“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 for some reason.
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
When debts drop off your credit record
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 without a 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 record 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.
“I was never in arrears”
If you recognise the debt but you don’t think you were ever in arrears, ask the lender for a statement of account. That may show where the problem is. You can then check against your bank statements to see if you made other payments that weren’t recorded.
“The lender stopped taking the money”
Sometimes the lender stopped taking the monthly payment by direct debit or by continuous payment authority. You may have assumed the debt was repaid and only found out later a default had been added to your credit record.
Here it is the fact that the lender stopped taking the payments that matters. You may be able to get evidence from your bank that you did not cancel the DD or CPA until months later. If it was the lender’s error, you should not have a default and you can ask for this to be removed.
“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 Financial Ombudsman 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 Financial Ombudsman 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
“The loan was unaffordable”
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 more money.
If a proper check would have shown that the credit wasn’t affordable for you at the time you applied, ask for a refund of the interest you paid and for any defaults or late payment markers to be deleted from your credit file.
You can also win complaints against credit cards and catalogues if your credit limit was increased stupidly high when you were only making minimum payments. And against overdrafts when you are in the overdraft for all or almost all of the month and this has been going on for more than a year.
See Affordability refunds for how to make these complaints. There are different articles for car finance, large loans, credit cards (including catalogues and store cards) and overdrafts. There is a free template in each article that you can use.
Hundreds of thousands of these complaints have worked.
Sometimes the lender will only remove “negative information” such as defaults and missed payments. Sometimes the whole credit record will be deleted.
Here is a comment from a reader who made a successful complaint against a payday lender:
I accepted Satsuma’s offer on 2nd January and received the refund on 17th January. The negative information was removed from my credit file as well which made my credit score jump by 100 points :)
“I was never properly informed about the debt or the arrears”
You may feel the creditor didn’t explain what the debt was or how much interest would be added.
Perhaps you moved house and the creditor carried on writing to your old address even though you notified them you had moved. That is an error by the creditor.
If you paid the debt promptly as soon as you know about it, you could ask the lender to remove the default. Point out that you previously had a good history of paying their bills on time and that you don’t have other credit record problems. This can support your argument. You may have more luck going to the relevant Ombudsman if the creditor refuses.
“The debt isn’t enforceable”
This may not be easy.
Sometimes a lender will agree a debt isn’t enforceable because it is statute-barred. In this case a default should probably have been added to the debt more than 6 years ago. So you can 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 isn’t 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. But here the debt still legally exists and you owe it even though you do not have to pay it. As a result, the default will not normally be deleted.
“I was in an abusive relationship”
Many 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 2018 Financial Abuse Code of Practice.
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 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.
“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 payment arrangements with one or two lenders or a debt management plan through a DMP firm.
And although you may hate that default, it may 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.
“Six years is too long!”
If you just had a temporary problem it can seem very hard for this black mark to stay on your credit file for so long.
But there is legally 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 unless it has been settled for several years.
Usually the best you can do is settle the debt as soon as possible. This doesn’t improve your credit score, but more lenders may be willing to give you credit.
When the lender has gone bust and can’t be contacted
This is a special case.
If the lender will not respond to the Credit Reference Agencies, then you can ask the CRAs to “suppress” the credit records. If this happens, although the records are still there, they will not be shown to any other lenders making a credit check on you.
Read How to correct credit records if the lender has gone under in detail and see if you think it can help you.
Do NOT try to do this if the lender is still going. Or if it is the early stages of an administration – then it is better to put in a claim for unaffordable lending. If your claim is upheld, the default will be deleted, and often the administrators just delete the credit record as it is simpler.
Options when cards are maxed out
Is an unknown debt on your credit file?
Improve your credit score for a mortgage
Marcus says
thanks you have explained this v well. I was worried about extra defaults each month.
Adam says
I’ve been living abroad the past two years, and checked mail correspondence to an old address when I returned home this year for holidays. I opted for the ‘paperless option’ for my monthly bank statements. I had a student overdraft account which was interest free, and I was paying this off. This year when I returned I found a series of letters from the bank informing me that my overdraft had expired and needed to be payed off. In the last letter it mentioned that my debt had been passed to a debt collection agency. The first letter I have is dated 10th November and this final letter 19th December (there may have been other letters which were not saved by the new occupants of that property). I received this letter a week after it was posted and paid the amount off immediately. When I called the bank they informed me that my account had defaulted and had been closed.
I’m very concerned about this default appearing on my credit rating. Do you think there is a chance for me to get this default removed, since I wasn’t aware of the issue (I continued to receive emails about my bank statements with no notifications of this issue) and I resolved the issue immediately upon finding out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Adam, I think you should ask for this to be removed. You can prove you were abroad, you were checking your bank statements which showed nothing and paid it off immediately you found about – that all adds up to a good case for the bank deciding it would be unfair to leave the default.
If the bank refuses, I suggest complaining to the Finanicial Ombudsman about this on the grounds that you have not been treated fairly, not the ICO as technically you have defaulted (overdrafts are repayable on demand and the bank did write to you about it).
John says
My defaults have been removed & I’m now looking to get a mortgage, should I tell them about my history when asked or as it’s no longer on my records say that I haven’t defaulted?
Thanks for any help/advice
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your defaults have been removed, this is because the lender thinks it was wrong to put them there. On that basis there is no need to mention them to a mortgage lender.
Of course if you are asked a specific question “have you ever had any defaults removed from your record?” you would have to tell the truth – but I have never heard of that happening!
lynette says
Hi Sara
i have a default on my credit report for 580 pound for a pay day loan, if i ring them up and offer to pay it will they take it off, also if it is settled will my score improve?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can ask, but they probably won’t…
If it is settled, your credit score will improve a bit and will carry on improving slowly as the default gets older, then have a “bump up” when the default drops off six years after the default date.
BUT
Have you heard about payday loan refunds? For about 6 months people have been getting refunds of interest they paid if they can make a complaint that the loans were not “affordable” Lots more about this, including template letters, here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/. Importantly, if you do win an “affordability” complaint, the loan will be deleted from your credit record – and so the default will disappear. So have a read of that article and see if the “affordability” problem might apply to you!
Gavin Dickinson says
Hi Sara, I’ve recently been handed a letter from a tenant in one of my properties. I was a letter from a CRA saying that SSE energy had put a default on my credit file for £77 pound that was not paid in 2015 from a previous tenant. I didn’t know about this as I’ve never lived in the property, I purchased it as a rental. I had no correspondence from SSE at the address or my home address. Obviously I was mortified and really annoyed. I rang them, paid the debt and asked them to remove it, but they said they couldn’t. What do you suggest? I feel it is totally unacceptable, I have never missed a payment or had any issues ever!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is very annoying, but as the landlord, you have a “deemed contract” for the electricity supply even if you never signed one.
You can put in a formal written complaint to the electricity supplier, saying that you weren’t given any notice of the default being added to your credit record. If (when) this is rejected, you can complain to the credit reference agency – probably Experian. And also put in a complaint to the Ombudsman https://www.ombudsman-services.org/ saying that you are not disputing your liability for the bill but it is unreasonable it should be on your credit record as you were never notified of this and you paid the bill as soon as you were aware of
it.
Sometimes persistence pays off. But I’m not saying this is going to be easy.
Christopher says
Can a CCJ be removed off your credit file if you have written consent for it to be removed by the person/company that issued the CCJ
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, but you could apply to the court to have the CCJ set aside (in which case it would come off your credit record) if you knew the other party wouldn’t contest your application.
