Small loan for a car

toro444

Hi,

I am looking to get a small loan to help me get a new car. The problem that I have is that I have a red mark on my credit file from Vodafone from a year or so ago (even though Vodafone have accepted that they made "massive customer service failures") which has stopped me from being able to get credit before. I also struggled to find a lender for my mortgage until I found out about building society's not doing credit searches and just basing it on affordability.

I am 29 years old and work full time. My credit score on experian is "fair" but I worry that if I try to get a loan then I will be declined and therefore make it even more difficult to get accepted by anybody else.

Does anybody have any advice on any lenders that base their search on affordability rather than the computer just seeing a red mark??

Many thanks.

[Deleted User]

What's your income?
What size loan are you looking for?
What is the 'red mark'?
What else is on your credit reports?

toro444

25k.
Between 3 and 5k.
The redmark is from where Vodafone failed to inform me that I owed them any money when I changed service provider and therefore I didn't pay the amount owed 3 months in a row. Vodafone have since waived the fee and accepted responsibility but tell me that they cannot remove the red mark from my credit file.
I have a couple of credit cards on there and phone bills where there has been no other late payments.

[Deleted User]

Perhaps try a soft search, from someone like Nationwide. This will give you a better idea of whether you will be accepted, before you start making actual applications.

CLAPTON

toro444 wrote: »

25k.
Between 3 and 5k.
The redmark is from where Vodafone failed to inform me that I owed them any money when I changed service provider and therefore I didn't pay the amount owed 3 months in a row. Vodafone have since waived the fee and accepted responsibility but tell me that they cannot remove the red mark from my credit file.
I have a couple of credit cards on there and phone bills where there has been no other late payments.

of course they can remove the red mark from your credit file

whether they will or not depends upon the full circumstances and your perseverance

toro444

How do I do a "soft search"? Would it just be on the website?

Vodafone tell me that they can/will only remove the red mark if they have made a mistake regarding the money owed. They have told me that there have been "massive customer service failures" with my account but they haven't made a mistake. It all started from them taking £168 from my bank account for my final payment rather than the £62 that I actually owed them. They refunded that but told me that they would need to reissue a new bill for the £62 which they never did. It then went to a debt collection service and then after disputing the amount owed (Vodafone had now decided that I owed £90) it went back to Vodafone to which they told me stop calling them as they were doing an internal investigation and they would get back to me with the results. I never heard back from them and a year later after being refused credit for a tv, I found out I had this red mark.

Vodafone

Hi toro444,

Thanks for making me aware of this.

So I can take a closer look at things, email me with your details via the link in our profile here.

All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it'll take you to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me, quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

Kind regards,

Lee

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Vodafone UK

toro444

Hi Lee,

The reference number is [#7215269]‏.

I have an email from Vodafone detailing the whole thing if that would be helpful? This has caused me enormous stress as me and my girlfriend almost couldn't get a mortgage on the house that she lived in because of this red mark. This would've left us without a home to live in. I must also point out that I never ever refused to pay the amount of money that I was quoted when leaving Vodafone, I only refused to pay any more than I owed. I had been a customer of Vodafone for many years upto this point and never missed a payment. I have also been turned down overdrafts from my bank, loans and credit because of this red mark.

If you could look into this for me, I would very much appreciate it. I have spoken to countless customer service reps at Vodafone on this matter and nearly every one had a different story and information for me as well as being extremely rude to me. Needless to say, this has all left an extremely bitter taste in my mouth.

Thanks.

Vodafone

Hi toro444,

Thanks for your time yesterday.

As promised, I'll get back in touch with you as soon as I have an update.

Kind regards,

Lee

Social Media Comms

Vodafone UK

SparklesJD

I hope you get it sorted.

You could look into a credit union loan either way. They may run a search (or some accept a copy of one you've performed), but they will look sympathetically on your circumstances, being more concerned with ability to pay than credit score.

More about them from MSE here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-unions

Look on https://www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk for your nearest one...