Strange goings on on credit file

digitalphase

Thanks NID but it doesn't show as a default now - it shows as a number 5 for number of missed payments and 'in arrears' on Equifax where it was 'defaulted' before.

So if I carry on paying them, will that 5 reduce down to a 4, then 3, then 2, then 1 then eventually 0?

digitalphase

This is the screenshot I posted a few days ago of how my Experian looked:



This is it now:

never-in-doubt

Great news - they've made your account live again..... the summary of payment history shows 'and the number of status 3+ is 1. This is the only bit other lenders will see.... it is clearly an old defaulted account as it also says 'in the last 1 months of activity' which means it was dormant prior to this.....

I'd say keep paying and in a few months it will all be fine, you need at least a year of clear payments to guarantee no adverse effect.....

himitsunomogura

It looks much better now. As already said, the '5' will remain with the CRAs for 3 years, but in reality after its not going to affect you nearly so much once you have a good 12 months of '0' in there. The only real issue is that if it had been a default, it was 18 months old, whereas this looks like it only happened very recently.
If you found yourself getting turned down for credit, a Notice of Correction could help.

digitalphase

Thanks - that's a weight off my shoulders. I'd be looking at staying in full time employment for at least a year before trying to get a loan to get a new car, so that would be manageable. I've only just finished Uni so haven't found a job yet. I'll probably get a better loan rate once I've had a full time job for a while, plus I'll be a year older.

I'll keep paying that off each month, and along with using my 3 cards I should build up a nice lot of green 0's to rebuild my file

noah271007

never-in-doubt wrote: »

Great news - they've made your account live again..... the summary of payment history shows 'and the number of status 3+ is 1. This is the only bit other lenders will see.... it is clearly an old defaulted account as it also says 'in the last 1 months of activity' which means it was dormant prior to this.....

I'd say keep paying and in a few months it will all be fine, you need at least a year of clear payments to guarantee no adverse effect.....

I don't agree NID. Having a payment code of 5 on account can cause problems...as it means 5 months in arrears! If the Halifax account remains open and active, then after 3 years it will drop off with Experian. For Equifax it would be 4 years before it drops off. Until it is removed, it will continue to adverse your credit file.

In my experience, having late payments from 3 or 4 years ago on settled/active accounts still cause problems applying for credit.

digitalphase

noah271007 wrote: »

I don't agree NID. Having a payment code of 5 on account can cause problems...as it means 5 months in arrears! If the Halifax account remains open and active, then after 3 years it will drop off with Experian. For Equifax it would be 4 years before it drops off. Until it is removed, it will continue to adverse your credit file.

In my experience, having late payments from 3 or 4 years ago on settled/active accounts still cause problems applying for credit.

Noah, will the 5 not reduce down each month I pay off?

never-in-doubt

digitalphase wrote: »

Noah, will the 5 not reduce down each month I pay off?

No, it moves along so stays there until 3yrs. BUT like I said this is only relevant for 3yrs..... after 1yr most lenders ignore it...

never-in-doubt

noah271007 wrote: »

I don't agree NID. Having a payment code of 5 on account can cause problems...as it means 5 months in arrears! If the Halifax account remains open and active, then after 3 years it will drop off with Experian. For Equifax it would be 4 years before it drops off. Until it is removed, it will continue to adverse your credit file.

In my experience, having late payments from 3 or 4 years ago on settled/active accounts still cause problems applying for credit.

Yes mate I know it 'can' cause problems for only in the forseeable future - it is much better than the previous default entry!

I know what you mean about late payment accounts having an impact but to be honest the OP could ask if they will remove the status symbols. I did pick up and mention that the account shows as dormant thus lenders will know something isn't right...... sorry I just didn't explain properly.

In essence yes the data will stay for 3yrs but after 1yr it won't be taken into account by the 'major' lenders.....

noah271007

Having a 5 is certainly a lot better than a default thats for sure. As long the account is open and active, and no missed payments is recorded over the next 3 (in the case of Experian ONLY) years will eventually drop off.

The oldest adverse late payment is, the less impact on your credit rating, as long you continue to make all other accounts payments on time.

I am no expert here but i did some research on how damaging late payments can be to a credit rating, and a 5 would be very damaging for a while.

I have a single '3' late payment on my credit file and that was nearly 5 years ago, but i still got turn down credit because of the 'adverse' data....