Advice needed - does debt that has been sold on appear on credit report as a new debt

jacjacjac0_5

Hello all,

I'm looking for some advice.

My husband had a business in 2006 which came into difficulty and eventually folded. It was a limited company, but he did take on some personal debt to try to get the business out of trouble, and unfortunately he was left in a position where he was unable to repay the debt.

That was seven years ago now, my husband hasn't taken any credit at all since then, and we've been waiting the six years it takes for these debts to 'go away'.

Since he stopped making the repayments, the debts have been sold on to various debt collection agencies and we've received a number of letters over the years which we haven't paid much attention too.

My question is, if the debt has been sold on, does it become a new debt in the eyes of credit reference agencies, or does the 'six year rule' still apply?

The reason I ask is that we are currently saving for a mortgage and are trying to build up my husbands credit rating with a credit building credit card. When I've gone through the eligibility checks on moneysavingexpert (for cards such as Luna and CapitalOne) he only has a ten per cent chance of being accepted, even though these cards are specifically for people with bad credit scores.

I checked my husbands credit report last year and he had a credit score of 'fair' so I thought he would have no problem getting a credit building credit card.

The obvious solution is to check his credit report again, but Experian are being awkward about re-instating his account so I have to wait until Monday :mad: in the mean time I'm pulling my hair out with worry thinking these seven years of waiting have all been for nothing!

fermi

If there was a default for the original debt, then anyone that buys the debt can have it changed into their name, but are not allowed to change the actual default date.

So the default and account should drop off your credit files 6 years from the original one. Selling on a debt does not allow it to stay on your credit files longer than it otherwise would have.

Some debt collectors do break the rules and change default dates, so you have to watch out for that and complain and take them to the authorities if they do.

jacjacjac0_5

Thank you very much for your reply, you have been most helpful.

We will check the report on Monday and look for any obvious errors. As my husband hasn't taken any credit in the last seven years I can only assume there is some kind of error which is effecting his eligibility.

jacjacjac0_5

I think I may have figured out why my husband isn't eligible for these credit cards (thanks to your response!)

I've checked the report I downloaded last year and the default dates on his report are actually in 2008. I was working on the assumption that he would be free and clear six years from the date the debt was started, rather than default date.

Thanks again for your help.