Colin says
I have the Scottish equivalent of a CCJ that I am looking to set aside and have to go to court to do so. After the court set the writ aside how long does it usually take to be removed from your credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Colin, I’m not an expert on Scottish court processes, I suggest you talk to National Debtline’s Scottish section 0808 808 4000.
But you have posted this comment on an article about getting a default removed – just getting the court decision set aside may not have any affect on the default on the debt.
Stathis says
Hi,
I have a defaulted report on my credit file for a few weeks now for £50 from Orange (EE). They have not contacted me for about a year regarding this therefore I have completely forgotten about it and I only found out through Experian. Is it possible to raise a complaint when coming to make the payment? Also will this effect my chances of getting s mortgage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Stathis, yes you can complain if you feel you were not notified that they were going to add the default to your credit record. It is however not easy to get this sort of thing changed, it requires a lot of perseverance. And yes, this default is likely to make it harder for you to get a good mortgage offer.
Richard says
I have noticed I have two defaults for the same mobile phone account about a year apart. The first is for about £30 and the second just over £100. Both are paid in full. I have disputed the second as I didn’t get any bills or notice of default. They say it was issued correctly so will not remove it. Can two defaults be issued for the same account for different time periods ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in practice I can’t see that the second default is going to matter much – it won’t make much difference to your credit score and the record will disappear 6 years after the first default date.
Emma says
Hi! After being made redundant at the end of 2014 I made arrangements with my creditors (I was in a lot of debt) to reduce my repayments temporarily.
All of the arrangements were agreed with the lenders and I always paid as per the temporary agreements. Because of this the majority of my lenders have never defaulted my account – except for 1.
I had a balance of around £15k owed on a loan and repayments of £300 a month which they agreed to reduce to £100 for 6 months. In that time they registered my account as in default. They said I would receive the letter but I could just ignore it – however I did not realise the impact this would have.
Since the 6 month period finished I have gone back to the standard payment of £300 and repaid the arrears which built up in the 6 month arrangement.
I’m still waiting for the account to be updated to shoe I am now back up to date with payments but I’m guessing my credit score will still be poor because of this?
Is there any scope for me to say the default is unfair or would it perhaps be worth putting a notice of correction to explain?
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid that this default meets the usual criteria – your account got to the point where it was more than 3 months in arrears. S they are unlikely to remove it. You can add a notice of correction saying this happened after you were made redundant and you have now got a new job and repaid the arrears. I am not sure it will make a lot of difference though. What will generally help with your credit score is trying to repay as much debt as possible as fast as possible.
Norma says
I had problems about five years ago lost my job and my marriage ended. I had a Nat West loan of about £3000.00 outstanding. This will clear from my credit record in about a years time. It will be 6 years next year. Should I now make an offer to repay this outstanding debt as I have been told that there will always be a record of this somewhere?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Norma, i think you will find this article useful as it looks at your situation: https://debtcamel.co.uk/no-calls-or-letters-about-debt/
Adam says
Had a default placed on CR by Halifax in 2013 – although I never received any paperwork.
Anyway, when i fell into financial diffiuclty i went though a DMP for a reduced payement which was accepted. I made the payments fine and on time, however they kept on being returned by Halifax. On my CR it states ‘AR’ for the arranged payment plan then later, around the same time that they kept returning payments, my file shpws as 1 missed payment, then 2, then 3 etc until default.
i have now cleared the debt, however this incident happened around 4 or 5 times where Halifax would return the payment for no reason and then call me up to ask for the which i had already made but they had returned.
I recently opened a complaint asking for the default to be remeoved (long shot i nkow) on the basis that as they accepted an arrangement and subsequently marked my CR as such but they they returned payments which were made on time. They have appologised for the returning of payments and admitted fault and even offered me compensation, however have stated that they cant change the default. I have asked them to put this in writing.
Is there any scope to having the default removed as a gesture as they have admitted to returning payments for no reason and which were paid on time?
Any help, as ever appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well anything can be done as a “gesture” if the creditor wants to … but this doesn’t sound like a strong case for complaining to the Information Commissioner or the Financial Ombudsman that there shouldn’t be a default. You may find this post helpful which looks at what the default debt for a debt should be: https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
Valisha jogia says
In 2011 Littlewoods put a default on my credit file for not settling a debt of £291. During that time my father passed away suddenly and i was living away from home with my mother to sort things out. Anyway I totally forgot about the debt. Until me and my husband applied for a mortgage. And getting refused. I settled the amount owned. And informed them of my situation at the time. They said its in the complaints department. Is there anything else I can do. Only got a year of the default left but it’s settled now. So stressed out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With only one default, now settled and so long ago, I suggest talking to a mortgage broker about lenders who might consider you.
Lucy says
Hi,
I have a CCJ from unpaid university fees to which I don’t agree with, how can I get this removed from my credit score?
Also I have a default bank account (repossession) with the balance of £2000 and now unable to open any bank account including basic bank accounts this happened in 2013, how can I get this solved?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you never received the court papers about the CCJ, you may be able to have it set aside – call National Debtline if you want to discuss this 0808 808 4000. But if you did get the court papers they is probably nothing you can do as you should have defended the court claim at the time.
You will be now able to open any of the basic bank accounts listed here as this has become much easier recently: https://debtcamel.co.uk/bank-accounts-after-bankruptcy/
Suzi says
Hi
Advice needed i have a default registered March 2012 due to be deleted March 2018 -If i offer a Full & Final settlement will it still go in March 2018 Or 6 years after i settle it ??
Its a old credit card debt passed to Debt Collectors ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Suzi, the debt & the default will still go in 2018, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ff-credit-record/ for details.
Peter says
Hi, I would really appreciate your advice.
I need to obtain a Company Car (Car allowance, so Private Lease) to maintain my job.
I have been declined as the Lease companies will not entertain anyone with a Default, this could cause serious issues for me as I need to maintain a car < 3years old.
I have a default to British Gas, account opened in 2008, allegedly defaulted 29.01.2011 for £938, settled in February 2014, is there anything I can do to have this removed before it ends in January 2017?
Thank you in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nothing you have said suggests a reason for it to be removed. If it was possible to argue the default should be 6 months earlier, it would drop off sooner.
Otherwise you are going to have to talk to more leasing companies. With a default that old and settled, you should be able to find a lender. If you keep being refused, google bad credit car leasing that will give some pointers but they will be expensive, so shop around!
ash says
Hello, my husband took out a o2 contract a few years back and had unlimited minutes, he assumed everything was ok and he was using his unlimited minutes when o2 sent him a bill of £500 approx, we called them and they said that he had gone over his minutes, i explained he is on unlimited and they said he had been using the unlimited mins excessively!!! anyway a member of their team had said as a good will gesture they will remove the amount.. so now two years down the line we have realised they have given my husband a default!! we had no letters from them to say we are issuing a default or nothing but had thought everything was fine..as customer services said they would remove us owing the monies. please can anyone help as my husbands credit file is perfect but only this one default has caused problems and might do in the future.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to put in a complaint to o2, see http://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain. Detail the previous problem, when you contacted them, what they agreed to do, the fact that your husband has carried on using them (I assume?) and they haven’t mentioned the debt since then.
Then ask them to delete the default. This SHOULD be simple to resolve but sometimes mobile companies can be difficult!
James says
I have found a default that has just been put on my credit file by EE/Lowell from a phone contract that I paid up early in full settlement in june 2014.
