Should I apply for my credit report?

achillesheel

I notched up a fair amount of debt a few years back, I have paid some back but I'm not sure if I paid all my creditors. I have moved house regularly and I have not been contacted by any debt collectors in at least 2 years.


If I obtain my credit reports should I expect to be contacted by debt collectors if I still have outstanding debts?


If this is the case then will they be able to demand that I pay them from a trust fund that I have (from inheritance), but that I currently do not have access to?


I currently have only a cash card bank account and no credit. About a year ago I applied for a normal debit card and was rejected. I was told that this probably meant that I had a CCJ. I was hoping to try and sort this by applying for my credit reports and sorting out any old debts in the hope that I could obtain credit in the future, but now I am worried that this might create more problems that it is worth.


Any advice is much appreciated.

The_Boss

Not sure, but how else are you going to find out what is on your report?

Surely you wouldn't have issues with paying back what you owe if applicable? It would be the first step towards putting things right.

duggan1

I've just this evening finished paying off all debts (aside from student loans). Have just been reading my Equifax report online and am pleasantly surpised to see that any debts that had gone to debt collection (Fredrickson etc) are simply listed as 'satisfied' from the date Fredrickson took over. No mention of them after that date. Still have late payments but those are 3 years old now.

Unfortunately I've also discovered I have an active ccj, though it doesn't give much info about who it is for. I suspect the housing executive for a housing benefit overpayment that I only paid back today. Forgot all about it, my bad. Don't recall receiving anything about court though. At any rate I'll call the court tomorrow and see what I can find out then set about getting it marked as satisfied.

Also absolutely no mention of payday loans either, which I have used over the past year.

Equifax is in the post and will have to fill in the paper form for callcredit as they don't seem to know who I am....

achillesheel

The_Boss wrote: »

Not sure, but how else are you going to find out what is on your report?

Surely you wouldn't have issues with paying back what you owe if applicable? It would be the first step towards putting things right.

I guess my fear is that when i apply for my reports I will get harrassed by debt collectors and might strugle to pay them back. As it stands I am making do with my cash card account and no credit. However at some point I might want a mortgage so this might change. Am i right in thinking that after a certain period these outstanding debts will no longer count against me?

krustylouise

Hi,

Yes you're right in thinking that certain debts (not council tax etc) may become statute barred after 6 years if you don't acknowledge them. But if you've used and spent the money you are accountable for them, wouldn't you want to pay them off seeing as though you took responsibility in the first place? Not having a go but morally....

Thrifty_Pixie

i thought CCJ's didn't fall off your record? i would want to know what was out there against me, personally.

if you have a trust fund coming at some point why not check your report and if they DO come chasing you, set up a payment plan until you can pay it all off. that way you have paid everything you owe and can sleep easy.

if you only have access to a cashcard at the moment i wouldn't have thought you would make your report any worse by checking it.

achillesheel

Thanks for the replies.


I know that I must have some bad marks and possible outstanding debts against me and now is the time to stop hiding and face up to the situation. Burying my head in the sand is what caused the problems in the first place. I have decided to obtain my credit reports and also do a search for CCJ's on trustonline. I will then just have to deal with the consequences.


Please can anyone tell me if I have to do multiple searches for different addresses on trustonline or can I do all my addresses in one search?


Also I have been doing some digging and it seems I may have been very stupid regarding a tiny amount of council tax that I was wrongfully charged ages ago. I have basically ignored it and then forgotten about it, but it seems that I could be in quite a lot of trouble for this. Can anyone tell me where I can find out if there is a liability order against me?


Thanks

fatbelly

Here goes :

achillesheel wrote: »

If I obtain my credit reports should I expect to be contacted by debt collectors if I still have outstanding debts?

Yes

If this is the case then will they be able to demand that I pay them from a trust fund that I have (from inheritance), but that I currently do not have access to?

How would they know about it?

I currently have only a cash card bank account and no credit. About a year ago I applied for a normal debit card and was rejected. I was told that this probably meant that I had a CCJ.

Rubbish

achillesheel wrote: »

I guess my fear is that when i apply for my reports I will get harrassed by debt collectors and might strugle to pay them back. As it stands I am making do with my cash card account and no credit. However at some point I might want a mortgage so this might change. Am i right in thinking that after a certain period these outstanding debts will no longer count against me?

Statute barred after six years of non-acknowledgement. Or to put it another way, they have six years to commence court action

achillesheel wrote: »

I know that I must have some bad marks and possible outstanding debts against me and now is the time to stop hiding and face up to the situation. Burying my head in the sand is what caused the problems in the first place. I have decided to obtain my credit reports and also do a search for CCJ's on trustonline. I will then just have to deal with the consequences.


Please can anyone tell me if I have to do multiple searches for different addresses on trustonline or can I do all my addresses in one search?

No point doing both. Use trustonline (multiple searches) if you want to find out about ccjs without alerting creditors. Use CRAs if you don't care. It's the same info.

Also I have been doing some digging and it seems I may have been very stupid regarding a tiny amount of council tax that I was wrongfully charged ages ago. I have basically ignored it and then forgotten about it, but it seems that I could be in quite a lot of trouble for this. Can anyone tell me where I can find out if there is a liability order against me?

Ask the council

achillesheel

Thanks for those answers fatbelly.

Any ideas why I was rejected for a normal current account if not a CCJ? I asked for no overdraft facitity, I just wanted a debit card.