Default Sums Served by Amex

lukeh23

Hello All,

Please excuse my naivety here, hoping you can help.

I recently recieved a default sums notice from American Express for the lofty sum of £12.

This occured from the following:

£46.23 of purchased were made between the 5th of Jan to the 15th Jan with no previous balance / monies owed.

A further £42.75 of purchases were made between the 4th & 7th Febuary, bringing the balance to £88.98

A minimum payment of £5 was needed by 13th Feb.

Late payment fee of £12 was charged for on Feb 14th.

Feb 20th I cleared all amounts owed including the late charge. That would be 3-4 working days after the late fee.

The letter states:

Details of default:
(a) Amount of £12.00 as you have been charged a late payment fee.
(b) Payment due on March 16, 2013

The letter is dated for Feburary the 19th and was recieved on the 21st. I paid in full on the 20th.

Does this mean that I now have or likely will have a default on my credit record?

grumbler

TBH, all this makes no sense to me. What default after just one late payment while staying within the limit?

However, as the payment was due 16/3 and you paid much earlier, I don't see any reasons for the default being reported.

lukeh23

grumbler wrote: »

TBH, all this makes no sense to me. What default after just one late payment while staying within the limit?

However, as the payment was due 16/3 and you paid much earlier, I don't see any reasons for the default being reported.

Me too.

The letter states the folllowing in bold:

"NOTICE OF DEFAULT SUMS SERVED UNDER SECTION 86(E) OF THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT"

This has me concerned they have now reported me on to experian and co.

That would seem unfair to me, I am sure they are meant to send a red letter out first.

fermi

lukeh23 wrote: »

Does this mean that I now have or likely will have a default on my credit record?

No. Not likely.

"default sums" and notices of them under s86E are not the same as a formal "default notice" under s87 or the recording and notification/warning of a default on your credit file.

Experian_company_representative

I suspect you'll just have a late payment on your report. The default notice is supposed to give you the opportunity to avoid defaulting, which would usually see your account closed and transferred to collections.

James Jones

lukeh23

Just thought I would update about this. Even though I only received a default sums (not notice), it still shows as a default on my credit report as 'default'. My score has dropped right down now, which will likley right off any hope i have of getting a mortgage.

I will have to call amex about this. If anyone has any tips on how to fight this I would appreciate.

In the meantime I will get the account closed as this is the first time I have messed up in ten years of holding the card with a payment of a few days late.