Now I find that a default of £28 has been added to my credit file, and has ruined any chance i have of getting a new mortgage.
I have complained to Lowell that a final settlement was paid and my lines cut on the same day, which they have records of, which they say they will investigate.
Also the phone contract was in my company name with EE business and not a personal contract, so how can it show on my personal credit file.
Need some advise as where to go with this, just to get removed from my credit file for my mortgage.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest also putting in a complaint in writing to EE, as it is their error that the “debt” was sold to Lowells.
You would have to look carefully at your contract with EE to see if you gave any personal guarantee over the contract if it was in the name of a limited company.
Cillié says
Hi
I have a default against my credit score, and found out the hard way when I wanted to buy a car that I won’t get a loan that easy.
Problem is the default shouldn’t even been there. I applied to a course back in 2013, when I wanted to do my practical, they sort of send me in circles. Can’t name the company as I singed a document that states I’m not allowed to after I actually wanted to take them to court. It never came to a court case as they accepted to pay back all the money I paid until I actually stopped the payments I made to them in 2014. The default against me is Feb 2016?
There anything I can do to get this default against my name removed as it clearly shouldn’t be there?
Thanks in Advance
CT
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the debt showing as having been satisfied or is there a balance outstanding?
Cillié says
Shows balance outstanding, but that’s why they only paid back what I paid them till I stopped the direct debit. As that was what was agreed apon by them that I won’t owe them anything. Or that’s what the Solicitor told me at least.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your correspondence with them shows they have agreed that you don’t owe them any money and they refunded what already paid then really the whole debt should be deleted from your credit record. An alternative would be for the default to be removed, the balance to show as zero and the debt to be marked as settled / closed.
You need to complain to the data controller of the firm that has added the debt to your credit file – this is probably a bank / finance company. use version of the letters here https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/ and attach the correspondence that shows what the course company agreed to.
Angela says
My credit report shows a debt that I have paid in full as Status:Default. The balance is showing as Nil, but the default has not been lifted. This is an old Orange debt, now transferred to EE, and I no longer have the account. It is virtually impossible to contact EE as there doesn’t seem to be any way of getting through on their phone lines without an account number. Any advice on how to get this default lifted from my report would be gratefully received. This was not a F&F settlement, I actually paid what was owing in full.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The default won’t be deleted just because you have paid it. The balance should show as zero – it sounds as though this has happened? and it should be marked as Closed / settled /satisfied in some way – different reports use slightly different working. A new D marker should not be being added every month.
If any of this seems wrong on your record, you should write to the Data Controller for EE and if that doesn’t get this sorted, complain to the ICO – see this post https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/ which is about changing the date of a default, but the “how to complain to the lender and the ICO” bits are the same for any credit record problem
Hannah says
Hello,
My partner and I want to apply for a mortgage in the beginning of 2017. His credit score is high and outgoings are low, however I have a default (The default date is 11/10/2014) from missed credit card payments 2 years ago due to being in hospital with a broken neck and falling behind. I have paid off the debt and have tried to get the default removed due to the circumstance I was in but don’t seem to be having much luck! We have a deposit of £30000 and a joint salary of £54000 do you think we will get a mortgage? Is there anything else I can do? I feel like I have exhausted all routes… Thank you in advance.
H
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have tried the “sympathy” approach and it hasn’t worked… the only way you could insist the default is removed is if you were never behind by 3 months payments, in that case no default should have been added… see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/. That has letters for asking the lender to remove the default and for going to the ICO if the lender refuses.
If that isn’t going to work because your arrears were worse than that, then the defaults are going to stay I am afraid. However there are some mortgage lenders that will offer mortgages if a default is over three years old and it has been repaid for while. So you may be able to get a mortgage from the end of 2017. Make sure you go to a mortgage broker though, not direct to a high street lender.
Jane says
Hi Sara,
I discovered that both my and my husband’s credit reports had been marked with a default from British Gas.
I have complained due to the circumstances which are:
When I moved house I called them with the final meter readings and my forwarding address. They never wrote to me. The first correspondence I received was from a debt collector a few months later. I settled with them immediately.
During the complaints process, BG have admitted that they never updated my address so letters were being sent to my old address. However, they are arguing that all correspondence was going to an email address (not sure which one but not the one I use) and that when I didn’t hear anything I should have chased them up. Of course, I am arguing that they should have sent the physical correspondence to the correct address.
They have offered me a £15 goodwill gesture to apologise for sending letters to my old address but said they won’t be removing the adverse markers.
Is the admittance of their mistake regarding the address sufficient for me to argue this through to removal? And if necessary, who should I complain to?
Thanks very much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You say that the first you knew was when you got letters from a debt collector “a few months later” – do you know how many months? because if it was less than three, then a default should not have been registered as you were never 3 months in arrears. In this case complain to the ICO as this post https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/ explains.
But if it is more than three months you are not in a very strong position – you knew there was a debt but didn’t follow it up. I still think it is worth taking the complaint further though as they didn’t use the right address – you should be able to go to “Ombudsman Services: Energy” – there should have been details at the bottom of your complaint rejection letter from British Gas.
Jane says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for answering.
The thing was, I didn’t know there was a debt, I didn’t know if the final bill would be in credit/debit or what. When I didn’t hear from them, I assumed nothing was due and thought nothing more of it.
I think it was about six months after I moved.
I’ll certainly be taking that route should they reject the complaint, although we’re still in correspondence stage at this time.
Thanks for your time.
Jack Hunt says
Hi,
I have recently started the process of purchasing a house and have come across a default on my credit file from virgin media.
The reason I want the default removed is because I never received a letter or an email informing me of the late payment. The direct debit never came from my account, it came from a group account set up at university that was not connected to my name, therefore with out receiving any information from virgin media I could not possibly know of the missing payment. It was the last payment that was missed and it was over 4 years ago. Because the payment never came from my account can they give me a default?
Carrying on, I moved house the month of the missing payment and informed virgin media of my new address. I even had a new account running with virgin media before the default was issued. I never missed a payment with this account and shows that virgin had my new address. No information regarding the missing payment was sent to this new address so I could not possible know of the missing payment.
What’s the best way to get the default removed not just settled?
Thank you,
Jack
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You would need to see a copy of the account opening documentation to see if they are allowed to do this – I suspect they are.
However you would seem to have a good case that they never notified you of the missing payment. On this basis I suggest putting in a complaint to Virgin (use the Resolver system, it’s free and it takes you though the various stages http://www.resolver.co.uk/companies/virgin-media-complaints), pointing out what a good long term customer you have been.
Jack says
Thanks very much for the advice Sara – they have removed the default :)
I sent a very polite email (to their executive team) stating that due to it being such a small amount and being a long term customer can they remove the default as it is effecting my credit file and therefore chances of getting a mortgage. I then called everyday to chase them up and it was sorted with in a week.
For anyone else in this situation I highly recommend going down the sympathy route as there are very few reasons they will have to legally remove them.
Thanks,
Jack
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Politeness and persistence pays off – well done!
Mark says
Hi Jack
I’m having an almost indentical problem. I didn’t have a great credit score but have been managing it for almost two years to get it improves.
Yesterday a default appeared on my account from 2013 that I have had no notice of whatsoever.
I’m hoping to apply for a mortgage next year and this has come as a massive shock.
Could you please tell me who you contacted, I’m not having any luck with Virgin media websites.
