaults have been deleted from credit records in the lest few years when people have won affordability complaints about guarantor loans, payday loans etc.
Lenders should have checked you could afford to repay a loan before they gave you the loan. A loan is only “affordable” if you can repay it without hardship and without having to borrow again or get behind with bills.
If a proper check would have shown that the credit wasn’t affordable for you, ask for a refund of the interest you paid and for any defaults or late payments markers to be deleted from your credit file. See Affordability refunds for info on how to make these complaints for different sorts of credit including payday loans, Provident, guarantor loans, car finance, large bad credit loans and even catalogues.
Hundreds of thousands of these complaints have worked. Here is a comment from a reader who made a successful complaint against Satsuma, a payday lender:
I accepted Satsuma’s offer on 2nd January and received the cheque on 17th January. The negative information already removed from my credit file as well which made my credit score jump by 100 points :)
“I was in an abusive relationship”
Many people, usually women, have been pressured to take out credit for a partner or had a joint account with an abusive partner. Financial abuse is now recognised as a serious problem and most banks now subscribe to the Financial Abuse Code of Practice published in 2018.
If you feel the debt and the default resulted from an abusive relationship, I suggest going to your local Citizens Advice and asking for their help to see if the debt could be written off and the default removed.
When it is very unlikely a default will be removed
“The lender agreed to reduced payments but still added a default”
This can feel very unfair, but legally they can do this when the arrears reach 3-6 months.
This applies if you have payments arrangements with one or two lenders or a debt management plan through a DMP firm. See How does a DMP affect my credit rating for more details.
And although you may hate that default, it may actually be better for you than an Arrangement To Pay (AP) marker on your file! A defaulted record disappears after 6 years, an AP marker stays for 6 years after the debt is settled.
“The lender is adding a new default every month!”
This may make your credit report look dreadful but it is normal and it doesn’t matter:
- the later defaults don’t make your credit rating worse because lenders’ scoring systems only look at the first one;
- the debt will drop off 6 years after the first default, the later ones don’t affect this.
“I agree with the default, but six years is too long!”
If you just had a temporary problem, perhaps you lost your job, or couldn’t work when you were unwell, but after a year you were sorted and back making payments it can seem very hard for this black mark to stay on your credit file for so long.
But there is nothing you can do to make the default go away sooner.
You can add a Notice of Correction to your credit file to say why the problem happened.
As the default gets older, some lenders will be less worried about it. But for some creditors, eg many high street mortgage lenders, any default, even five years ago, may result in a rejection.
Usually the best you can do is settle the debt as soon as possible. This doesn’t get rid of the default and doesn’t improve your credit score, but it will mean that more lenders are willing to give you credit.
Pay a defaulted account to help credit score?
Is an unknown debt on your credit file?
Improve your credit score for a mortgage
Marnie Midwinter says
Due to reasons, I lost my income and couldn’t meet payments with my creditors. So I contacted all my creditors via post due to mental health issues not being able to communicate by phone.
All my creditors have put me on temporary payment suspensions – none have graciously registered defaults.
Except PayPal Credit. I contacted by post & left comments in my account. They didn’t responded to correspondence. In November, I could pay them off in full so I did. A few days later I noticed a default registered that month.
I was having a good mental health day a few days after so did call them and asked for charges to be refunded and query the default. They said they’re an online company so can’t receive mail and can only be contacted by phone. So they claim I never communicated. They agreed to refund charges but said they’ve closed my account so technically I can’t receive them (bizarre). They say they’ve closed my account but too this day I still get marketing emails saying I’ve PayPal Credit to use.
Anyway I still don’t feel like the charges or default was fair – I’ve tried to complain direct but it’s all shoddy. I wanted to take it to Resolver but they don’t recognise the company. Is this a lost cause or is there something I can do?
MrS says
Sara. I have a question. It may be a bit complex.
I had a default with Satsuma, due to drop off my credit file Nov 22, so next year. I complained via the FOS and won.
However, this is where I’m confused.
Satsuma have put the loan back ‘live’ and are now reporting green ticks. What are they reporting on? I have no agreement in place to pay the outstanding balance with them yet.
Secondly, will this be reported for another 6 years from when I pay the outstanding back? If that’s the case then it’s worse for me to have won with the FOS. I’ll have a loan on my file that mortgage lenders don’t like and it will have been there for 11 years by the end.
