Want my life back- starting with defaults!

amazing1

Hi All,

Haven't been on this site for a long time. When I first ever posted I was in a real mess not able to post a link as a new poster but search under my username for the whole background if you're that bored...

Anyway it has been pretty much 6 years since our troubles first began. The spiral down was gradual and I am now finally facing what the damage was. In very brief we eventually sold our house, cleared some but not all debt. Completely relocated and have been renting for past four years.

I believe (through a lot of hard work and three jobs) that my husband and I should be able to save approx. £30K in next two years for a deposit.

I intend to address the damage one at a time and I'm starting tonight with a default notice I have from Black Horse Finance.

This was for a HP agreement I had on a car which I could no longer afford to meet the payments. In October 2009 after trying to maintain payments and speaking regularly to Black Horse I opted to Voluntary Terminate the agreement and hand back the car.

I wasn't 50% through the agreement and agreed that after returning the car I had a balance owed of £3,877.

I was told the account had defaulted and made an arrangement to clear the balance at £75 per month.

I maintained this as best I could and repaid in total another £880. The last time I made a payment was March 2011.

I have checked my credit file tonight with Experian and it shows that the defaulted balance was £3,877 (which I agree). But it shows an actual default date of only 20/2/2012!!! And says the current balance is £2,486. There was a £500 repossession charge added at one stage which I challenged since I had voluntary terminated and had actually driven a few hundred miles at my cost to return the vehicle. So this may account for some of the difference.

But my specific concern is the date of default. It cannot be right can it? The first '8' on the account appears 46 months ago - which would be August 09. Which sounds about right for when I was really struggling with payments and which led me to voluntary terminate in October 2009.

Can a default be added as late as this?

Thanks for any advice.

Tixy

Is the account in the name of the original creditor? or in the name of a debt collector?

Essentially though no - it is not fair to put on a default so late.

If its showing with a debt collector then maybe they changed the default date when they took over the debt. That is not allowed and you should write to them to ask them to correct it to the original date.
If still in the original creditor name then try writing to them and stating that the late default is unfair given that you originally defauled in 2011. Will find you a link to a thread that might help.....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4153487

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3840153

and ICO Guidance - Filing defaults with credit reference agencies

UsetheFORCE

amazing1 wrote: »

Hi All,

Haven't been on this site for a long time. When I first ever posted I was in a real mess not able to post a link as a new poster but search under my username for the whole background if you're that bored...

Anyway it has been pretty much 6 years since our troubles first began. The spiral down was gradual and I am now finally facing what the damage was. In very brief we eventually sold our house, cleared some but not all debt. Completely relocated and have been renting for past four years.

I believe (through a lot of hard work and three jobs) that my husband and I should be able to save approx. £30K in next two years for a deposit.

I intend to address the damage one at a time and I'm starting tonight with a default notice I have from Black Horse Finance.

This was for a HP agreement I had on a car which I could no longer afford to meet the payments. In October 2009 after trying to maintain payments and speaking regularly to Black Horse I opted to Voluntary Terminate the agreement and hand back the car.

I wasn't 50% through the agreement and agreed that after returning the car I had a balance owed of £3,877.

I was told the account had defaulted and made an arrangement to clear the balance at £75 per month.

I maintained this as best I could and repaid in total another £880. The last time I made a payment was March 2011.

I have checked my credit file tonight with Experian and it shows that the defaulted balance was £3,877 (which I agree). But it shows an actual default date of only 20/2/2012!!! And says the current balance is £2,486. There was a £500 repossession charge added at one stage which I challenged since I had voluntary terminated and had actually driven a few hundred miles at my cost to return the vehicle. So this may account for some of the difference.

But my specific concern is the date of default. It cannot be right can it? The first '8' on the account appears 46 months ago - which would be August 09. Which sounds about right for when I was really struggling with payments and which led me to voluntary terminate in October 2009.

Can a default be added as late as this?

Thanks for any advice.

No, it can't.

Not certain but I think it should be registered within 6 months of the event.

amazing1

Thanks for the replies so far, very helpful.

I believe the debt has passed to Hillesden Securities at some stage who have passed it to Nolans solicitors in Dec 2012. I'm not sure when Blackhorse have sold it on though originally- and cannot recall receiving the default notice assuming this would have happened back in 2009!

So can I challenge this default? Who do I take it up with? Will it simply be amended back to the date I last made a payment even if only token sum. Or earlier than that? I had assumed it would have defaulted when I returned the vehicle as I had had lots of letters citing default notices at the time because I was making reduced payments.

Thanks for your help.

Tixy

Debatable when it should be dated. Arguably within 6months of handing back the car, however if they consider the repayment plan you agreed as a formal agreed change to the repayment plan then it should be within 6months of when you stopped making those payments.
If they did not consider the reduced payments satisfactory then it should really be within 6months of you handing back the car/ starting reduced repayments.

So the lastest possible date would be 6months after Mar 11, so Sep 11. The earliest might be a couple of months after the first '8' on file.

I would write to whoever is reporting the account to the credit reference agency now and state that you believe the default has been unfairly added late, quoting the ICO guidance.

amazing1

OK I will give that a go.

They appear to contradict themselves citing the default balance as £3,877 and dating it Feb 12. When at Feb 12 I had actually repaid £880 of that figure so the default sum would not have been £3,877 at that date anyway?

Any chance that they may remove the default altogether, or are they able to amend/re-register it with the older date?

Anyone had any experience of this- and dealing with Blackhorse to do this?

Tixy

They are able to amend or backdate it if they wish. Some users have even found creditor agree to remove it altogether when it had been wrongly dated. Though that is not common.

Could well be the case the blackhorse had the original default date different, but then one of the debt collectors has registered the account with a different default date. Which they should not. If you had a previous copy of your credit file showing an earlier date in blackhorse's name (which has since been removed) this would be easy to prove. Without that it can be harder to prove that this has happened. If the debt collector won't change it, then it could be worth trying writing to blackhorse to complain and ask what date they registered a default with the CRAs.

amazing1

Tixy wrote: »

They are able to amend or backdate it if they wish. Some users have even found creditor agree to remove it altogether when it had been wrongly dated. Though that is not common.

'if they wish'- can I complain elsewhere if this is wrong? It just doesn't seem right adding the default so late. The vehicle was handed back much earlier than the default and in good condition and I'm sure they would have had their money back and more from the auction sale.

I just cannot stomach being made to suffer this for what could be 9 years from returning the vehicle.

Feel the wind going from my sails before I've even got started. I need some success stories please?!?

Tixy

By wish to - I mean it is technically possible for them to do so if they agree to it.

Some success stories on those 2 threads I've posted, but there are certainly others I've seen on these boards. Definitely worth a shot at writing to them to start with, you may not have a battle.

If you do have a battle then you would need to raise a formal complaint and then potentially complain to the FOS to try to get it resolved.

amazing1

Thanks Tixy- I will give it a try! Nothing ventured and all that.

amazing1

I just revisited the last credit report I ever had which was in March 2011 and with Equifax. Here it shows the Blackhorse account as having a current balance of £7,583- which is a figure I don't recognise and certainly doesn't tie back with either the default sum or sum at that date. The payment history just shows 'U' with a cross through it from November 2008?! I think that might have been when I started to make reduced payments.
So do you think I have a case to write to Black Horse to argue that they have consistently provided inaccurate information to the credit agencies? At best I would like the default removed- at worst, put back to the date of voluntary termination. Should I on first attempt aim for the full removal and failing that ask for it to be amended to the earlier date? What tone of letter works best? Authoritative and to the point or do I include the human side of my story? Like I say, I just want my life back.