Thanks,
Mark
Jack says
Hi Mark,
I think your best option is to call and speak to front office customer service, they are more likely to help and a put a note on your file for it to be removed. In all seriousness I would keep calling until you speak to someone who sounds like they would help you I.E not a teenager who doesn’t care.
Be very polite and explain the situation. Say your sorry and you need it removed as this could ruin your chances of getting a mortgage. Possibly add it was a small amount, loyal customer, would have paid if you’d known etc. You need them to remove it on good will, its the only way unless it is an error.
Ask if you paid in full over the phone could they remove the default, they said no to me, its not down to them but can put a note on your file which should help your case. Pay the full amount and they should get you to email the payment / receipt details to email address.
Next step is to email the executive team and underwriters (Executiveteam@virginmedia.co.uk, consumerunderwritingservices@virginmedia.co.uk) with the details they give you, basically summarise your conversation and add in they said it could be removed.
After this its down to luck. Hope it goes well.
Jack
Mrs Kanabar says
Hi
My son recently had change of bank details sent to mortgage express for direct debit payments. He clearly stated the correspondence address on this request yet the mortgage express have put a default on his credit file!! Mortgage express is saying that they sent the letters to the flat address despite informing them by writing of the correspondence address. Payments were immediately made when we were made aware. The lender has still put a default on my sons credit file. Have I got a case to fight this please??
If you can guide me draft something I will appreciate it very much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a good case if your son has a record of what he sent them, although he should perhaps have noticed that the payments weren’t being taken from the new account?
Your son needs to put in the complaint, not you. I suggest doing this online and taking a copy of what he sends. This just needs to make the point that they failed to change the direct debit as instructed and failed to use the new address they were told about, pointing out that he corrected this as soon as he became aware of it and he would like the default removed as it is ME that made the error, not him. If ME reject the complaint he can go to the Financial Ombudsman – this a pretty easy and friendly service to use
Kate says
Hi,
I have a Default status marked against me for a British Gas gas and electric bill, added on 08/02/2014 Noodle informs me.
The issue being that I had paid this bill on 16/09/2013 and have bank statements to prove. I corresponded a lot with BG and various debt collecting agencies throughout 2014. What was weird was that I only lived at the address in question for 4 months, and the first bill I paid had a different customer number to the final bill I received when I left. Btw, I had to chase them to receive a final bill too! It is possible I quoted the old and therefore wrong customer number for my final payment, but still, my bank account was always the same. I was shocked and frankly pretty furious to see this yesterday when I checked my credit score for the first time.
I’ve emailed their customer complaint address, but what are the possible outcomes of this? Can this default be removed and will my credit score improve if it is? I hope it can, as I paid this bill in full and 4 months before they added a default mark against it.
Any insight on possible outcomes greatly received. I’ve had to put the house hunting on hold which is making me sad.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
from what you have said, it sounds to me as though the default should be removed. You day you talked to debt collectors a lot in 2014 – did you get the matter resolved so that they agreed you didn’t owe any money? If you did that i would hope it would be quick to get the default deleted. If not, then probably the first step is to get BG to agree that you have already paid, then argue there should never have been a default.
Susan says
Hi
My daughter is in the process of moving home (buying) but all of a sudden the mortgage lender has refused the mortgage because Of a default, she already has a mortgage and there has never been any previous issues. When this was looked into in more depth by our financial adviser, she found that the default was by The company Avon. After numerous phone calls to Avon, they told my daughter that they don’t even have her on their records or computer system and that this must be an error by them. This has caused massive problems and may result in my daughter having to pull out of the sale and purchase of their new family home. Avon have said that they might be able to get this removed, but this won’t be until September which will be too late as they were supposed to have been exchanging contracts for the houses in the next two weeks.
Is there anything she can do to get this removed any sooner, or do you know who she would need to contact?
Please help!!
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sort of problem is the reason people should check their credit records 6 months before applying for a mortgage…
Does she now have confirmation in writing from Avon that the default is incorrect and they will be deleting it? If she does, she should show this to the mortgage lender. There is a small chance this will work.
Asha says
Hi I have messed up big time and got in to debt with a few things, stupidly I kept it all a big secret from my partner and ended up getting his names damaged aswell is there any way I can have the damage removed from his name if he knew nothing about the debts???????.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is the damage to his name because you took debts out in his name without telling him? Or because you had some joint financial products he did know about?
Asha says
It’s joint debt but he did not know about the debts building or not being paid.
Is there nothing I can do, he now has a CCJ for a debt he knew nothing about plus other things like council tax?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No you can’t get his name removed, sorry, he should have made sure he knew what was happening to joint debts.
You can minimise the damage by repaying those debts as fast as possible.
Jeanette says
I have a default for £65 with British Gas registered with Experian. I complained to British Gas who wrote off the debt but will not remove the default because they said they followed all necessary processes. I do not believe i received a default letter although BG say they sent one and they admit themselves they did not send it to a debt collection agency.
I need to move both residential and business premises and other than this my credit record is fine. But this default knocks my score right down to very poor, all for £65. This is going to wreck my chances of moving and i believe BG are being unreasonable. What advice do you have?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you put in a formal complaint to British Gas about this? Enclose a copy of your credit record with it and point out you have had no financial problems and would have paid the debt if you had been aware of it. Say you feel the default is unreasonable in these circumstances and ask them to remove it. If that is refused you can take your complaint to this Ombudsman: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/energy.html – the fact that BG have written off the debt is an indication that they did something wrong!
Jeanette says
Yes. I complained. It took three months to eventually get to soeak to someone who could deal with it. They say that my complaint re their service is a separate matter and say that they sent a default letter even though i never received it. They have said that they will send me their final rrsponse so that i can take it further if i want to. I believe i should.
Laura says
Hi there, sorry if this has been asked/covered already
My partner had a few debts but part settled/settled all of them on 31st Jan 2015. We received confirmation letters and emails stating this and the accounts were closed.
However it has come to light that 2 of the companies made a huge mistake, the debt companies returned the accounts to the lenders however the lenders then did not close the accounts, on one of them the defaults stopped in Dec then restarted 2 or 3 months later (without looking at his credit report i can’t remember exactly). He contacted both companies on 4th Sept they both admitted it was their fault and that they would sort it, close the accounts and send confirmation. We received one stating it was part settled and closed back in December last week. The other he called chasing today only to be told the person he spoke to 3 weeks ago had done nothing and will now take another 28 days to sort out.
My main question is once we have proof the accounts were closed almost 9 months ago can the defaults that show during this time be removed? We are trying to save a deposit for a house and I’m so worried how much of an effect this will have on us? I know the previous defaults show for 6 years etc but is that 6 years from the date of the first default or 6 years from part/settled date?).
Many thanks, Laura
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your partner’s credit record should be changed to show that the debts are marked as partially settled on 31 Jan 2015 with a zero balance owing and no further marks on the debt record after that date.
A debts will disappear 6 years after the first default date on the record. If there is no default date, it will disappear 6 years after the settlement date.
Ashley says
Hi,
I had a default placed on my account on September 30th 2010. I have checked with Equifax and it seems my credit rating has greatly improved and the default is removed but with Noddle and Callcredit it is still showing I have a default on my account. Could you advise of how I go about removing these from my credit file?