I might as well have not complained and let the default drop off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you hadn’t complained the loan would have been sold to a debt collector and you would likely have ended up with a CCJ. How much is still owed? Why haven’t you made an arrangement to pay? What other problem debts do you have?
MrS says
Well the loan was over 4 years old and no contact had been made. Had it had went to court I’d have paid it.
£900 is owed abs I haven’t set up an arrangement yet as this has just happened. That’s why before I pay I asked the question while the complaint is open.
So I’m going to pay, but don’t want another 5 years reporting. And I don’t have a new agreement. So what are they reporting on?
I’ve already suffered with the default in 2016
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the Ombudsman usually says that a lender should remove negative marks, but delete the loan from the credit record – which is what Satsuma has done.
If you had wanted the default to remain on there, it would have been good to discuss this with your FOS adjudicator.
Once the debt has been settled, it won’t be a problem for most lenders. Only mortgage lenders tend to mind a lot about settled payday loans with no missed payments or defaults. So you need to get this debt cleared a couple of years before a mortgage application.
Satsuma may accept a partial settlement if you could offer one?
MrS says
Thanks for the response Sara.
This is my issue. The loan has been brought back ‘active’ so when I pay it off, it will still be reported 6 years from close?…when it would’ve been gone in 18 months if I left it. That’s what I can’t understand.
It stated I should be put in a position had I not got the loan. That’s not the case where.
I have the money to pay it off, that’s not the issue.
This issue is it still being on my credit file for another 6 year. That’s going to affect me more even after winning my case. And will have been on there for 11 years in total of that happens.
Also, it now shows years of a balance not decreasing bit green ticks. Anyone looking at that would think something is wrong.
I was under the impression I won, I pay the whole balance and the loan disappears from my CF?
If it has been judged as unfair and had previously been in default what are they reporting on now? What are the green ticks? There’s is no agreement to report on?
Hope that makes sense.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But if you pay it off, it’s just an old settled loan on your credit record, with no problems. Only mortgage lenders care about old payday loans, and then only for them last couple of years.
I see what you are saying but no one has seen this as a big problem before. And I don’t think it will be a big problem for you.
Chen says
I’ve won a case to have a default removed. How much points would this affect my credit score by?
Sarah says
How did you manage to get it removed?
Chen says
Hey again!
I made a claim that the loan was unaffordable and the company upheld it. This was my only default.
Weatherman says
Hi Chen
It depends a bit on the rest of your situation (whether you have other defaults, and how old it was). There’s information about the negative impact a default has on your credit score (and therefore the positive impact of getting it removed) here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-score-change/
Chen says
Thanks Weatherman!
This was my only default so I’m hoping my score improves. Will it really be by 350 points?
Sarah says
Hi Sara
My son took out a mobile phone contract in my name and hid the letters from me until I received a letter from a debt collection agency it was marked as 4 missed payments by then on my credit file I contacted the debt collector and agreed to pay in full the outstanding amount which I did but the mobile company still placed a default on my credit file. No payments have been registered as made either on my credit file what can I do to have this removed please
Weatherman says
Hi Sarah
What a nightmare… Unfortunately you’re not the only person this happens to!
Even though you’ve paid the amount due, the default will show on your credit report for six years. The fact you’ve paid it might make a difference to some lenders (that won’t affect your score, but lenders look at the info underneath), but the default stays.
The only way you could get this removed now is if you raise a fraud case, but even then it could be difficult as you’ve paid the money. There’s more info on that route here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/loans-using-your-name-stop-identity-theft/
Mrs G. says
Hello,
I have noticed that on my credit file there has been a default from 2016. Although i know who the company is. They last updated the default on 2017 all the dots are blanked out and says no data. My problem is when the account (Next) was open it was actually my ex husband that did this without me knowing. I was going through a divorce whilst he was still living with us. I was a student at university, and only worked 1 day a week. I havemt a clue how it passed the credit check. I am wanting to apply for a mortgage but the highstreet lender has told me they can’t help until it is removed. I feel victimised as i am being penalised for something that wasn’t anything to do with me.
