Unrecognised 'default' on my credit report

scarlett3

Hi

I was going to buy a car and thought that I would check my credit report (via Experian) beforehand. However, I found a 'default' record on my report for £3,200 owed to Arrow Global Limited; the date of the default is December 2008. The account type is 'credit card/store card' and the start date is June 1997.

The background information ...

We certainly did take on credit cards and store cards in the 1990s and found ourselves in difficulty ten years ago, so turned to Baines & Ernst (a mistake, I know!). We stayed with them for only a short period, eventually working with CCCS and making direct arrangements with the creditors. The last of those arrangements-to-pay will have completed this year and we are in a position where we have been paying off our debts and using credit only when necessary.

Then in June/July last year we started getting letters and phone calls from Fredrickson International claiming that we owed £3200, plus other charges. Their client was listed as 'Arrow Global Limited'.

We read the advice to others on this and other sites and sent the letter template which includes: "We would point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to ...".

We didn't receive any information regarding the origins of this alleged debt and heard nothing more from Fredickson International after a while, but then we got the same demands by letter from Rossendales Collect, starting in March. The letters from Rossendales Collect referred to an address that we left in 2001. Again, we sent off the letter template querying liability for the debt. Until we had proof that we owed this money to Arrow Global, we were not going to pay them any money.


Okay, now to the present time. Who are Arrow Global? Do they buy debt off companies and then pursue individuals for this money? If so, and if this dates to a credit card/store card in 2001, how can they pursue it now? We thought that all the creditors have been dealt with by Baines & Ernst in the first place, and then via CCCS and ourselves thereafter.

And what about the 'default' on the credit report? I know that we can put a notice of correction on the file, but it doesn't remove the default, it merely adds additional information.

All these years of repaying our creditors and paying for our mistakes of the 1990s should have left us in a very good credit position now, but this has completely changed that. It will be almost four years before our credit report is healthy again. What can we do?

Trajal

Who are Arrow Global?
http://www.arrowglobal.net/

They, as you correctly assumed, buy debt from others.

I would suggest sending them a letter directly asking them to prove what the debt is for, if they fail to respond within 12+2 then demand they stop reporting and remove any/all adverse etc.

Given the dates, I would venture that this will most likely be statute barred anyway.

Just make sure that you put in big block capitals that you in no way acknowledge this alleged debt.

And don't sign it, print your name (i'm sure you know the drill on that, but just a random reminder).

scarlett3

Thanks Trajal

I can see that the debt, if it is mine, should be statute barred, but what about the default on my credit report?

DVardysShadow

scarlett3 wrote: »

Thanks Trajal

I can see that the debt, if it is mine, should be statute barred, but what about the default on my credit report?

But if you have being paying on a plan, this counts as acknowledgement, so it won't be statute barred until 6 years after your last payment.

scarlett3

I haven't been playing on a plan for anything that has £3200 still owing. I don't know to what alleged debt this default refers to.