Thanks
Ashley
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Noddle is a brand name for a Callcredit report, so there is only one problem to solve. And there probably isn’t a problem at all – your Noddle report is only updated once a month. The default has probably already gone, you are just seeing an old snapshot of your file. If you wait another few weeks the default will probably no longer show on your next report.
lisa cooper says
Hi Sara,
Hoping you can help/give me some advice regarding a default on my credit rating from Vodafone. I ended my contract with them back in November 2015 and whilst ending the contract on the phone I asked what my final bill would be and to take payment for this. They gave me my PAC code and I assumed this would all be taken care of and cancelled the direct debit from my account. On December 22 2015 I received a letter saying I owed 33.38 from my final bill I assumed this had been sent in error or had crossed. on the 29/12 i received another letter saying I still owed 33.38 and unless they received a payment in 14 days they would either register it as a bad debt or instruct a debt collection agency.
I made numerous phone calls to them every time they couldn’t find a record of my account (as it had been closed) and the mobile number was no longer recognised so I was either put on hold or through to someone else. I eventually spoke to someone via their facebook page on 07/02016 (so within the 14 days) and explained the situation to them and they said (i have printed a copy of the conversation off) i can see you have spent a lot of money calling us to sort this out so i’ll get these charges removed from your account and your account will be cleared you don’t need to pay anything to us”
however whilst applying for a mortgage and my credit record i can see they have put a default on from April 2016 and four more after that! Is there any way I can get these removed? Is my best bet contacting vodafone first?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you have written, I certainly hope you can get this default removed! You do need to complain to Vodafone – I suggest putting in a complaint and also go via their Facebook page as that seemed to work well for you earlier.
Abi says
Hi, I have 1 default in my credit file from sse, I was been told to pay £216 for electric and gas for 2months which I refused because it’s was estimated bill. Resulting in me changing my supplier, that was 2015. Now I have default in my credit file, will the default go if I pay in full? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No the default won’t go if you pay it – it will drop off 6 years after the default date. But paying it will start the slow process of improving your credit rating and will prevent further action such as a CCJ.
If you feel the default is unfair (did you provide meter readings that were ignored?) you should put Iona written complaint to SSE.
Liz says
Hi, I used npower in 2014, we got into some financial difficulties and was told we owed £250 when we moved out the property. I set up a payment plan in July 15 to pay over 10 months and cleared the debt. Npower have put on my credit report that over these 10 months I was ‘6 months or more in arrears’ every month – would this be correct or should they of defaulted it in July 15 or even out it as a payment arrangement?
Since July 15 they have never been in contact with me.
September 16 I received a letter saying I owed £390, I called them immediately asking why they never added this to the debt of £250 or why they didn’t contact me in 12 months. They said they would look into it and call me back within 28 days. A couple of weeks later I received another letter saying I owed £495 now, again I rang up and said how could it go up by over £100 in 2 weeks. They could not answer and said they would credit that off so it’s only £390 due. He told me he would give me 28 days to pay (this was last week)
Yesterday I ran a credit report and now this debt of £495 has been showing from July 15 and every month is showing from that month that I am ‘6 months or more’ in arrears – surely they can’t put this on my credit report when I never knew about it and they’ve admitted it? I’ve raised a complaint but not heard anything since.
Ps – npower credit report was not showing on my credit file when I ran it in September, it has only been put on after I made contact with them and my credit has gone from being excellent to very poor – any help greatly appreciated – thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you say, the thing to do here is probably to ask them first to produce evidence of the debt – tackling the credit file issue really has to wait until it’s clear if you actually owe anything at all, because if you don’t, the entry is just going to be deleted.
If it is established that you do owe some money, then you have a good case for asking them to delete the credit file entry as they never contacted you about this debt and gave you a chance to pay it.
Liz says
After now going through their final invoice and the payments made it does look like I owe about £300ish which they’ve said I can pay within 28 days or set up a payment plan – I paid it straight away. I’m just shocked they’ve not contacted me for over 12 months and now they are refusing to adjust my credit file – would it be better for them to default my credit file when they say it was over 3 months or is it best showing ‘over 6 months’ in arrears every month for 12 months to date?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It seems to me that you still have a case for asking them to remove the default. the fact is that they never told you you owed this money, and as soon as thye have proved that you did, you paid it all. I suggest putting in a formal written complaint to their data controller (fine the details here https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/what-we-do/register-of-data-controllers/) and then going to the relevant Ombudsman if your complaint is rejected.
Gemma says
Hi,
I have defaults on my record which has given me a very low, and poor, credit rating, which has resulted in me not being able to get accepted for a new car. It was only after I got rejected for finance on the car that I became curious, so I signed up with Equifax to see what the problem was. It turns out it is my mum’s debt. Although I knew about the catalogue she had taken out under my name I was unaware of missed payments, and even more unaware that my credit rating was plummeting. And now I’m the one that looks bad, even though my record would be sparkling if it wasn’t for that. Obviously if I had known about it sooner I would have dealt with it, but the defaults just kept on coming. I was shocked. And also lucky. The first default showed in March 2016 and I got my house with fiance in February, if we had waited any later we wouldn’t have had our house. I know the defaulted payments stay on your account for 6 years but is there a way for me to claim that the payments aren’t mine? Or to prove it isn’t my debt?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. You can’t claim this isn’t your debt because you allowed your mum to do this in your name – legally it is your debt.
The best thing you can do now is to make sure the account is closed (and any others your mum has used your name for!) and repay the outstanding debt as fast as possible.
Carla says
Hi I have a default on my account can I get it removed as it was for only £26 but the debt went to portfolio I moved home and didn’t get sum of the letters they sent me by the time I payed it it was over a year is there anything I can do with it been such a small amount thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t get a default removed just because it was small.
If there is a reason why you thought you didn’t owe any money, and you paid it as soon as you found out you did, you could ask the original creditor to remove it, explaining your situation. Sometimes this works…
Olivia says
Hello
I have found myself with 2 default notices which I believe have been put on unfairly.
The first is a Tesco credit card where my first notification of a default was telling me one had been put on my account, I hadn’t even received a statement or been given the opportunity to pay. Since then several others have been added despite my trying to resolve the issue with Tesco. They were also writing to a previous address despite me updating it on their website.
The second is southern water. I was late paying one bill as the letter got mixed up with a pile of junk mail. As soon as I got the reminder I paid the sum but they put a default on the account in the interim. From what I have read it is not usual to have a default for one payment?
I have written to both asking them to prove they have applied the defaults legally and am waiting for responses. Is there anything else I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Tesco one – it is only the first default that matters, the rest will go if the first one is resolved. If you had told them you had moved then they should have sent the statement to the correct address.
The water bill, you certainly can get a default for one bill, it depends how late it was that you paid it. Paying on the first reminder is normally ok.
Lou says
Hi, I had a debt which was taken over by PRA Group. The account had previously been defaulted by the original company. Unfortunately due to difficult circumstances I was struggling to make payments and received a letter to state that I needed to pay the arrears or my account would be defaulted by PRA Group. I managed to get the money together and paid off the arrears just in time. However since checking my credit file, it appears that PRA Group still registered a default. 1 – is it legal for them to issue a default when the account was already defaulted by the original company and 2 – as I had paid the arrears am I within my rights to request that the default is removed? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If a default was added by the original creditor, PRA should have added a default with the same date as the original creditor. If they have added a later one, ask them to correct this, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/.
No a default is not removed if you pay the arrears.
I think you may have received a Default Notice from PRA, this is a legal requirement before taking you to court. See the link for more details.