Joshua says
Hello, I was wondering if you could help. In 2014 I took out a loan to consolidate some smaller debts. Soon after I became ill and as a consequence lost my form of employment. I couldn’t keep up with the payments of the loan. Around 14 – Months after my first missed payment I was issued a default on my credit file. The debt was sold on to a external company. Soon after I got better and paid the debt in full. Fast forward to Feb 2021. I was swiftly rejected for a mortgage due to the default on my credit file. Really my query is, should my default have started 6 months after my first missed payment? Is my default notice correct in that it was put on my credit file Jan 31st 2016 which is also months after my default letter of September 10th 2015. Or rather when should the date of my default be? Any help would be really appreciated :) .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
should my default have started 6 months after my first missed payment?
did you stop making any payments after that for 14 months?
Joshua says
Thanks for the response.
I didn’t pay the agreed amount but I did pay a lesser amount each month. Probably 5-10% of the agreed terms.
Eve says
Hi Sarah,
I had a telecommunications account which was in arrears, the account was passed over to a debt collector, to whom I have been making regular, arranged payments each month, also paying extra each month to pay down the amount. My question is missed payments are continuing to be reported on my credit score from the telecommunications, now placing a default on my file, despite me paying regularly. Is this correct?
Hope you can be of help.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is your account being marked with a D for default each month? or missed payments?
Reena says
I have 3 debts that are being managed by PRA Group. I requested the CCAs for the debts last January and PRA have confirmed they are unable to produce the CCA for 2 of the debts and therefore consider them unenforceable. However, the 3rd debt they confirm is with the their legal department as I received a CCJ in 2017 and I have yet to hear from the legal department. I don’t know whether to pursue the matter of the CCA with the legal department? If I do, and they are unable to produce the CCJ, do I have grounds to challenge the CCJ or is it too late? I only became aware of the CCJ in 2019 (as I had moved address many years before) and it’s only in the last year that I have been made aware that I could request CCA from the companies. Until last year, I had been on a DMP with StepChange for 13 years. Apart from the CCJ, I have successfully been able to get defaults backdated to the correct debts as well as confirmation that other debts are unenforceable.
Do I have any options regarding the outstanding CCJ and CCA or do I just wait for the 6 years to lapse and until the debt drops off my credit file in 2023?
Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if there is a CCJ, the creditor has no obligation to produce the CCA agreement.
You can challenge a CCJ because you never received the papers but
a) this has to be done promptly. You have left this quite a long while.
b) there is no point unless you know you would win a court case as if the CCJ is “set aside” the creditor immediately starts a new court case. If you lose that you have wasted a lot of time & gained a CCJ that will stay on your credit record longer.
Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 if you want to know about how to apply to have a CCJ set aside and they can go through the pros and cons with you in detail.
Dom says
Hi, I hope you could help my case!
I had a account going into default in June 2014, I was moving often and never caught up on the debt. Last year I started taking care of my credit score and can see that my defaulted account is still there. I have been advised to not take any actions as it will be removed after 6 years. However now in Feb 2021 it is still there and didn’t disappear. I have no CCJ in my records either.
What can I do in that case? Any help would be much appreciated!
Weatherman says
Hi Dom
What a strange situation – whoever advised you was correct that a default should drop off after six years. What date does the default show on your credit report?
Dom says
Hi, thank you for a prompt response!
The date I can see on my report says “Account opened 22 Jun 2014” and it has been updated on the 21st of Jan and that is the only date apart from “Payment history” dating back to May 2020 (obviously I have not made any payment towards that debt ever and the amount stays the same).
Weatherman says
Hi Dom
No problem! It doesn’t sound like you actually have a default registered on this account on your credit report. This happens sometimes, annoyingly. Contact the lender and ask them to put one on from the point you’d missed or paid reduced payments for 3-6 months. That should be before February 2015, so should mean the debt is longer on your report.
Dom says
I think from the moment I have opened the account to the point it could’ve gone to default was probably about a year.
Would contacting the lender spark any action from their site, ie taking the matter to the court?
Weatherman says
Hi Dom
From what you’ve said, the debt might be statute-barred. Take a look at this: https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/ If it is, then the lender can’t take you to court.
Otherwise it is a bit of a risk that contacting them prompts them to take action. So your best bet may be to wait until it’s statute-barred, then contact them. (Once it becomes statute-barred, contacting them doesn’t ‘unbar’ it.)
If you’re not sure which option you want to go for, I’d suggest speaking to National Debtline: 0808 808 4000
Dom says
Thank you so much for that!
