Debt/Credit File Advice

willgetthere_3

Hi All,

I'm a first time subcriber who needed some advice so apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.

I recently got access to my credit file and was hoping someone could help clarify a few things.

I have a credit card default from july 2006. It was updated a few months later (I think it meant on the report) but the actual default date was july 2006. It doesn't come up on the report as the credit card company but as the debt collection company. I have never been in touch with them (the debt collection company), or had any contact with them in any shape or form. I wanted to find out if that debt would become statute barred in July of this year, and when/how does it come off from my credit file?

I also have one from my old mobile phone company with the default date of december of the same year but that was updated in 2009, and is also listed by a debt collection agency. Would the same apply to this debt?

I only have 1 CCJ on my credit file, for a couple of hundred pounds which I am not sure what its for, from 2008, which I assume will stay on for another couple of years? I will be in a position to pay off the CCJ and the mobile bill soon but wont be able to pay the credit card at all (hence asking if it comes off my file after 6 years).

If my Credit Card debt becomes statute barred in July of this year, and I pay off the phone bill and CCJ, does that mean I am technically debt free?

Also, how long would it take to get myself credit worthy again? I have a good job now and a regular salary going into my account. I have no other debts, and pay my bills on time.

I would be grateful for any advice/information given.

Many Thanks
Will

fermi

Are you in Scotland or England/Wales?

willgetthere_3

I'm in England.

Regards
Will

erimus1

Hi willgetthere. The update is just the creditors updating information - this will just stay the same if nothing has changed but could show a reduction in balance if you have made payments.

If you haven't acknowledged or made a payment on this account that was defaulted in July 2006 then it could already be statute barred. The limitation period for this if six years from the last cause of action, and not from the default date shown in your credit file as some people indicate. Generally speaking, the last cause of action is deemed to be the last payment made in the account.

Same for the mobile phone contract - the only difference with hese types of contract for you to be concerned with is that there is no formal requirement to supply you with an official default notice as is normally required under the CCA.

In the circumstances I would not make a payment on these without a court order. Not that I am encouraging anyone to shirk their responsibilities insofar as their debts are concerned, but these debt collection companies blatantly break the laws for their own gain. Unfortunately tryout you in this position.

As far as the CCJ is concerned, as you're not even sure what it's for, I certainly would not pay it without making enquiries tothe issuing court - perhaps it is an error. If, after investigation you're aware of what the CCJ is for, you are then able to make an application to set this aside. This would involve attending a hearing, declaring that you did not receive any court documentation in relation to this CCJ (I am assuming you didn't as you are unaware of it). If granted, this effectively will temporarily remove the CCJ from your credit file. If the creditor then wishes, they have the opportunity of re-serving the original claim, and you can deal with it accordingly - admit and pay it, defend it in court if it is incorrect etc. if you go don this route and pay it within a month, no record of the CCJ will return to your credit file.

Hope this helps

fatbelly

I agree with the above. All I would do in your situation is phone the court that issued the ccj and find out what it was.

Take it from there.

It might turn out to be something you've already paid, like water arrears.

willgetthere_3

erimus1 wrote: »

Hi willgetthere. The update is just the creditors updating information - this will just stay the same if nothing has changed but could show a reduction in balance if you have made payments.

If you haven't acknowledged or made a payment on this account that was defaulted in July 2006 then it could already be statute barred. The limitation period for this if six years from the last cause of action, and not from the default date shown in your credit file as some people indicate. Generally speaking, the last cause of action is deemed to be the last payment made in the account.

Same for the mobile phone contract - the only difference with hese types of contract for you to be concerned with is that there is no formal requirement to supply you with an official default notice as is normally required under the CCA.

In the circumstances I would not make a payment on these without a court order. Not that I am encouraging anyone to shirk their responsibilities insofar as their debts are concerned, but these debt collection companies blatantly break the laws for their own gain. Unfortunately tryout you in this position.

As far as the CCJ is concerned, as you're not even sure what it's for, I certainly would not pay it without making enquiries tothe issuing court - perhaps it is an error. If, after investigation you're aware of what the CCJ is for, you are then able to make an application to set this aside. This would involve attending a hearing, declaring that you did not receive any court documentation in relation to this CCJ (I am assuming you didn't as you are unaware of it). If granted, this effectively will temporarily remove the CCJ from your credit file. If the creditor then wishes, they have the opportunity of re-serving the original claim, and you can deal with it accordingly - admit and pay it, defend it in court if it is incorrect etc. if you go don this route and pay it within a month, no record of the CCJ will return to your credit file.

Hope this helps

Hi Erimus1

Thanks so much for the reply as its proved really helpful.

With the credit card debt, the debt collection company have somehow attached it to my new address which I moved into a year ago, even though the debt was from a previous address where I had lived for 10 years. They have not made any attempt to verify it is the same person (even though it is). Am I best to wait until next month to make sure the six years from the date of the defualt is up before I contact anyone to have it removed, and who would i contact? Would it be the credit reference agencies, or the debt collection company?

Also, the credit report I got is a free one on a one month trial basis which you can cancel in the first month. Do you know if it is a complete version of my credit file, or could there be something missing from it?

Thanks for all your help as it proved really useful.

Will.

willgetthere_3

fatbelly wrote: »

I agree with the above. All I would do in your situation is phone the court that issued the ccj and find out what it was.

Take it from there.

It might turn out to be something you've already paid, like water arrears.

Hi Fatbelly,

Thank you for the reply. I wasn't aware of it and the date and adress it was issued to, I had already moved from so I will follow it up. What is the best way to go about this.