Claire says
Hi,
I have a joint account with my husband. Around 4 years ago a well known high street bank started taking money from our joint account. It transpired it was for a credit card my husband had from over 10years previous ( i didn’t even know him when he had it) after talking with my husband he didn’t recall owing a debt from that long ago. i stopped the payment and contacted the bank. They stated they probably shouldn’t talk to me about it however, asked me a few questions about where my husband lived previously and also asked if i agreed it could have been his credit card debt. (Sure that may be against data protection). I informed them this was a joint account and had no right to take any money from it. Eventually my husband managed to contact them and it turned out it was a debt he thought he had repaid. However, because i stopped payments from our account it went down as a default on his credit rating. The bank paid him compensation and there is a note on one credit rating company. Can they not just remove the default notice on all credit rating companies? They have told my husband they can’t. Is this true?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why did the bank pay him compensation? What is the note withe one credit reference agency which you refer to?
Claire says
I believe because they were unable to take the file away from the credit reference company.
Unsure what note says to be honest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, I can’t really guess what happened here so it’s hard to say what he can do. It’s not really possible for you to do much to help him when you don’t know all the facts, I suggest he gets all the details together and goes to his local Citizens Advice and asks for their help.
Maggie says
Recently applied for HP finance to buy a vehicle, but were turned down due to a recent Default on a store card. Monthly payments were overpaid up to Dec 2015. Jan was missed, then 2 overpayments in Feb and March. Unfortunately no payments were made in Apr, May, June and July – before we paid 3 times the minimum payment through Aug, Sept and Oct. On 1st Nov we cleared the account totally. Can we ask to have the Default notice to be removed? Are we likely to be declined HP again even if account has been cleared?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is the default date that has been added?
Maggie says
Thank you – I’ve registered with Noddle. It says account went into default on 14.08.16
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The ICO’s guidelines say a default should be added when an account is between 3 and 6 months in arrears (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/). Unfortunately by 14th August your account would have been more than 3 months in arrears, so I don’t think you have a good reason to ask for the default to be removed. In a couple of months your credit should start improving slowing, I suggest not applying for any more credit for at least 3 months, preferably 6, because now your HP rejection will also be showing :(
Martin says
Hi i had a defaulted account on my experian credit file which dropped off my file last week and i was expecting my credit score to rise a little bit but instead it dropped another 3 points. Can you explain why this might be. Its been a long haul waiting for it to drop off and thought my score would of went up even just a little.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Credit records are complicated things. If this was your only default, there would probably have been a significant rise. But if there are other defaults, especially if some of them have’t been repaid, then one less default may not make any difference and any change in your credit score could be due to other factors.
Kerys says
My son in law had a debt taken out in his name (withStudio) by his ex girlfriend three years ago (they had been apart two years at the time). She was able to do this as she had access to his house as her auntie was renting the house from my son in law as his tenant. He only found out about the debt in March when she moved out and he found letters from the debt collection company (Lovell). The ex admitted taking out the debt in his name, to both my son in law and the debt collection company (they have a recording), he has proof that the house was tenanted at the time the ex took on the debt, and she paid off the debt herself with her own debit card. The debt collection company are refusing to remove the default from my son in law’s file. He’s now planning on going to the police to make a complaint and get a crime number. What else can he do to force the debt collector/studio to remove the fraudulent debt? He’s been declined a mortgage due to this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Reporting this to the police is the correct thing to do. If after that the debt collector refuses to acknowledge the debt was not taken out by you son in law, I suggest he puts in a formal written complaint to the debt collector and goes to the Financial Ombudsman if this hasn’t been resolved after 8 weeks.
Nikola says
Hi
I had a late payment on a very account. I took out a £1000 credit card and paid the Very account online in full. I provided my credit card statement which was evidence that I paid off my account. They said that I had accrued interest of £15 which I did not pay. My online Very account did not reflect this and I paid the full amount off my account which showed online. I then moved address.
It wasn’t until I received a text message months, it may have even been a year or so later, that I realised Very had been trying to contact me with this apprent £15.
I called and they said that I owed an amount and I disputed this. I called several times and each time they said someone would come back to me.
I called about a week later and they said my account was passed to a credit agency, despite me trying to dispute and sort it through Very.
I provided my credit card statement which was evidence that I paid off my account. They said that I had accrued interest of £15 which I did not pay. My online Very account did not reflect this and I paid the full amount off my account which showed online. I then moved address.
Very sent me a voucher to say sorry but they said they still would not remove the debt from my credit account. They did then remove the default from my account but they have now put the default back on.
I have tried to get this sorted for nearly 2 years now. What can i do to finally get this sorted
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest complaining to the Financial Ombudsman in these circumstances. It is a pretty friendly service to use.
Rachael says
Hi,
I owned 3 properties with my Ex husband – 2 buy to lets and our matrimonial home- before moving out when I started fearing for my lief. My Ex remained in the matrimonial home. He later moved his new partner in and they went on to have kids together. I had been making contributory payments towards the mortgage for the said property even though he was living there with his family until the Judge during our ancillary relief hearing ordered that he be solely responsible for his accomodation by paying the mortgage or he would have to pay a fee every month he doesnt pay the mortgage. At this point I stopped paying as I was also paying full rent where i was which was almost the same amount as my mortgage. i went on to register with Call Credit, Equifax and Experian and informed them about the situation and all I was told to do was to put in a notice of correction which I promptly did thinking it will be helpful. All the properties were sold and arrears paid off in June last year but I went for a mortgage to buy a new property and was immediately declined and I’m told this will be the case for 6 years. I am 50 now and will have to wait till I’m 56 to get a mortgage with just under 12 years of working life left before retirement I dont think this is fair.
My questions now are: 1. was I properly advised by these credit agencies? 2. if yes why has the notice of correction not had any positive effect? 3. Is there anything I can do to help my situation?
I have had a mortgage since i was 27 and never defaulted until 2014 when my marriage turned sour and now i have to face a 6 year credit sentence when I was never in any financial difficulty as I was paying my full rent all that time without missing any payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The advice from the credit reference agencies was correct – all you can do is add a Notice of Correction to your file. But it is up to the individual lender whether they lend, and they can ignore a Notice if they want.
I think you should talk to a mortgage broker. You shouldn’t have to wait wait for 6 years from June 2015 especially if you have a good sized deposit, but you need a good broker to suggest who you should apply to and when.
Sarah turner says
Hi had some debt issues leading upto 2012 from a past financially abusing relationship.
They are now all clear from my credit report except for 1:
1. A CCJ for £1200 applied in 2013 to my record for a debt I was not aware of. ( I received no court details or otherwise)
2. A default with British gas dated 2012 for £300. For the closing bill at an old property, sent after I had moved out and not passed on.
I have set up a monthly arrangement to pay off the ccj so it can be marked as settled but by issue is British gas deafalt. After a number of discussions with them they have written off the debt. Not because I requested this; in fact I called them to pay he debt in full, but because the account has been archived and they have no means to collect the payments. My question is, where do I now stand with regards to my credit report, I want my default to show as fully settled, but they won’t let me pay the debt so it is still showing as unsatisfied. What would you suggest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When will you have paid off the CCJ?
Alan says
Hi there.
I was involved in a violent car jacking in 2014 and then subsequently I had post traumatic stress. This involved me not living at my address and not wanting to open any letters as I was having to pay car insurance my lease on my car (as insurance didn’t pay out for 6 months which added to the financial strain) and van insurance for my job etc.
This was around 3 years ago and now I’m getting better and back on track I was wondering about asking kindly for the defaults to be removed, what chances do you think I’ve got?
