Is anyone an expert on defaults???

sarahlee_2

Hi, I would be grateful for some advice from anyone who knows a bit about the defaults process. I have been on a DMP since 2004. One of my creditors (an Intelligent Finance loan) was accepting my monthly reduced payments but I later found out that they were still adding charges and interest, hence the balance was hardly decreasing at all. When i found this out I contacted them and they agreed to refund the charges and interest, therby reducing the balance. Ongoing interest was frozen and the loan was then transferred to Blair Oliver and Scott in 2009, at which point a default was registered on my credit file, 5 years after I originally broke the terms and conditions of my loan. This seems very unfair as I have been making payments for six years and this default will still be on my credit file until 2015 which is over ten years since my DMP started. Does anyone know if there are any rules about when a default should be filed and whether there is any chance of me getting the default back-dated?

DarkConvict

They have 6 months to place a default from your first lot of under minimum payments according to guidelines by OFT. They can't place a default this late, further more they must issue a default notice by law - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=30208835&postcount=49.

You need to take this matter to the OFT to complain about them, and once they side with you if the debt collector does not remove it then complain to the ICO to force its removal given OFT sides with you.

Moglet

Hi there. Your situation is very similar to my OH. He also entered a DMP in 2005 and had an IF loan. They defaulted him in 2006 and passed the debt to BO&S. He's only just started to look into what's been happening with these debts and his credit file. The default on his file is shown as satisfied the month after and the balance outstanding as zero. There's been about £1000 of additional interest and charges added to the account judging by the amount originally owed, amount paid and what they say is remaining.

He's contacted IF about the default stating it's very unfair to have defaulted more than 2 years after the default actually occured and it's disappeared from his file now (along with a few more??) but they haven't confirmed in anyway if they would be willing to move the date of the default. He didn't ask for it be removed, just the date amended as that meant it would drop off anyway.

It remains to be seen if these accounts stay off the file though. Oh, and BO&S offered a 75% F&F, rejected a 35% and counter offered 65%. Just waiting for the letter and then we might accept it. It's interesting that IF refunded the charges but I doubt we'd get anywhere with that now because as far as they are concerned, the debt is settled. ??

toffe

as darkconvict says the general rule is 6 months, there are different rules for DMP's though depending on how much you were actually paying towards the debt.

i suggest you have a good read through the I.C.O tehnical guidance for registering defaults and see if you feel you have any grounds to dispute the default based on this guidance, sections 22 to 26 cover DMP'S but i'd read it all and see where you feel you stand then maybe come back here for some more advice...

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/detailed_specialist_guides/default_tgn_version_v3%20%20doc.pdf