Fixing Poor Credit File

Jonw

Hello,

I recently wanted to purchase a O2 Contract Phone which required a Credit-Check. I am 19 and have never had a Credit-check done on me before so i thought it would be ok. In the end i got rejected which i thought was wierd so i checked my credit-file using Experian and it turns out that i owe alot of money to alot of people

From what i could see their was only 3 companies wanting Money, O2 wanted £976, Natwest Wanted £500 and then their was a company called AKTIV KAPITAL who wanted £120.

I had no idea why i would owe O2 £1000 i am only 19 and the debt dates back 3 years when i was 16. I phoned O2 today and asked about it. The lady was really kind and tried to find what was going on but couldnt find anything so she is going to find out more and phone me back.

I also phoned Natwest to see what they said and apparently i had an account with them when i was 17 which went overdrawn £10 and have been charging me monthly ever since?!? i told her i had no idea that it went overdrawn. she was really nice about it and she told me she wiped the debt from my account and closed the old account for me.

The other company was AKTIV KAPITAL which i have never heard of before. I did some research on them and found they are a bit of a !!!!!! to deal with. I have never recieved a letter from them about this debt. They have not left a reference number or phone number on my credit file so i dont know what todo.

I have a few questions which you may be able to help me with.

When the lady from natwest told me she had cleared the outstanding balance. Does the "Default" status chnage on my credit-file? as i dont want this on my credit-file.

What should i do about AKTIV KAPITAL? how do i find more about this debt?

Thanks for reading. Sorry about the lenght

Burlesque_Babe

the best thing to do is to also get your equifax file to see what's on that - some lenders only report to one credit reference agency.

You will need to write to the Nat West I think to request the default is removed - if they've wiped the debt before it is statute barred, there must be a very good reason and hopefully the reason will be enough for the default to be taken off.

Burlesque_Babe

if you search Aktiv Kapital on MSE you'll see lots of reference to GE money accounts such as the Burtons storecard.

Might help you.

Jonw

Burlesque_Babe wrote: »

the best thing to do is to also get your equifax file to see what's on that - some lenders only report to one credit reference agency.
You will need to write to the Nat West I think to request the default is removed - if they've wiped the debt before it is statute barred, there must be a very good reason and hopefully the reason will be enough for the default to be taken off.

Thanks for the info. when you say only some lenders only report to one credit reference agency. does this mean i could have more outstanding debt which i cant see on experian?

Thanks

fermi

Sounds as if the O2 and Natwest entries may sort themselves out if you keep pushing with them.

It would not be beyond Aktiv to place an incorrect entry on your files, but if you think hard is there anything that this could conceivably be? Are there any other details on the entry apart from the name and amount?

Jonw

fermi wrote: »

Sounds as if the O2 and Natwest entries may sort themselves out if you keep pushing with them.

It would not be beyond Aktiv to place an incorrect entry on your files, but if you think hard is there anything that this could conceivably be? Are there any other details on the entry apart from the name and amount?

i have been thinking about this all day, i just cant think what it could be. Its also really strange that they have given me no other details on the entry part accept my details and the ammount owed.

how can i found more information? should i write to this company?

fermi

Well, I would get your other credit reference files from Equifax and Callcredit to see what is on those as well.

There are some guidelines on making a complaint about incorrect information on your files here:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

Page 19 onwards I think. Have a read through.

You can dispute the entry with the credit reference agencies, and they will either remove the entry or add a note while they query it with the creditor. The problem with that is that if the creditor replies that it is correct, then it goes back on.

That is why it is often a good idea to make a direct complaint to the creditor.