Default on Credit File

GeorgeUK

As PNPSUKNET says, you may be shooting yourself in the foot if you are going to try to get credit - it won't be as straight forward as getting the default romoved means your credit score is good again. This was the blessing in disguise i mentioned earlier.

While late or missed payments showing on your credit file are not as damaging as a default, it will still impact your credit rating. The effect they have on your rating will decrease with time unlike a default, but you may not see any real benefit.

6 years after the default date, the account will fall off your credit file.
6 years after an account is closed or settled, the account will fall off the file.

I guess it depends on what you are hoping to achieve from this. I would say that late payments showing on your credit fiel would have virtually no effect on the rate after 2 years. Positive data would also help negate this a little.

Gina22

GeorgeUK
I have looked back through all of my bank statements and although in my first post I said I had missed payments it appears that I have never missed a payment or in fact been late with a payment, all payments were made by standing order and none were ever rejected by my bank. I have done the subject access request so will wait to see what comes back before I decide what to do, I am thinking that they will probably take the full 40 days to respond though, they are not the best company to deal with. If I havent missed a payment then would it be better for me to attempt to get the default removed or just leave it be?

I am just miffed that from day one I have paid this debt but still being penalised for it. I accept that I am responsible for the debt as although it wasnt actually me who withdrew the money, my name was on the joint account and therefore I am also liable. I have cleared the debt now and hope that my ex-husband is somewhere also paying the price for having a default on his record. Although would it show on his credit report as a default if it was only me who entered into an arrangement to pay? Also now that I have paid the full amount would his report be updated as settled the same as mine?

Thanks again for all your help and advice.

GeorgeUK

There are a few things you may wish to seek clarification on - especially if you do manage to get the default removed.

When you originally got the joint account, there would have been certain things that you would have had to agree to - you should get this information in the SAR if it required a credit agreement and hopefully there will be some T&C that will inform you too. You may have been required to deposit a certain amount each month or to pay x% of an overdraft etc. If for some reason this did not happen, this would be considered a breach - although it is usually only if the breach last for 3 or more months and the breach has not been rectified that a default would be the result. Any arrangement to pay after this will not change the fact that a breach occurred and therefore the agreement would be broken and defaulted. There are even cases where people are paying more than the originally agreed payments and still being harrassed.

If you were to get the default removed, you would need to ensure that the account was closed. I think that a joint account requires both persons to request this though, so if the default is removed, then the account may remain classed as open. If this happens, your ex may then have access to this account and any overdraft facilities.

You should also check your credit file to see who you are financially linked with. If you are able to get the default removed and the account closed, you may wish to have your ex removed from any financial links that the CRA's have. They will not remove him if you have an account that is still open or any other joint finances though.

GeorgeUK

If you have never missed a payment and as far as you are aware, there has been no breach, you should write to them requesting an explanation as to why a default was put on your credit file. It does however sound as though there has been some breach as they would not pass your details on to Trident if the account was running in order. Possibly worth writing to them for clarification of what has happened if it is not clear.

If ther is a default on your file for this joint account, then the chances are good that it is also on your ex's. As the payment has been made in full, the account (on both files) should be updated to settled. If you are successful in getting the default removed, it will probably only come off your file as removing defaults would probably require user intervention - so they would look at your file and not your ex's unless specifically told to be the creditor.

As mentioned earlier however - if there has been a breach of the original agreement and you get the default removed, the account and all it's payment history will remain for 6 years from the settlement date. If there has not been a breach, then i would be requesting an explanation, apology and compensation - possibly also reporting them to the ICO if they don't play nice. Above all though you should check and make sure it is in writing that the account is closed in full and cannot be used by you or your ex.

Gina22

George UK
I will certainly be looking through any paperwork they send me back as part of the SAR and will look for some of the things you have mentioned. I did receive a letter from Triton this week which I had to ring them about and whilst I was on the phone I did ask about the default and was told that it will be removed from my credit file as I had now paid the account in full, I am not sure that was correct and think he may have made a mistake but he did say that a letter had been sent out to me regarding my default so will wait to see what it says. I will definately be checking that the account gets fully closed as well as I hadnt thought about the fact that it may still remain open and that my ex may then have access to the overdraft again, thats scary!!

I have now been given a mortgage subject to this default being marked as settled on my credit report which I am told will not be for another 6 weeks or so. It has been a very stressful few weeks having a few rejections (without leaving footprints on my credit report) but I think my persistance has finally paid off and if possible I will definately be seeking at least an apology and maybe compensation if I have any energy left in me at the end of it all.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks again for all your advice, when this all started I had no idea what a default was or how much of an effect it had on my credit file but I think now I will keep a very close eye on my credit report.

Gina22

Hi George UK
Just thought I would update you on my progress of establishing the status of default on my credit file. Have just spoken to Triton Credit Services today and they could not understand why I had been given a default in the first place so looked back through their records for evidence of the £30 charge added to my account which is the amount they charge for an account going into default. They could not find it. However he did find evidence of a letter being sent to me in 2007 letting me know the account was going into default and that they were going to issue me with a default notice, fortunately for me that notice was never sent and therefore the correct procedure was not followed so they are now prepared to remove the default completely from my credit file. This will take 3 to 4 working days to update on my credit file. I will celebrate when I see it in black and white for myself.

So thanks for all of your help and guidance, looks like my continued persistence may have paid off for me. It is a valuable lesson learned on my part and will never allow my credit file to get in that state ever again.

Thank you again :j

GeorgeUK

Great news Gina.

Let's hope that the account will also disappear from your file. Don't forget to check that it is fully closed (and possibly get written confirmation of this). If any late payments hsow on your file, after 2 years, they will have no impact on your credit score, so hopefully you won't need to worry about that either.

Now go enjoy knocking lumps out of your new mortgage

Gina22

Thanks George - have written to request confirmation in writing that account is now closed and no further money can be drawn on it, had it confirmed on the phone but just want that written confirmation just in case!! They have assured me it will be removed completely so am hoping they mean everything, will wait til next week to see what credit report says then take it from there. Will now go buy a new house!!! Thanks again.