Credit files- getting them back to normal once debt free..

us,thecat&thedebt

hello fellow debt free wanabees,,,

since finding this website my debts are slowly flittering away...

i have paid more off my debts since i joined this site 3 months ago then i had in a year!!!!

applied for credit files so we could see what the damage currently was..

heres the result

my experian
1 default tmobile defaulted 640 balance now 560
(is actually 480 now but needs updating) defaulted june 05

2 credit accounts

1 mail order on payment 6 balance of £130
1 nationwide account which is being completely removed due a branch error.

17 searches in the last year!!!!!

oh experian
1 defaut vodafone defaulted £417 balance now 230

2 credit accounts
loan which has history of 012102
dfs sofas which we have to start paying as have had for a year
status 000000
about 20 searches in last 2 years

my equifax
1 default tmobile as above
2 credit accounts as above..

waiting for oh equifax..

so as we pay the debts off what happens...

the defaults stay on for 6 years? once there settled does this make the file look any better?
does it look better if the default is cleared soon after it was issued?

the only account under our current address is the loan ive heard it looks better if your credit agreements are under the correct address...
tmobile, vodafone and dfs have our new address so why havenet they updated like the loan has?

thanks in advace

to add my argos account is on my experian..
although it was passed to a debt agency in november it is on there with the card balance and credit limit and payment history presumably from were i have been paying debt agency.
i assumed they had defaulted it but havent
which i assume is good for me as once its paid its rid off???

KingCanute_2

The defaults will be removed from your Experian file after six years from the default date - be careful not to pay anything off (even 1p) or write to them inside six years as the record will show up again on Experian as payment made and will remain for another 6 years from the payment date. Full settlement will do this too

us,thecat&thedebt

thanks for the reply but i do have intention to repay the debts..

have been making payments to tmobile and vodafone which are defaulted..

got an update on equifax credit file and they have updated my file to show 14 0.. for the nationwide account which looks good on my file? i assume....

what i need to know is the six year bussiness
will it drop of 6 years after settled or 6 years after added to account?


im not looking to get any credit in the next 12 months but will be looking for a mortgage in about 12-18 months and would like a clear file so we can get a good rate...

tattooed_lady

I was told by experian that it drops off 6 six years from date of default.

After clearing our debts thru CCCS it was roundabout 6 years so alot of my defaults were due to drop off. I got my reports from all 3 CRA's and went thru them all carefully as there were a few errors. Eventually, the defaults all came off (thank God) and they look normal-ish now!! I found the people at the CRA's very helpful and co-operative by the way.

us,thecat&thedebt

so the default was reg june 2005 and should be removed june 2011..
does it make a lot of differnet to your credit score if you have a settled default or do they still see the default?

also my father in law has enormaous debts which he wants to try and tackle... he has a default from april 2000 and has not heard or payed anything....
if he leaves it and recieves no correspondce will it drop of in april this year?

thanks in advance

TAG

Yes your fathers debt will drop off this year. Give it til May 2206 to be sure

Your defaults will stay on file for 6 tears from date of default regardless of being paid or unpaid.

Tag

digp

try and negotiate as a condition of settlement that they wipe the default and remove any adverse information

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

yes defaults etc do come off after 6 years etc,once you payed all your debts off you get them marked as settled and everything should then come of in time ,my eperiance i couldnt care a less as long as they are marked as settled,it was once said to me the credit files are not black lists there here for creditors to see if your a good risk or not so if there all settled most over 24 months old most lenders will start to lend again,but i wont be borrowing again the last 24 months have turned me in to a saver and basic bank accounts that allways have at £150 in credit at the end of the month not od which use to be the case even if its free and authorised its still going out of your wages as soon as you get them ...so just make sure your credit files are correctly marked and forget about them reguards andrew

us,thecat&thedebt

digp,

is that common practise...

whats the best way to go about it?

thanks

Iona_Penny

I have had aCCJ on my credit file (which should come off in June this year Hooray!) and although it was settled as soon as the court judgement was issued it has stayed on my file marked as 'satisfied' along with two other acconts that I had defaulted on paying on which showed as paid but remained there.

I am afraid that it did affect my applications for credit (not many and with the hope of rebuilding my credit score) but I found I got refused (even as recently as last year by Tesco) But I did get a mobile phone contract just over 2 years ago and a Next card which I hope have helped me rebuild. I have posted somewhere here before that when we wanted to move mortgage just about a year ago I took all my paperwork and copy of credit file to BS and explained I would cause the joint mortgage to be declined(as it was) but as had spoken to someone it was referred with explanation and accepted.

I don't understand the credit scoring system but I do believe these things count against you. Insist on and keep letters of satisfaction in addition to your credit file so you can prove status of your accounts when you do apply for mortgage.

us,thecat&thedebt

thanks

will keep all correspondance..

how soon after settled do u wait for it to appear settled on credit file or do you have to chase the lender?


also am i right on thinking that searches make your file look bad?

and one last thing... none of my accounts are registered at my new address how do i get this updated?
do i contact tmobile for example or the debt collection agency (whom have my new address)

tia