Orange mobile phone default help.

doh_erty

As the title suggests I have a Default on my credit file from Orange (mobile) for £127.42

well as i have hidden away from these things for sometime i finally feel the need to face the music so to speak.
so yesterday i telephoned orange to discuss said default and work out somekind of payment plan.

My points were simple really as its not a huge amount to pay compared to other debt i have I was going to have the mindset to negotiate a payment plan rather than negotiate a different amount to pay.

so I phoned them and got transfered to the collections department, I was told that I could make payments as and when i could afford and once the final payment has been made effectively paying off the owed amount, the default on my account would no longer stand and the debt would say settled rather than a big red D.

however, when i asked if i could be sent this in writing to confirm the lady simply replied "no, we cant do that im afraid" which i kind of found a little odd?

is this normal practice when paying of a debt of this nature or should i be going about all this a different way?


thanks in advance

Doh_erty

fermi

Normally, when the debt is paid off the original default itself would still stand, but it would then be marked as settled/satisfied rather than listing an outstanding balance that is updated with a "D" each month.

So sounds as if the person you spoke to is being a bit 'economical' with the truth, or doesn't actually understand how these things work?

Or if it was a genuine offer to remove the entire default once paid, then that isn't worth a damn without that in writing.

doh_erty

thanks for the fast response,

what would be my ideal way of going about paying this debt and removing the "blemish" from my credit file? if this is at all possible.

I just want to be able to get credit again as im in a much better place financially now and shall not be shying away from these things again.

thanks again

doh_erty

please help any advice welcome

Orange_Company_Representative

Hi doh_erty,

I have been in contact with our Credit Referrals Team who have advised any defaults applied to a credit file will remain on it for 6 years, however once the balance is cleared the default will then show as settled which creditors look upon more favourably. Unfortunately we are unable to completely remove a default from a credit file.

Hope this answers a few of your questions.

Steve, Orange Helpers

Twitter: @OrangeHelpers
Facebook: Orange UK

Tessie_Bear_2

Hello Steve,
I'm wondering if you could help me? I'm going out of my mind with worry and I'm desperately unhappy about the situation my son is in with Orange. He rang up to cancel the contract and was told that everything would be sorted for him. A couple of months down the line, he received a letter from Orange demanding payment for the months he had 'missed'. He rang immediately to tell them that he had cancelled the contract but was told that he still had to pay the two months 'outstanding' debt. He was really unhappy about this, as was I, but paid the money anyway. This happened in 2009. This week he has applied for his very first mortgage as he has seen a lovely little house just perfect for him. His offer has actually been accepted subject to him being granted a mortgage. When the credit checks came through he was absolutely shocked and gutted to find a default notice had been placed on his file by Orange. This is the only blip on his file and is the only reason he has been denied his mortgage. It just seems so unreasonable considering the amount of the so-called 'debt' and the fact that it hugely affects his financial status and because of this it looks like he will lose the opportunity of buying this particular property. I could cry really and it is now beginning to affect all the family. Please could you advise if there is any way whatsoever of removing this default which I believe is grossly unfair as it seems to have stemmed from a misunderstanding possibly of both parties? I would really appreciate your help and advice and thankyou in advance.

McKneff

But it isnt grossly unfair, he didnt abide by the terms and conditions.
There is absolutely no way a default can be removed until 6 years have elapsed unless a major mistake has been made by the company.

Sorry. I believe that there is the odd company who will lend despite the default but they are few and far between.

I am all for education in schools about money management, there are so many people who have no idea about the devastating effect of not paying up and getting defaults.

Orange_Company_Representative

Hi Tessie Bear,

Sorry to hear the problems your Son has had. My advice would be to first contact the Credit Referrals Team putting as much detail into your letter as possible, they will look into the matter and respond. If you are unhappy with the response you may wish to escalate. You can find details of the escalation process (code of practice) on our website in the Terms and Conditions section.

The letter will need to come from your Son as he was the account holder. If you have any further questions you can contact my colleagues on our official pages on our profile on here.

Hope this helps.

Steve, Orange Helpers

Trajal

I happen to love Orange. I have 3 contracts with them currently (gf/work/personal). My first ever job was sitting on the orange brochureline (marketing company, not hutchison or whoever it was back then) when they first launched (wow that was a while ago).

However, it seems to me that if he cancelled, they should have made him aware that there was a balance remaining to be paid. Not just randomly put a default on him.

Now a company rep saying that they can't remove a default, sorry but that's not entirely true. If proper procedure was not followed, if he was not informed that there would be a closing balance, if there was no attempt by the company to collect the debt, if there was not a 28 day (minimum) period between the attempt and the default being placed then Orange absolute SHOULD (nay MUST) remove that default.

I'm getting a bit annoyed with companies haphazardly placing defaults on people's credit files as a matter of course, I have suffered from this myself (and successfully negotiated to have 3 removed, as well as various other things cleaned up).

I am seriously considering a legal action group to take action against companies who spuriously place defaults on individuals files and take absolutely no responsibility for the problems this may cause them going forward, especially if they take liability for it later.

Good luck, and don't give up, from what you have said it seems outrageous that orange wouldn't consider removing that default.

BigCraigJohn

Phone providers are extremely uniform and strict, I imagine its completely automated, 1,2,3,default without a great deal of warning, and as here a relatively small balance causes all sorts of hassle. I was a month in arrears for 3 years a while, they said nothing until I applied for credit and was declined. It was only ever £15 or so.

Have they ever issued default notices etc?, if not there may be a chance of getting them to remove it after all they cant just go round hammering credit files without giving you the chance to remedy the issue, this is a legal requirement.

stclair

You could email them using the following email address:

referrals.fax.inbox@everythingeverywhere.com