Debt Advice Needed Please

dj4wills

Hi. Years ago I got in a mess financially which resulted in debt collection agencies getting involved. I finally paid off all outstanding balances about 2 years ago, and now owe nothing to any debt collection agency. I am still having trouble getting credit even though all balances have been settled, and I haven't missed any payments on anything in the last 2 years . Will the debt collection still be showing on my record, and if so, how do I go about getting it removed? And also, if I have it removed, does that mean my credit rating will improve? Sorry if I appear ignorant in these matters, but we all need to get help from time to time. Thanks in advance.

fermi

If your debts went to debt collectors, then you will almost certainly have defaults on your credit file relating to those accounts.

These will harm your credit rating, and they will stay for 6 years from when the creditor first put them on.

If you have paid of the debts then the defaults should be marked to show the accounts have been settled, but the default itself still stays for the 6 years. You can't have them removed because you paid the debt after the default.

Have you checked your credit files to see what is on there?

See: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#files

While correct defaults cannot be removed, if some things are wrong then you may be able to get them corrected. i.e. dates wrong meaning the 6 years runs longer than it should, debts not being marked as paid, duplicate defaults from collectors and the original company etc.....

dj4wills

Thanks for your advice, it's appreciated. When the debts were cleared, in the confirmation letters from the agencies, it said I could apply to have it removed from my record after a 12 months but as you say, this must be wrong. Even though it's a couple of years ago and settled, does the fact that it is on my record still affect my rating now? And how lenient are lenders in these circumstances?