Expert help needed re account default please. 31 October 2013 at 1:10PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Credit File & Ratings 3 replies 400 views

hannahalame

Hi there,

I am hoping you can help. I recently applied for a mortgage and was rejected because of my credit rating - confused as I have no loans, credit cards, store cards or finance, I logged into Experian. I found out my score was 915 but I had a negative factor. This was a default added to my account by HSBC on the 04.01.2012. This is in relation to an old student overdraft.

I have since contacted HSBC and the FO to raise a complaint. This morning I spoke to two agents at the head office - HSBC, they have on their system that between June 2011 and Dec 2011, 7 letters were posted to my home address asking me to make payment and they doubt that the default will be removed because of this. I advised that the only letter I had received was one from Metropolitan Debt Collectors - as soon as this was received the amount (£487) was repaid by Nov 2012.

Yes there had been no payments to the account for some time as I had forgotten all about it, and no letters were received to our house from HSBC asking me to pay it, yes they have the correct address. I have asked for proof of postage and receivership of said letters and they responded by saying 'they were sent as they are on our computer as sent but they are posted 1st class by RM and not recorded so there is no proof of you receiving them'. I genuinely didn't.

Also on my Experian the payments are shown as green '0s' right up until Jan 2012 where they are shown as dark red '8s'. Is this right?

I really need some help with this as need it removing in order to get a mortgage, we have a deposit and we are literally ready to go! What can I do?

Many thanks

Hannah

Tixy

With it being an overdraft its not unusual to go from green straight to default.
That is because the account would have been satisfactory up to the time it was recalled. And then when you didn't repay it when recalled then the default would be issued.

Its seems very unusual that so many letters could have gone missing, assuming you haven't had another other known problem with your post.

Presumably you did get your normal bank statements between June and Dec 11? Do they not indicate any issues at all? no messages from them on the statement/covering letter asking them to contact you? no evidence of it being recalled or going to be recalled?

And did you get statements after Jan 12? and did they not show that there was an unauthorised overdraft? When did you stop getting statements?

happy_bunny_2

You could send them a subject access request to see if they are telling the truth about the letters showing as sent on the account history.

If they do, I think you are stuffed as they only need proof they were sent and the FOS will side with the bank on this I expect, 99.999% sure.

If they don't show as sent, you should likely be in luck.

SARs take up to 40 days.

Once you get a final response to your complaint, or have you already? Sit on ot til your SAR comes in.

ManWhoCan

Were you living at your home address when you were a student?

If not HSBC may have had the address of your student accommodation as a correspondence address and sent the letters there.