Please help! Default advice

dswood1

Hi. I've checked my credit rating on noddle 3/5 and Experian (mid fair). I am looking to get a mortgage in 7 months.
I have three defaults on my file. The first is with Barclays for a career development loan taken out in October 2005. They said it was defaulted in July 2009. I really think the default date should be earlier and this should be more than 6 years now. I am near certain that I made first default on this in 2006. It was a 3.5 year loan so it would have been in essence paid off if I had defaulted in 2009 as they say. I think the default date is made up. Any advice?

dswood1

My point being i want this default to drop off my credit report but the default date seems way out of sync with the actual date I defaulted. I am certain I defaulted within 6 months of taking the loan out. That means in 2005. Hence it should have dropped off with the 6 year rule by now??

Tixy

It is often possible to get defaults backdated by complaining to the creditor if they have been dated incorrectly (or the default date has been changed at a later point by a debt collector).

When you say you are certain you defaulted in 2005, that seems odd for a career development loan, as usually no payments are due for a while at the start.

So you borrowed the money in October 2005. When were the payments originally scheduled to commence?(as usually with career development loans the are deferred for a period of time before payments starts).

Have you got statements to show when you missed payments?

dswood1

Tixy. You make a sound point. For the life of me I totally forgot about that. I'm not sure what the length of time I had until I was expected to repay the money back. How can I determine this without speaking with the lender? I think I need to try and get online and see when I missed the payments perhaps?

dswood1

But I'm certain it wasn't a 4 year period between taking the loan out and a default. I think on reflection it was a 12-18 month repayment break. Then I defaulted within 6 months. So two years after the agreement in 2005.

Tixy

The deferral period should have coincided with the course it was taken out to do. They are often 2 years but could have been less. Regardless it does sound like the default date is incorrect/unfairly late.

Have you got any paperwork for the loan still?

Is the debt fully settled now? or still oustanding? If it is fully settled then it might be worth contacting the lender for copy of the agreement and a full transaction listing (you may need to do a subject access request).

Otherwise if you can track back to your own bank payments and see when they first started (assuming you made the first payment on time) and then see when they stop or start to be missed.

1 missed payment wouldn't result in a default. The ICO suggests that a default should usually be entered when a customer falls between 3 and 6 months behind with repayments.

Tixy

Actually does the detail of the account on your credit file give you an indication as to when payments started and then when they were missed (the monthly payment status part)

dswood1

Hi the loan is outstanding. I've been online and it doesn't go back beyond 2012 but that's on noddle. Once my experian pass code arrives may be able to see better depth with them. I may be able to get on my Barclays online account and see the career development loan on there.
If I think a default date is wrong should I eg contact noddle for example and inform them?

Tixy

If I think a default date is wrong should I eg contact noddle for example and inform them?

If there is a query over the default date you really need to contact the lender (or debt collector if the entry on file is in a debt collectors name).
Are you making repayments on the debt currently? or 'hiding' from it?

dswood1

Hiding from it.
I've been on experian tonight and the the two records for Lowell's that are on noddle are absent from experian. Any idea why one shows this but the other doesn't?
As far as the development loan goes I've been unable to see the history for checking online and I have no statements. Begs the question how can I determine this default date without entering communication with the bank?

dswood1

Any advice?