Advice on a situation

dslyon

Hi there,

My cousin has asked me for help managing a relatively small amount of debt he has from some years ago that's causing him trouble now when trying to get work.

We created an account on Equifax to have a look at what's actually there, and there are several items he wasn't aware of, all of which are now showing as defaulted.

He knew about an unpaid contract to Orange from several years ago, however the rest are news to him.

I'm wondering if some of these entries may be debt collectors that have taken over the original debt, possibly now showing as if they were separate entries for separate overdue balances.

Mail Order Agency from Phoenix Recoveries Sdfs (I) / XXXX9889 £345
Communications Supplier from Arrow Global Ltd (I) / XXX1659 £179
Mail Order Agency from Phoenix Recoveries Sdfs (I) / XXXX9471 £255
Communications Supplier from Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd (I) / XXXX3833 £503
Communications Supplier from Vodafone Ltd Gemini(i) / XXXXX1909 £133
Communications Supplier from T-mobile (I) / XXXXX9997 £207
Communications Supplier from Everythingeverywhere T/a Orange (I) / XXXX8586

At the moment, I'm thinking the best course of action is to call these companies up individually to find out exactly what each debt is for, try and trace them back to the original cause.

As an aside, the one for £503 actually has an incorrect date of birth listed.

My questions are... if they were paid, would it be negotiable to have the defaults removed as a condition of the payment? Would the incorrect date of birth be worth further investigation? Are there any other routes or options available to improve and clean up the credit history, or even question their validity?

Thanks.

Fiddlestick

dslyon wrote: »

My questions are... if they were paid, would it be negotiable to have the defaults removed as a condition of the payment?

Well you can ask, but it's unlikely - the defaults are factually accurate are they not?

Culex

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Well you can ask, but it's unlikely - the defaults are factually accurate are they not?

The pattern of debts - two apparently for mail order and four for mobile phones, one of which has the wrong DoB - may suggest identity theft or fraud.

dslyon

Culex wrote: »

The pattern of debts - two apparently for mail order and four for mobile phones, one of which has the wrong DoB - may suggest identity theft or fraud.

How would we take this forward to get it checked?

dslyon

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Well you can ask, but it's unlikely - the defaults are factually accurate are they not?

Whether they are or not, I'd like to investigate possibilities to not have them hanging around his neck for 6 years owing to simple negligence that he's since paid for.

climbgirl

dslyon wrote: »

Whether they are or not, I'd like to investigate possibilities to not have them hanging around his neck for 6 years owing to simple negligence that he's since paid for.

It's too late for that I'm afraid. If they are not his debts and are fraud, you can petition to get them removed. But if they are his, they will stay them and show as settled once the debts have been paid.

It may be negligence but if he has defaulted on these debts, a damaged credit record is a consequence of that.

Tixy

Has he received paperwork in relation to these debts that you could look through to see what entry relates to what debt? Is he currently being chased for repayment of these debts?

If you cannot work out what default/entry is for what debt then I would suggest he writes to the debt collector or creditor to say he has noticed an entry on his credit file and would like them to provide him with information in relation to the debt.

If these do turn out to be his debts though a letter like that will likely mean the DCAs/creditors start chasing again.

RAS

You need to start with the basic question; are these his debts?

If not he needs to find out when and how they originate. he can challenge any that are not his responsibility but I would be very surprised if any creditor would remove a default inside 6 years if the debt was actually owed by him.

Fiddlestick

dslyon wrote: »

Whether they are or not, I'd like to investigate possibilities to not have them hanging around his neck for 6 years owing to simple negligence that he's since paid for.

But having the defaults registered on the credit file *IS* paying for the mistake, be it negligent or not.

Vodafone

dslyon wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm wondering if some of these entries may be debt collectors that have taken over the original debt, possibly now showing as if they were separate entries for separate overdue balances.

Communications Supplier from Vodafone Ltd Gemini(i) / XXXXX1909 £133

At the moment, I'm thinking the best course of action is to call these companies up individually to find out exactly what each debt is for, try and trace them back to the original cause.

As an aside, the one for £503 actually has an incorrect date of birth listed.

My questions are... if they were paid, would it be negotiable to have the defaults removed as a condition of the payment? Would the incorrect date of birth be worth further investigation? Are there any other routes or options available to improve and clean up the credit history, or even question their validity?

Thanks.

Hi dsylon,

If you and your cousin would like us to take a closer look at the Vodafone aspect of things here you're welcome to email the details of the account in question via our Contact us form here quoting the code WRT135 - FAO Lee in the subject line and including a link to this thread in the body of the email.

Once sent you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. To enable us to make sure we get it could you update the thread with this and we'll get back to you as soon as we can?

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK