Some advise needed on old debts still on credit report

krakan

Right, here's a bit of cry for help - all I really need is some pointers and maybe advice on where to look, I'm keen to do all the research I can but there's no sense in me spending hours reading useless information, especially if some of you guys know better!

The situation is this: I'm just turned 24. When I attended University at around 18, I was drawn to the lure of credit cards. At around the same time I was living out the stereotypical student lifestyle, I was being offered thousands upon thousands of pounds in free cash. Yes, I know it's not, but back then it struck me that I could sort it out later.. Combined with a couple of Mobile Phone contracts which ended badly, my credit report looks bad. Very bad. The highlights are:

3 old contracts with o2. Two are defaulted, the other shows as defaulted and then settled - but still shows on there 4 years after it says it was last updated. So that's three defaults already!
1 Defaulted credit card account with Capital One - Balance 504, default says 779 (If anyone can explain why one is greater than the other then please do!)
1 Defaulted credit card account with Natwest Card Services. 727 owed, 917 default.
1 Defaulted credit card account with Egg. This one's more impressive at 2497 owed/default.

There are also some settled account on there, one is a £2300 limit from a co-op credit card, a couple of phone contracts which ended smoothly. Should these still show up on Insight when the account has been closed?

Even more worrying are two CIFAS entries, apparently due to a 'material inaccuracy in an application, which was refused.' - strange thing is, I've never lied on a credit form, plus they are both from Orange, and both on the SAME day!?

Now what I want to know is the following:

1) What are my chances of being able to reach a Full and Final Settlement agreement with the 3 credit card debts? They're all three with agencies now, so I assume I'd need to contact them? If I can reach an agreement, is it possible to request that they remove the entry from my record, or is having it marked as 'settled' the best I can hope for? Additionally, how long should an account marked as 'settled' remain on my report anyway?
2) What can I do about the Phone contracts which are defaulted. For the record, I was in the right - o2 jacked up the prices (removed the free texts) and I cancelled as it says I could do in the t&c - they acknowledged me letter but never stopped taking payments, I had to reverse £200 of direct debit payments, which they then sent debt collection agencies after me to 'recover' - so basically, I don't owe them the damn money anyway. I'd be prepared to give them some money if it meant having those horrible looking entries removed.

The point of this is that once I've paid off my debts, I am looking at saving for a deposit for a house. I now have a proper job and between me and my partner, we are hoping to raise a 10% deposit by the end of the year - the only problem is that with my credit report looking as it does, I know I'll never get a martgage, so I'm desperate to start making amends. I have saived about a thousand pounds so far towards paying off the debts. I fully intend to settle the debts as far as I can, time to face the music and all that, but if doing so won't improve my record then what's the point in doing it? Or, rather, what's the point in doing it now?

Any and all help/advice/pointers/encouraging comments/suggestions gratefully received guys!

Chris

southernscouser

Hello mate,

Regarding whats the point in doing it now; it's only going to stay with you until you sort it out!

Your credit report is gonna be bad until 6 years from your last default but say for example that was 2 years ago, by the time you are 28 your report will be clean. Now you may want to start a family by then, bigger house, bigger mortgage! You get the picture!

I see your quite fond of your mobile phones!

The best thing to do is to phone up these companies and ask for final settlement figure. I'm assuming they are still charging you interest which is why some may have gone up!

All settled accounts (that you paid on time) will still show up! I can't remember how long for but it is a few years. This is normal practice and won't harm your rating!

I don't know what CIFAS's are I'm afraid!

micheleen

CIFAS is flagging a possible fraudulent application, you need to look at this as it can affect any credit application in a major way. Read more at CIFAS