please help urgently. re default

confused!_13

Hi there, i keep getting asked this question!

my company will be asking for volantary redundancy in a few months time, i plan to put myself forward - i have spoken to my MD re this and my plans and basically said the request will be accepted. So rather than find 'just another job' i am going to do something i have always wanted to do

i have always wanted to do cemap and now is a good time for me.

I will get 8 weeks wages wages as redundancy pay from my company and this will enable me to take a lesser paid job for 12 months or so if i am careful, after that if things havent picked up i will be getting a bar job too! Luckily my brother owns 3 pubs so i can pick up shifts

I will also be helping initially with desk work and filing , reception etc but they have agreed to assist in my cemap funding and give me on the job experience so it works quite well for me.

They are stuggling to find even reception staff as no oe wants to enter into the industry at the minute but if i can ride it out as reception/general dogs body for the time being i feel i am well placed once things do pick up

GeorgeUK

Have you written to BG at any time to query the debt? If so then the debt is in dispute. This should be recorded on a note on your credit file until this can get sorted. It is the CRA that puts a note on your credit file - what this basically does is flag up any credit check that manual intervention is required to check what this note is instead of an automated system just looking at your file and seeing the default.

confused!_13

Hi George, no i never got to speak to british gas re it. well, i tried but didnt get far. i called and said what it was regarding but was told i must deal with the debt collection co directly - never got as far as giving them an account number or anything.

I was waiting for the DCA to pass the debt back then i could liase with them directly. I have just spoken to my partner who reckons i only got the letter to state they were passing it back to BG shortly after the new year - dunno why he is so certian but he is, but the default was registered in december 2008??

i have emailled the organisation you suggested and will await a reply - or call them if i finish work prior to 9pm.

I just hope i can get this removed or i am potentially homeless and jobless because of it . sounds dramatic but its true

GeorgeUK

If BG were charging you for a gas leak then it should definately be disputed.

Nationaldebtline will be able to advise what to do as you did not receive a notice of default and if you tell them the debt is also in dispute they will hopefully be able to walk through what to do next.

I would also call experian/equifax (whoever you checked your credit file with) and ask them to put a note on the file that the debt is in dispute and a notice of default was never issued. This will at least stop any automated credit checks just giving you a bad rating.

Daveyboy80_2

Hello,

Sorry to hear of your problems. I agree with GeorgeUK, you can have a notice placed on your credit file to say that it is in dispute. I would write to British Gas again. My experience of big national companies is that emailing and over the phone come second to written letters. Be careful how you word and don't insult them or that can make them become even more stubborn than they seem to be now. You can also contact the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman regarding this. They can look into your case for you. If I were you I would contact them asap!

Shame you can't find the letter from the debt recovery agency saying they are passing the debt back to British Gas.