Removing Default Notices

mumone4664

Hi, I'd really appreciate any advice anyone can give me; I defaulted on two credit cards in 2007 (I was an unemployed single parent and carer at the time, but have since managed to find a job) and I managed to raise enough money to pay them off -but not in full, so they are marked as 'satisfied' but still showing on my credit reports.

I have read that I might be able to get the defaults removed if I didn't ever receive a 'Default Warning Notice'. Is this different to an actual Default Notice? I received the Default Notices, but didn't receive any letters warning me that I would receive a default. All this was after many letters sent to the banks concerned explaining my circumstances and the fact that I suffered at the time from depression and anxiety, but to no avail.
I have another two years to wait until the six year period from the defaults being issued (2007). Will they automatically be removed from my credit reports then? My credit reports show the dates of the defaults as 2009 - I'm not sure why, so I'm worried that I'll have to wait an extra two years to clear them.
Sorry for a long first post and thanks in advance for any advice

fermi

There are 2 things that are frequently mixed up.

(a) A default notice under the Consumer Credit Act - A legal requirement before a creditor can end an agreement under that act.

(b) A Notice of intention to file a default with the credit reference agencies - A recommended, but not compulsory step before recording a default on your credit record.

For accounts where the first (a) must be given and you are notified in the account application/T&Cs/elsewhere that not keeping to the agreement can be reported on your credit record, then the 2nd (b) has effectively been done anyway.

So, I think on a clear breach of your credit agreement that you would struggle to get any such default removed.

chanz4

there has been no breach on their side, so they will stand.

fermi

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

there has been no breach on their side, so they will stand.

No breach on their part, but there is the issue of why they waited 2 years between issuing the default notice and recording the default with the credit reference agencies.

Sometimes this is fair, but in most cases it is not.

It depends very much on the account history.

But one of the principle the ICO will judge by is that by filing a default this...

should not result in the customer being placed in a worse position than someone who has made no effort to pay whatsoever.

In other words, if a default is to be recorded because the lender considers any payment arrangement to be unacceptable or at too low a level, then they should not delay in recording the default. e.g. usual example is within 6 months of the "breakdown".

On the other hand if someone has agreement or arrangement to pay (or the like) with a creditor which results in them not filing a default, then if they subsequently record a default because that arrangement beaks down for example, then they should again not put that person in a worse position compared with someone who did not try to repay in the first place. In other words, the default should be backdated.

So whichever way you spin it, in all but exceptional cases, waiting 2 years after the default notice to date a default on the credit record is likely to be unfair.

fermi

mumone4664 wrote: »

I'm not sure why, so I'm worried that I'll have to wait an extra two years to clear them.

As it stands, I'm afraid that is the case.

Depending on the account history you may have an argument that waiting 2 years to date those defaults is unfair.

Without knowing a detailed account history after you had trouble paying, that is hrd to say for sure.

Have a careful read through this, and you may be able to judge for yourself.

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

mumone4664

Many thanks for your advice, I was not able to deal with the late recording of the default on my credit report at the time, but I will see if there is anything I can do about it now.