Delinquant vs Default

Mosphaiti_2

Hi all,

I've checked my credit report via experian for the first time and seen that in 2010 when I lived in a house with a few others, the gas bill with british gas was paid 5 months late. It seems it was in my name, so it shows failure to pay 2 , 3 , 4, 5 months late and then settled

Is this considered a delinquent or defaulted account? If its a default i believe its 6 years that it will stay on my report, but what about a delinquent one, if it is indeed that.

Tixy

If it was defaulted it would show a field in the record that say default date and the date it was defaulted.
Given what this is showing it sounds like it was settled just before a default would have been entered.

If there is a default it would stay on file for 6 years from that default date.
If there is no default then it will stay on file for 6 years from the settled date.

Experian_company_representative

Not a default but may be viewed by banks as 'delinquent' which means three or more payments behind for two or more consecutive months. I think these only show up if the delinquency occurred in the last 12 months. Generally speaking it can be better for your credit rating if accounts containing serious arrears are kept open for a while once caught up, rather than settled immediately. Once settled the arrears history is frozen and displayed for a further six years.

James