Cleaning my credit rating.

JW1982

Hello,

I'm sure you get a lot of threads started like this so i apologise if it's a bit repetitive.

I'm trying to clean up my credit rating which i damaged years ago in my teens & early 20's with defaults.

The majority of the defaults were pre 2005 to creditors such as Sky TV and T-Mobile/Vodafone etc.

I also have default with the Lloyds TSB for unpaid bank charges after i changed banks and forgot to cancel DD payments.

The most serious of these defaults was to a Loans company in 2004 for a loan of £1500. Just today (7 years later) i received a phone call from a collection agency informing me of legal proceeding to recover this amount plus another £2800 on top!

I don't know much about how credit files work but i hear after 5-6 years of the default that the creditor has to drop the debt?

I haven't had any bad credit at all for approx 3 years now and for the last 12-18 months every payment i have made has been exactly on time and for the full amount due

I now only have credit with Sky TV and T-Mobile and have never missed a DD or been overdrawn with my current bank

What do i need to do to get my credit file back in order?

I'm obviously finding it difficult to obtain credit and in the future i'd like to be able to obtain some for a car/mortgage.

I've applied for a copy of my credit file today but Experian tell me i have to wait 4 days before i can see it.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

jonjamie1970

Have you looked at your credit file on line, you can sign up to a free trial with Credit Expert, don't forget to cancel before the 30 days.

JW1982

jonjamie1970 wrote: »

Have you looked at your credit file on line, you can sign up to a free trial with Credit Expert, don't forget to cancel before the 30 days.

I've paid the £2 to see the statutory credit file but they tell me that i have to wait upto 4 days for the e-mail link to my file arrive.

Do the outstanding debts over 5 years old need to be paid off or can they just be removed?

Culex

In which country do you live?

What was the name of the collection agency who threatened to take you to court?

JW1982

JW1982 wrote: »

I've paid the £2 to see the statutory credit file but they tell me that i have to wait upto 4 days for the e-mail link to my file arrive.

Do the outstanding debts over 5 years old need to be paid off or can they just be removed?

I'm in England.

I forget the name now, the fella who i spoke to didn't speak the best English, it was something along the lines of HWO or similar.

Tixy

6years after the original default date the debt will no longer appear on your credit file.

If there is no CCJ then 6years after you last made a payment or wrote to acknowledge that you owed the money then the debt becomes statute barred which means you would not need to pay it (although legally the debt still exists).

If they or anyone ring again regarding old debts then ask them to write to you. Once you have a letter from them you can deal with it in the correct way.

JW1982

Tixy wrote: »

6years after the original default date the debt will no longer appear on your credit file.

If there is no CCJ then 6years after you last made a payment or wrote to acknowledge that you owed the money then the debt becomes statute barred which means you would not need to pay it (although legally the debt still exists).

If they or anyone ring again regarding old debts then ask them to write to you. Once you have a letter from them you can deal with it in the correct way.

That's great, thanks.

I assume there is advice on this forum about dealing with it in the correct way?

I seem to be having a problem obtaining credit still though even though i've been on the ball the last year or so and the debts are mostly 6 years + and should be off my file by now.

It's very confusing as1i week i was accepted for a mobile phone contract and the next i was rejected for a very basic credit card with Capital One :think:

Culex

JW1982 wrote: »

I'm in England.

If you neither made any payment on that alleged debt nor acknowledged it in writing for more than six years, the debt will be statute barred by section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980. This means that it could not be enforced by any court judgement; to state that it is statute barred is a complete defence to any summons.

It is not necessary for you to prove that you neither paid nor acknowledged the debt at any time in the last six years - it is up to the debt farmers to prove that you did.

I forget the name now, the fella who i spoke to didn't speak the best English, it was something along the lines of HWO or similar.

Was he Eastern European or Indian?

JW1982

Tixy wrote: »

6years after the original default date the debt will no longer appear on your credit file.

If there is no CCJ then 6years after you last made a payment or wrote to acknowledge that you owed the money then the debt becomes statute barred which means you would not need to pay it (although legally the debt still exists).

If they or anyone ring again regarding old debts then ask them to write to you. Once you have a letter from them you can deal with it in the correct way.

That's great, thanks.

I assume there is advice on this forum about dealing with it in the correct way?

I seem to be having a problem obtaining credit still though even though i've been on the ball the last year or so and the debts are mostly 6 years + and should be off my file by now.

It's very confusing as1i week i was accepted for a mobile phone contract and the next i was rejected for a very basic credit card with Capital One :think:

JW1982

Culex wrote: »

If you neither made any payment on that alleged debt nor acknowledged it in writing for more than six years, the debt will be statute barred by section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980[/URL]. This means that it could not be enforced by any court judgement; to state that it is statute barred is a complete defence to any summons.

It is not necessary for you to prove that you neither paid nor acknowledged the debt at any time in the last six years - it is up to the debt farmers to prove that you did.


Was he Eastern European or Indian?

Apparently i had made a payment on the debt at some point in 2004 of £145.00 which i assume was 1 months payment, since then there has been nothing.

I had a mentality of "if i ignore the debts they'll go away" and now i'm suffering for it.

Hopefully I'll receive my credit file sooner rather than later and can start to get myself back on track. Do i need to apply to have the 6+ years debts removed from my file manually or is it automatically done?

I couldn't say for sure where he was from but i'd say it wasn't an Indian accent.

Thanks for your advice.

Culex

JW1982 wrote: »

I assume there is advice on this forum about dealing with it in the correct way?

There's this:

Your street and house number
Your town
Your postcode
Date
Address details of company
‘Without Prejudice’

Dear Sir/Madam
Account No:
Your company has contacted me/us in respect of the above account which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

It is my understanding that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5
"an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that
"it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that
"continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully

Or you might just wish to refer them to the celebrated retort in the matter of Arkell v. Pressdram.