Bank still holds records of my default after 6 years

AdKM

Hi all,

After a long hard slog I've finally got there and paid off all of the debt I accumulated in my (crazy) twenties.

I reached agreements on all my debts with Moorcroft Debt Recovery Agency. Now that 6 years have passed there is no trace of the debts with any of the Credit Reference Agencies and my credit rating is 'Excellent'.

Phew! No more credit problems for me then?

Wrong.

I have just applied for a Barclaycard, and have been refused credit on the following grounds;

"Our records indicate that you have held a Barclaycard account with us previously. While you had this account it was not run within the terms and conditions".

This really concerns me and raises two or three questions.

a) Can banks keep records of defaults for longer periods of time than credit reference agencies?
b) How long for?
c) Is there anything i can do about this? - I was under the impression that there were 'no blacklists'.

I can't seem to find much information of anyone else in a similar situation via a quick Google search.

Can anyone help shed some light on this? And what consumers can do about it, if anything?

timbstoke

Yes. The Statute of Limitations means they can't chase the debt after 6 years, and the entries should drop off your credit file at that point. However, the individual institutions are at liberty to retain the information for as long as they like, and use that information to decide whether or not to offer you further credit. Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do about this.

AdKM

So potentially, I am going to have trouble getting credit for the rest of my life?
I defaulted on a Barclaycard, HSBC credit card, Egg Card and an Egg loan.

It's a chapter of my life which I've learned and moved on from, but it seems those lenders might not let me forget it. Ever?

Ouch.

In the next few years I might like the option of applying for a mortgage. Now I'm worried.

Butti

Hi,

Just concentrate in the next few years on keeping your nose clean and managing any credit agreements or credit cards with a scrupulousness that Kim & Aggie would be proud of. Get yourself a few years of super clean living and a nice deposit built up.

In the mean time research who is attached to who in terms of banks and the mortgage market. I am firmly of the view that towards the end of this year the interest rates will go up, house prices will drop again and there will be more people in mortgage trouble. This may mean in a couple of years time the banks may not want to lend to anyone or it may mean lending to someone with a decent deposit and a cleanish record.

Good luck,
B

BigCraigJohn

Tbh that's not bad, hsbc are pretty much alone and egg and barclaycard are now the same so pretty much anyone else is unrelated.

NeverAgain_2

Applying for a card from an unrelated issuer sounds a sensible idea.

But I wonder what Barclays will tell the credit reference agencies of the OP's refused application, if anything?

hello2007

AdKM wrote: »

Hi all,

After a long hard slog I've finally got there and paid off all of the debt I accumulated in my (crazy) twenties.

I reached agreements on all my debts with Moorcroft Debt Recovery Agency. Now that 6 years have passed there is no trace of the debts with any of the Credit Reference Agencies and my credit rating is 'Excellent'.

Phew! No more credit problems for me then?

Wrong.

I have just applied for a Barclaycard, and have been refused credit on the following grounds;

"Our records indicate that you have held a Barclaycard account with us previously. While you had this account it was not run within the terms and conditions".

This really concerns me and raises two or three questions.

a) Can banks keep records of defaults for longer periods of time than credit reference agencies?
b) How long for?
c) Is there anything i can do about this? - I was under the impression that there were 'no blacklists'.

I can't seem to find much information of anyone else in a similar situation via a quick Google search.

Can anyone help shed some light on this? And what consumers can do about it, if anything?

What year did open your barclaycard that you default on ?

AdKM

I can't remember when I took the Barclaycard out. It might have been around 2002.

AdKM

Ironically, I got refused by Virgin as I don't have a sufficient history of borrowing!

timbstoke

NeverAgain wrote: »

Applying for a card from an unrelated issuer sounds a sensible idea.

But I wonder what Barclays will tell the credit reference agencies of the OP's refused application, if anything?

Nothing. Anything they had to say would have been recorded at the time, and will now have dropped off for credit reference purposes.

AdKM

An update, nearly two years later....

I now have no problems getting credit cards from providers outside of the Barclay's group. And I even got a 'mortgage in principle' very recently after a soft credit search.

All those years ago I very nearly declared bankrupt. I even filled out the forms. I am SO glad I didn't go down that route now, as the "Have you ever been declared bankrupt?" question is something you often come across on application forms.

Saving up to reach agreements with Moorcroft was the harder route to take, but was best decision in the long run.