Also, if you could help with what I have replied to Erimus1 with, I would be really grateful.

Many Thanks

Will

erimus1

Hi willgetthere. Perhaps if you leave it another month then and then send a 'Statute Barred' letter to the current owner of the debt, templates of which can be found on this website or Consumer Action Group site. My own personal view in regard to these is to actually state that the account is statute barred though - i don't like how many of these templates state that 'they believe' it is statute barred. Bare in mind though that this does not mean that the debt is not owed, it merely means that the creditor is unable to inistigate legal proceedings. The debt collection companies can still pursue you for the full debt - to stop this from happening, put an addendum in the 'Statute Barred' letter stating that you are never going to be making a payment and therefore any contact requesting so would be superfluous and harrassing. Bare in mind though that the defaults will automatically fall off your credit file on the 6 year anniversary of when it was issued so if all is well and it falls off next month as it should, don't bother sending any letters - let sleeping dogs lie.

Part of your credit file shows linked addresses that you supply to individuals. This, along with electoral role information is how you would have been found at your current address.

To make an application to set the Court Order aside you will need to to to the County Court and fill in an N244 form. I can't remember now but there is a time limit for doing this (maybe 30 days from date of original order) - don't worry too much about this as you can request to the judge for leave to make an out of time application on the same basis as long as you can convince him or her that you have only just found out about the order and that you have made the application as soon as you can.

With the credit files, I personally pay a monthly subscription, although some people do not believe it is worth it. Creditexpert charge £14.99 for their service after the trial period but like SKY, if you ring up and say you want to quit, you can argue your case and get it down - I pay £6.99.

Also, Callcredit's Noddle service is completely free for life, although it is only updated once a month and not live like Creditexpert. This can be found on https://www.noddle.co.uk

Hope this helps

fatbelly

On the ccj, just phone the court with the reference number. They will tell you who the claimant is and if any enforcement has been attempted. If you don't recognise the debt, ask them if they can either read to you, or send to you, the particulars of claim.

On the credit card debt, it will be removed from your file next month. I don't really see why you need to do anything with it if no-one's contacting you about it.

You won't get any further detail from the credit reference agency but it doesn't claim to to a total record of your debts. There are lots of reasons why things may not appear on your file.


.

willgetthere_3

fatbelly wrote: »

On the ccj, just phone the court with the reference number. They will tell you who the claimant is and if any enforcement has been attempted. If you don't recognise the debt, ask them if they can either read to you, or send to you, the particulars of claim.

On the credit card debt, it will be removed from your file next month. I don't really see why you need to do anything with it if no-one's contacting you about it.

You won't get any further detail from the credit reference agency but it doesn't claim to to a total record of your debts. There are lots of reasons why things may not appear on your file.


.

Thanks Fatbelly,

I will follow up as you have suggested.

Regards
Will

willgetthere_3

erimus1 wrote: »

Hi willgetthere. Perhaps if you leave it another month then and then send a 'Statute Barred' letter to the current owner of the debt, templates of which can be found on this website or Consumer Action Group site. My own personal view in regard to these is to actually state that the account is statute barred though - i don't like how many of these templates state that 'they believe' it is statute barred. Bare in mind though that this does not mean that the debt is not owed, it merely means that the creditor is unable to inistigate legal proceedings. The debt collection companies can still pursue you for the full debt - to stop this from happening, put an addendum in the 'Statute Barred' letter stating that you are never going to be making a payment and therefore any contact requesting so would be superfluous and harrassing. Bare in mind though that the defaults will automatically fall off your credit file on the 6 year anniversary of when it was issued so if all is well and it falls off next month as it should, don't bother sending any letters - let sleeping dogs lie.

Part of your credit file shows linked addresses that you supply to individuals. This, along with electoral role information is how you would have been found at your current address.

To make an application to set the Court Order aside you will need to to to the County Court and fill in an N244 form. I can't remember now but there is a time limit for doing this (maybe 30 days from date of original order) - don't worry too much about this as you can request to the judge for leave to make an out of time application on the same basis as long as you can convince him or her that you have only just found out about the order and that you have made the application as soon as you can.

With the credit files, I personally pay a monthly subscription, although some people do not believe it is worth it. Creditexpert charge £14.99 for their service after the trial period but like SKY, if you ring up and say you want to quit, you can argue your case and get it down - I pay £6.99.

Also, Callcredit's Noddle service is completely free for life, although it is only updated once a month and not live like Creditexpert.

Hope this helps

Thanks so much Erimus1.

I have downloaded the copies of the letters just in case. I think I will wait for the debt to come off next month and if I keep getting letters, I will write to them.

Also, I keep getting letters for two small overdrafts I had for the same period, but these do not show up on the credit file (My accounts were closed down). Does this mean they are statute barred, or have come off my credit file, or are they missing from my credit file as i have only purchased the free trial credit report?

One more question (Apologies, but you have ben really helpful). Regarding the CC debt that is on my file and becomes barred next month, I recieved a letter which was apparently from the CC Company saying the debt had been passed onto the Debt Collection Agency (This after not hearing from them for 7 years). You can clearly tell that the debt collection company have maufactured it themselves due to the quality of the paper used and the fact that the letter head was printed on with the text as opposed to being pre-printed. Would that be classed as fraud by the debt collection company?

If i request a copy of my credit report from CallCredit, will it show up as a search on the other credit reference agencies, and is it a straightforward prcess?

Again, apologies for all the questions, but I am actually feeling a lot more positive about getting my life beack in order after so many years of depression, and you have been really helpful.

Many Thanks
Will