Egg registered default without my knowledge

ahperks

HI
New here and hope someone can offer some advice.

Appied for Egg Credit card October 2010 and was accepted with £3500 CL. (I also had a Co Op members credilt card). I took advantage of there 0% transfer offer in order to clear my Co Op card and work to a 12month plan to clear the debt.
The Egg card has been paid each and every month by direct debit.

Last weekend I was purchasing some garden furniture from Homebase and was advised that I could get an extra 15% off if I applied for a store card. I applied and was told it was being referred, this came as a surprise but I paid by an alternative method and am now waiting for the outcome of the referral.

Yesterday, it was playing on my mind so I joined creditexpert and had a look at my file. Everything looked good and then found a red Default under my Egg entry, needless to say I was shocked.
The file shows my account was defaulted on 31/03/11, I reconfimed my payment was made 21st March from my bank.

I immediately logged in to my egg account and noted that no April statement was available (my next DD is due now but had not been taken). I clicked the link for their live help but received a message that I cannot use live help as my account is now being handled by the collections dept.

I called the number provided and explained the situation the the advisor, he put me on hold for a minute or so and then cam back to say that they had heard I had a bankruptcy order in 2005.
I was actually declared bankrupt in 2004 and was discharged from that in April 2005, which I told the advisor.

He told me the department that was dealing with my account will not be in until tuesday and gave me their direct number. Obviously I am very annoyed and feel quite sick that this has happeded, particularly as I have been so careful with money espcecially since having my credit reinstated.

While I don't want to go into the details of the bankruptcy here, suffice to say it involved a business partner that acted very recklessly that led to the BO.

While I wait to call Egg on Tuesday, I just wonder if:

1. After accepting my application last november (presumably after checking my credit history) they can now withdraw my credit card.

2. Even if they decide they want to close down my account, should they not have told me? I have received no communication from them apart from a letter last month telling me they were reducing my Limit to £3050 following a review.

3. As I have made every payment on time, can they really issue a default notice?
I am concerned they have now engineered a default as they have not issued a statement for payment for April and I suspect they will not apply for the DD payment.

4. What happens to my Interest rate, I note the rate has changed from 0% to the standard rate.

Apologies for the lenghty question but I would like to be fully prepared when I call them on Tuesday

cooltt

Only 1 question

Did you tell them you were bankrupt when you applied for the card? If the answer is no then you have your answer.

ahperks

Hi Cooltt

Thanks for your reply. When I applied, I provided all the usual details on the online form. I don't recall a question asking if I had ever been bankrupt and I was not Bankrupt when I applied for the card.
As far as I am concerned, I was bankrupt 6 years prior to the application and discharged from that bankruptcy in 2005.
In accordance with the law, the BO was removed from my CRA file in April 2010.
Hope this makes sense - I feel I applied for the card many years after being discharged from bankruptcy and they are now using the fact that I was bankrupt all those years ago to default my account. Can this be right ?

fozmcfc

Just a query as I don't know, but doesn't the mark concerning your Bankrupcy end in April 2011, 6 years after you become discharged and not 6 years after you are declared Bankrupt.

Otherwise it doesn't make sense, as long as you are keeping up with repayments, I don't see why they defaulted you.

YorkshireBoy

ahperks wrote: »

I have received no communication from them apart from a letter last month telling me they were reducing my Limit to £3050 following a review.

Did this result in your balance exceeding your limit?

cooltt

ahperks

Before you apply for the card there is a list of statements that you are asked to confirm are correct, one of them is " you have never been declared bankrupt" or words to that effect.

I will say it's a bit naughty of them to have not informed you of they're intentions though and it's not as if you stopped paying your card. i just think what ever you throw at them they're gonna come back with you lied on your application. (not intentionaly i know)

YorkshireBoy

cooltt wrote: »

...they're gonna come back with you lied on your application.

In which case OP may find there's now a CIFAS marker on their credit file?

(not intentionaly i know)

Unless the default was "no" and OP changed it to "yes" (or vice versa)?

m00m00

Egg should not have registered a default in these circumstances. They are within their rights to withdraw the card and demand repayment, but not to issue a default to the CRA's when the account was well maintained.

ahperks

cooltt wrote: »

ahperks

Before you apply for the card there is a list of statements that you are asked to confirm are correct, one of them is " you have never been declared bankrupt" or words to that effect.

I will say it's a bit naughty of them to have not informed you of they're intentions though and it's not as if you stopped paying your card. i just think what ever you throw at them they're gonna come back with you lied on your application. (not intentionaly i know)

Thanks Cooltt.
I must say that I do not recall these statements, but if there was such a statement I would have answered honestly (or believed I did in the case of mis-reading it).
I will have to see what they say when I call, but a furious at they way they have conducted themselves.
I wonder how long it would have been before they actually told me!

ahperks

m00m00 wrote: »

Egg should not have registered a default in these circumstances. They are within their rights to withdraw the card and demand repayment, but not to issue a default to the CRA's when the account was well maintained.

Hi m00m00

Thanks for your opinion, I feel the same way. If they wanted to close my account then they should have done so, askled me to return card or whatever and ask for the balance to be repaid.
Cannot understand how they can justify registering a default 10 days after my last on-time payment.

If the outcome is account closure, then I am not too concerned about that, but I want to do all I can to get the default removed as I have been fastidious about money and accounts ever since my bankruptcy.

MichaelCR

cooltt wrote: »

ahperks

Before you apply for the card there is a list of statements that you are asked to confirm are correct, one of them is " you have never been declared bankrupt" or words to that effect.

I will say it's a bit naughty of them to have not informed you of they're intentions though and it's not as if you stopped paying your card. i just think what ever you throw at them they're gonna come back with you lied on your application. (not intentionaly i know)

Seeing as the OP Hasn't actually stated whether he applied online or by telephone, they might not have asked the OP about ever being declared bankrupt, However if they did and the op said no, Then egg will throw the book at you, And you'll have absolutely no ground to stand on when defending your self, If they did and you said yes, and they still gave you a credit card, Then i can't see how its ethical of them to withdraw this ? But from my knowledge its stated in most credit card providers T&C's that they can withdraw the credit limit an credit card at anytime ?

to the op...

1. After accepting my application last november (presumably after checking my credit history) they can now withdraw my credit card.

- From my knowledge its stated in most Credit card providers T&C's that you sign (electronically when applying) or in person on paper, That they can withdraw your credit card at any time, And they can withdraw offers etc etc, Someone will have to confirm this as i'm not 100%.

2. Even if they decide they want to close down my account, should they not have told me? I have received no communication from them apart from a letter last month telling me they were reducing my Limit to £3050 following a review.

- They should have informed you in writing of this decision, And when they lowered your credit limit, Did that take you over your credit limit at all ? If so then you'll find the 0% offer most certainly being withdrawn.

3. As I have made every payment on time, can they really issue a default notice?
I am concerned they have now engineered a default as they have not issued a statement for payment for April and I suspect they will not apply for the DD payment.

- A default notice is when you default on a payment (Breach the contract by not paying on time), So from my knowledge they can not default you for paying monies, unless you where behind on payments, And made no effort to pay, Then yes you'll be served a default notice unfortunately, Which will stay with you for 6 years. Although if you did lie on your application about the whole bankruptcy thing then I'm not sure how they would go around this.

4. What happens to my Interest rate, I note the rate has changed from 0% to the standard rate.

- Correct, once you miss a payment or go over your credit limit then you will loose your 0% and be put on to the standard rate.

Good luck on sorting this out