All the accounts have been settled.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you want to do this you are going to need some good medical evidence to show them to back up what you are saying.
Ben says
I have received a default on my credit report, which has now been settled.
However, the original finance never showed up on my credit report, only when the default was added.
Is this grounds to have it removed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the default from the original lender? Who is it? Or from a debt collector? Which credit report did you check?
Ben says
I have just checked and the default was added by the debt collector (Lowell). There is no record of the finance from the original lender.
I have checked on Experian & Noddle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well have a look at Equifax as well to be sure: https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/.
Is the default date right – it should be within 3-6 months of when you defaulted on the debt?
Ben says
The default date appears to be correct.
I will check Equifax later – if there is also no record of the finance from the original lender, what would your advice be?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may be that the original lender didn’t report to the credit reference agencies. Provided you agree you did default, that you were notified that you were in arrears and that the default date is right, there is probably little you can do.
James says
I’m in the process of trying to get my finances in order. I moved house about 2 years ago and around 1 year ago I got a letter from a collection agency advising a dormant current account had gone into default. I changed accounts from RBS to Halifax about 4 years ago but left an overdraft on my original account. The RBS account had a feature that meant they sent me a txt if I went over my agreed overdraft limit; I’d received a couple of these over the years and always rectified the situation straight away. When I moved house I notified all my lenders of the change of address (or so I thought). I appears that an overdraft charge levied by RBS, took me over my overdraft limit and they didn’t send me a text to advise of this. Also, it appears they had been sending letters to my previous address. They had my mobile number on file, as well my e-mail address and never sent a message to either of these. As soon as I found out about the default, I set up a payment plan to start paying off the overdraft (I couldn’t afford to pay it off in one go). I’ve been paying every month for about 12 months now.
As RBS were inconsistent in their use of their text alert facility, is this grounds to complain and potentially have the default removed? If they were to remove it, how would this affect the remaining debt and the way it needs to be paid off?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can try complaining that you were never notified by text or email, it’s certainly worth a go. But you aren’t in a strong position unless you can show that you notified them of your change of address. Did you really think the overdraft would just be forgotten? You should have started to repay it, even if only £10 a month, when you changed accounts.
There is also the problem about what happens if they remove the default. They are likely to substitute arrangement to pay markers instead. This may be fine if it will be cleared in a year of so. But you don’t really want AP markers being added to your account for the next 5 years, as they will still be visible 6 years from the point that the account is cleared and closed. If it’s going to take a long while to clear the account, it’s usually better to accept a default, as then the whole debt disappears 6 years after the default date.
Eldridge Julies says
I have debts 6 years ago.will it fall away after 6 years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the default date on a debt is over 6 years old, it will drop off your credit file. But don’t forget the debt still legally exists at this point.
Manogar Sundirarasu says
Hi
In my credit file has two defaults one is from bank account on 05/2014 that time i was away from the country due to family problem. And I didnt contact previous because of I moved to new address once back to U.K. And I recently noticed default in my credit file so that I contacted Experien and bank regarding this and then I paid full outstanding amount now the bank account showing with closed and status called “Satisfied”
And recently this year loan is in default which I was paid regularly and only for three to 6 month I was paying the payment plan but still I am paying the every month with the payment plan amount not a actual fixed monthly cost. And they didn’t inform about default but now they saying i have payment plan with outstanding amount so that they put default in my file but I didn’t get any letter regarding this.
So that my credit score very poor and totally dying.
Can you please help to solve those defaults and improve my credit score. I am waiting for your response!
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For the first one, it sounds as though you were out of touch with the bank about your overdraft for quite a while? It’s not the bank’s fault you didn’t tell them you had moved. I can’t see a reason to challenge this one.
For the new one, you can work out how much ‘in arrears’ you are. Take what the monthly amounts should have been since you first couldn’t pay that much. Say 8 months at £150 is £1200. Then add up what you have actually paid them over this time. If that is £400 say then you are £800 in arrears – this is more than 3 months worth of payments so a default is correct. If you have paid say £900 you aren’t 3 months behind and you could ask for the default to be deleted. BUT unless you can start making the full repayments, you probably don’t want to get the default deleted, because you will be getting more into arrears each month so in a few months time a default would be added … and that would be worse because the later default will be on your credit record for longer.
The best you can do is probably repay this second debt as fast as possible.
Dominic says
Hi,
I was being chased by debt collectors regarding a £20 for Tesco mobile back in 2015. I wasn’t living at the address they had for me so I had no idea what was going on. I paid the debt collectors 10/04/2015, I have proof of this via my bank statement. Strangely around a month later I received an email from a different debt collecting company chasing the same figure for Tesco, I informed them I’d already paid this and assumed it was sorted out.
I had a look at my credit file yesterday as I’m looking to buy a house, it turns out I was given a default by Tesco during May 2015 for this same £20, is this okay for them to?
If anyone could offer any advice please it would be very much appreciated, thanks.
Dom
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the debt is still showing at £20 owed to Tesco?
Dominic says
Thanks for getting back to me Sara. Yes that’s correct, it still shows as 20 owed to Tesco and has been since the date of the default. Before the default date it was 0.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s very odd. I suggest you put in a written complaint to Tesco about this, explain what happened, enclose a copy of your bank statement showing your payment and ask for the default to be deleted and the balance owing corrected to be zero.
Dominic says
I’ll contact Tesco asap, thanks
Samuel says
Hi,
I set up a repayment plan with a credit card company back in 2011 and since then, they have sold this debt on. I have carried on paying the debt collection company the original agreed amount and am now in a financial position to clear the remaing amount owed.
When checking my credit score though the other day, it is showing that I am still defaulting on the debt up to present date but also showing the debt amount decreasing with each payment.
Now will this affect me getting a mortgage in the not to distant future, as it has been with the debt collector since Nov 2012 and I have been making my monthly agreed payment?
Regards
Sam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Once a debt has been marked as defaulted, a default will show every month until it is settled OR until the debt disappears 6 years after the default date.
This means you want the default date to be as early as possible so it goes as soon as possible. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/ and see if you think the default date is correct.
Having an unpaid default will definitely harm your chance of a mortgage. Once it is paid, your credit record will start to improve. Some mortgage lenders don’t mind satisfied defaults if they are old and it is over a year after they have been repaid. If the debt has vanished from your credit record, then that’s fine, but if it is still showing when you want a mortgage, don’t apply to a lender direct but talk to a mortgage broker and explain your position.
Martin says
I took out a loan with natwest in 2010, I defaulted in 2011 for several months, I paid back the loan in full and the account was closed in 2015. Today I received a letter from natwest stating,
‘We must send a notice of aims in arrears if customers fall behind on repayments.’
‘We’ve recently taken a look back at the above loan and we’ve found that we didn’t fully meet these requirements. This might have been because:
1. We didn’t send a NOSIA or statement when we should have
2. A NOSIA or statement we sent contained errors.’
They’ve sent me a cheque for £650 which was obviously unexpected but I’m now wondering as they have accepted there was a fault with their process, would they now remove the default from my credit report if I chased them? Have you experienced this before?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well that must have been a nice surprise. You could ask them to remove the default, but if the default is in 2011, the whole loan is going to disappear from your credit record anyway this year. In that situation you don’t want them to delete the default and leave the record showing arrears, as that will remain on your file until 2021, 6 years after if was closed.
Jovan Popovic says
I have a default on my credit report from Experian for the Southern water bill of £255 pounds that was paid in full. It’s from approx three years ago.