I think I might give it few more months and wait. My only worry would be CCJ, and since I have moved houses again (recently this January), I don’t know what are the chances the lender will take actions and notify me prior that. Worth mentioning I do update my addresses each time with all the providers, bank etc so it shouldn’t be difficult to track me.
I am pretty sure that my debt was passed over to a debt collecting agency Hoist Finance, that what my credit report says.
A says
So my credit card with Nationwide defaulted in Jan 2015 and I had to get Nationwide to remove it in Jan this year because they had not removed it. Just gone onto my credit files and they have put it back on but dated 18 Nov 2018!
Just called them and they have said this is a known issue with Credit Cards and I will have to call them every month to do a manual removal! Ive just lost it on the phone with them, im so stressed out. Is there anything I can do? Has anyone else had this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them a complaint and say this is very stressful for you and you want to ask for compensation for each month this happens if they agree it is their error and they cannot put it right.
A says
There is a balance outstanding and I’m not sure if I did or didn’t pay regular payments to them after the default date for some time, it was such a long time ago. I have no idea if the balance that they are starting is correct – it seems to be higher.
If I did make payments then it wont be statue barred. I’m really trying to sort my credit file out – I paid everything except this one. I was advised not to as it was close to dropping off my file.
I don’t know if I should offer them a partial settlement or full or take my chances with it. I don’t want a CCJ. Obviously by speaking to them I am acknowledging the Debt as well.
Please help – I’m really stressed out.
Mr A says
Hello,
I was declared bankrupt in May 2019. Discharged 12 months later in May 2020. My credit score is now going the right way and very slowly increasing. When I look at my credit file there are still 2 creditors that mark my account as a default each month where as other company’s that were included in my bankruptcy are no longer on credit file. Is there anything I can do about the 2 company’s that update this every month or do they just update this every month for the 6 years from my original bankruptcy order.
Thanks
A
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-file-after-bankruptcy/ for this situation and what to do.
Joan tiller says
Hi there I have an unpaid default which is 5 years and 4 months old. It was for a credit card of 3,500. My question is can the debt company which it was sold to reregister it again or turn it into a ccj and will they have to let me know before they do this? The debt company haven’t got in touch with me for 4 years now because last time they called I was suffering with a break down and they put it on hold but never called back to this day.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
an unpaid default which is 5 years and 4 months old
Is there a default date on your credit record with that date on it?
This may not be the same as when you think you stopped paying.
Henry says
I hope you can help me. Following my divorce, my ex-wife defaulted on her car loan that was taken in my name. This default is dated May 2018, but she claimed to have paid the balance in full since Sept 2018. On my credit report the status is satisfied, does this mean that she made a full payment? I really don’t trust her, and how can I purged the default from my records? I am considering applying for a mortgage in the coming months, will this affect my application?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
as the loan was in your name, the lender should give you a copy of the account on the loan. At least you will then know what has happened.
If the loan shows as satisfied it is possible she paid it completely but you need to know in case she stopped paying and the debt has been sold to a debt collector.
That doesn’t mean there will be any way to get the default removed.
Henry says
Thanks Sara, I’ll contact the lender.
Should I be able to prove that the loan was secured for my ex-wife, will the lender change the name on their records to hers, and therefore no more default on my credit report?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. They lent the money to you, not your ex.
Rob Hoyle says
Morning Sara. I have a Tesco mobile default, dated 1st July 2017. This was for a contract i took out, at £10 per month. on 16th december 2016. I paid the first month upfront, and the rest on DD. on the 1st february Tesco deducted £60, which I reversed. Apprently it was for £10 for the contract and £50 for a buffer. Nowhere on my contract at the time was there any agreement on a £50 buffer payment. Payment then resumed on 1st March £10, and 3rd April £10, after which Tesco then closed my account and demanded the balance of about £180 is memory serves due to a missed payment of £10 I completely disputed this, as the error was their fault, they had no authorisation to deduct an additional £50 buffer. Trying to get through to their customer service line was a challenge. i think i gave up most times after 20 or 30 minutes. However, instead of heading to court, where i would have a more then decent chance of winning the case, they lodged a default. I did not wory about it at the time, and left it as that. eventually when i wanted to buy a home, it came back to bite me, so i paid the balance of £180 to clear it. Now, as this is not an error on my part, but an unauthorised deduction on their part, is their any chance of getting this default removed?