It started 02/07/2013 and was satisfied 12/01/2014. Default date 08/12/2013.
The reason for delayed payment was problems with student loan as I was a full-time student at the time and I was waiting for delayed student loan to be able to pay the bill.
As soon as my problems with student finance were resolved, I paid the bill in full.
Is there anything that I can do in this case that would possibly remove the default or reduce its impact.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s annoying but that sort of problem isn’t a reason to get a default deleted. You can add a note to the debt on your credit record (see http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/faq/AR5.html) but I’m not sure how many lenders take any notice of them.
The default will disappear in December 2019. I hope you now have a credit card and are repaying more than the minimum, preferably in full, each month? That speeds the process of repairing your credit score.
The good news is that as it is over 3 years old and you settled it more than a year ago, many lenders won’t mind it, including some mortgage lenders. If you want a mortgage make sure you go through a mortgage broker and see https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/.
Miek Harris says
My daughter required a loan but was getting no chance everywhere. When we checked it turns out to be a mobile phone contract default for £18. She ordered a new phone in May last year, changed her mind about the phone she wanted and notified the company within the hour. They told her she was within the free cancellation period, they would cancel this one and set up another one for the phone she had chosen. The default relates to the contract that was supposed to be cancelled and she has had no request for payment or any kind of notification (text, e-mail, letter) to say she owed money. Can she get this removed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like an excellent case!
Charles Maclean says
Hi debt camel
i got a default at the end of 2015,previous i had never had a default. At the time I was a student, and I was in financial difficulty, as soon as I sorted my financial position out I repaid my debt in full , is this strong enough to ask capital one to delete my default ?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, sorry. A default will onlt be deleted if it should never have been added, not because you have resolved your debt problem.
Neil says
Hi Debt Camel,
On checking my credit score i have two defaults on my account both with the same creditor. First default was on 08/11 and the second 08/13 for a totall of £1750. I am now able to get back on track and get a loan to pay this in full. If i write to the company and say i can pay this off and give me their quarantee to put fully settled on my score is this the best way forward or is their a another way.
Best Neil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The defaulted debts will drop off your credit record in 08/17 and 08/20.
Paying them now in full will start the process of repairing your credit score, but until they are gone, it won’t get fully better. My concern is that getting a loan will be expensive as your credit record is poor.
You should consider if you could get a partial settlement – this would mean borrowing less money and a partial settlement is nearly as good as a full settlement… some lenders may care about it, many won’t.
Another serious option is not to get a loan but just to start making the money you would have used for the loan repayment to make monthly payments of the debts – that should keep the debt collector happy so they won’t go for a CCJ. This avoids you having to pay any interest at all.
Chris says
My default has been on my credit file now for 3 years and isnt due to come off until Jan 2020, it is a defaulted account from a mobie phone network and was taken out when my ex partner went through a debt relief order… I was needed on the account as a guarantor but when we split she stopped paying her contract. As soon as I received the debt collection letter I paid it off but I gained a default on my credit report because of this… do I have a legal case to contest this default as it making life hard eapecially now i have met someone else and are planning on our first house together??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you repaid the debt as soon as your were notified that you were liable to pay it, and before you were unaware there was a problem, then you should ask for the default to be deleted. If the lender refuses, I suggest you take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman saying it is unfair that this should be on your credit record, as you were not given a chance to resolve the problem before it was added.
I will send you an email about this.
Jon says
Hi Sara,
Just after some advice please if possible. My wife and I are hoping to apply for a mortgage late this year and are looking to clear up our credit records. There are a few late payments/missed payments from 2012-13 on both our reports, as we had some financial difficulties back then, but we are particularly concerned that my wife has a default on her credit file dating back to November 2013, and that this specifically may harm our chances. It relates to a Capital One credit card. She got into some payment difficulties and missed 3 payments prior to the default marker. However, she did contact the company in writing twice by email and letter to indicate/explain her difficulties and to try and sort out a repayment plan with them in the September of that year and the payments were missed partially because she couldn’t afford them in full at the time, but also partially as she was waiting for a response from the company to her suggested repayment plan and was trying to sort something out with them. The debt was then passed to Fredpay, who froze the interest, and she subsequently made regular payments thereafter monthly until the balance was eventually paid off in November 2015. Do you think there is a case to have the default removed as she had opened a dialogue with them within 2 months of encountering problems, and was awaiting it’s resolution when the third payment was missed? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not really – because she needed a repayment plan she would have ended up 3 months in arrears at some point. If you can’t make the standard debt repayments your credit record gets affected.
The good news is thta because the default was over 3 years ago AND it has been repaid for more than a year, you may still be able to get a mortgage. But this may depend on the extent of the other problems showing on both your credit files. You need to work at getting any outstanding debt repaid, including overdrafts, to give yourselves the best chance. And make sure you go through a broker, not direct to a high street lender. More ideas about preparing for a mortgage application here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/.
Jon says
Thanks for the advice Sara. Makes sense. Fortunately, arising from your help and guidance on complaints to payday lenders, of whom i used a number between 2011 and 2013, i have managed to obtain a significant amount of refunds which have paid off all our other debts and added a little toward our deposit too! It has also cleared up my file considerably, removing my one default in the process. I am hoping as it will be 4 years on from the issues we might stand a chance.
Susan Billinge says
Hi
My son in law has been told by a mortgage lender he has a default from a pay day loan company between 2010-2012 but will not tell him the company name.He has no idea who this is so how can he sort it if they will not give him the information .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
He needs to check his detailed credit files with all three credit reference agencies – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/.
I can’t tell from your post if he did use payday loans and just doesn’t remember defaulting at all, or if he says he never did.
Nick says
Hi
After some advice please.
About 6 years ago i took on a mobile internet dongle on a rolling monthly contract at £7.50 a month. It was barely used and more or less sat in a laptop bag.
I moved to a new address 4 years ago. About a year ago I came across it and realised I never did cancel it, so I cancelled the direct debit. In November this year I received notification from a debt recovery company of a £30 charge on the account, so I paid this immediately. I have now been refused a personal loan for home improvements because the mobile company put the account into default. If they had written to me it would have gone to my old address as I hadn’t notified them.
It seems incredibly harsh to have my credit score slashed and refused a loan for this one black mark of £30, which was nothing more than a genuine oversight. Is there anything I can do about this?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can write to them saying this, pointing out you paid it as soon as you were aware of the debt. You will be in a stonger position if you had other accounts with the mobile co so they did know of your new address. But as it is, you should not have cancelled the DD without informing the company.
Nick says
Thank you. I am with the same company for my mobile so will include that in my letter
Scott Harney says
Hi. I have a default which has been placed by o2. This happened because I took a phone contract with them for my younger sister. She then moved to Dubai in May 2012 and didn’t realise there was still a balance outstanding of £50 so they placed a default in November 2012. I have spoke to o2 and they are stating that if I pay this debt that it will stay on my credit file 6 years from now but Equifax are saying that this is incorrect and will be removed 6 years from when it is placed so I really don’t know what to do about this. Any help would be great please
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Equifax are correct – if there is a default date recorded on a debt on your credit record of November 2012, it will drop off in November 2018. In the meantime, paying the defaulted debt will mean there is very little chance of getting a CCJ.
Scott Harney says
Hi Sara. Thanks for the quick reply. If I live in scotland will it be 5 years that it’s removed or will it still be the 6 years?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
6 years – this has nothing to do with the time limit for a debt becoming statute barred.