Orange/EE Credit file issue

gurrorange

Hi,

So this is a rather long story, but I am hoping that someone might have some advice for us on this.

My partner had a mobile phone on an Orange contract - and in November of last year, had that phone stolen on a night out. She phoned the next morning to report it as stolen (and was told no additional charges had been registered) - but as she found out when the bill arrived for that month, £1,000 had been run up within a matter of hours. After putting the account into query and having a lot of back and forth with Orange over the fault of the charge (I mean, who calls £'000s of premium rate numbers in an eastern european country by themselves when they've been with the provider for 8 years - the fraud prevention is awful), we agreed to a settlement figure that would close the account and pay off a reduced amount, saving hassle and then considering the matter closed.

The settlement figure was still close to £700 - and we set up a payment plan with Orange to pay the money, which was completed earlier this year - and my partner finally felt that this awful time was behind her.

We were considering extending our ownership on our shared-ownership property, and as a result thought it good to check our credit files - when we logged into her account, we discovered that Orange had been reporting her account as in default since last December, except with a month or two of "Query" status.

Upon contacting Orange - they then informed us that the account had £10 odd outstanding which we of course immediately paid. The confusion is that even since the payment plan was in place, they have been reporting the account as in default.

We have contacted their credit file team and explained the situation - just to receive a pretty blunt email back stating that they have reported the credit rating according to their terms and conditions and that they will not be changing it.

What can we do in this situation? Obviously this has all been caused by something that was not my partner's fault in the first place, and has caused a considerable amount of distress to her (never mind trashing her otherwise immaculate credit report).

Thanks in advance for any advice/help!

gurrorange

Does anyone have any opinion or help on this subject? We're considering writing to BBC Watchdog / taking independent legal advice, but don't really know where to turn in this case!

glentoran99

Thing is although you agreed a repayment plan you were still in default so they haven't legally done anything wrong

teffers

glentoran99 wrote: »

Thing is although you agreed a repayment plan you were still in default so they haven't legally done anything wrong

This is how I understood it to work also.

They say you owe X amount, you say you're not able to pay in full (that breaks a clause in your agreement) , technically you have defaulted on the original agreement.

Really feel for you guys. :-(

This post has just reminded me to SIM Lock my SIM as well as my phone.

Anoneemoose

As above, they haven't done anything wrong. By not paying in full, your oh has broken the original agreement and as per their terms, they will report this to the credit reference agencies.

In addition, the person on the call might have said there weren't any charges and that could have been correct at that time - any calls from abroad (although usually quick) can take up to three months to show on your account. Again this is covered in the t&c's.

Also in the t&c's is the fact it is your responsibility to report the loss/theft and you are liable for any charges prior to that. In addition those same terms specifically state they don't cap charges. Just because it might have been used to make calls you wouldn't normally make, doesn't mean you're not liable. It will still cost Orange for those calls and by reducing what you owe, (from £1000's to £700) I believe they have been reasonable.

Again, this is what SIM pins are for. I have one and make sure my son (who's contract is in my name) has one as well.

Watchdog won't do anything and Legal advice will cost you when you have no real leg to stand on. As I said, this is all covered in the terms of agreement and as harsh as it may seem, you really should be aware of the before taking an agreement.

I do feel for you though, it isn't a nice situation to be in but. I think you are going to have to chalk this up to experience. They only other thing you could do is offer to pay the remainder in full and ask if they will remove the negative stuff. They don't have to and probably won't but it could be worth a try.

Anoneemoose

Anoneemoose wrote: »

As above, they haven't done anything wrong. By not paying in full, your oh has broken the original agreement and as per their terms, they will report this to the credit reference agencies.

In addition, the person on the call might have said there weren't any charges and that could have been correct at that time - any calls from abroad (although usually quick) can take up to three months to show on your account. Again this is covered in the t&c's.

Also in the t&c's is the fact it is your responsibility to report the loss/theft and you are liable for any charges prior to that. In addition those same terms specifically state they don't cap charges. Just because it might have been used to make calls you wouldn't normally make, doesn't mean you're not liable. It will still cost Orange for those calls and by reducing what you owe, (from £1000's to £700) I believe they have been reasonable.

Again, this is what SIM pins are for. I have one and make sure my son (who's contract is in my name) has one as well.

Watchdog won't do anything and Legal advice will cost you when you have no real leg to stand on. As I said, this is all covered in the terms of agreement and as harsh as it may seem, you really should be aware of the before taking an agreement.

I do feel for you though, it isn't a nice situation to be in but. I think you are going to have to chalk this up to experience. They only other thing you could do is offer to pay the remainder in full and ask if they will remove the negative stuff. They don't have to and probably won't but it could be worth a try.

Edited to add, just saw that your oh wasn't abroad so ignore that bit. Still though, can take up to 72 hrs sometimes for calls to show on their system.

Thrugelmir

gurrorange wrote: »

Does anyone have any opinion or help on this subject? We're considering writing to BBC Watchdog / taking independent legal advice, but don't really know where to turn in this case!

Irrespective of the circumstances behind the debt. You had insufficient savings to clear the debt immediately. So to be worth any value to other external users your credit history needs to reflect reality. Your credit report is not yours per se, it is however about you and your financial circumstances. Which will allow other users of the report to make an informed decision.

GingerBob_3

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Irrespective of the circumstances behind the debt. You had insufficient savings to clear the debt immediately. So to be worth any value to other external users your credit history needs to reflect reality. Your credit report is not yours per se, it is however about you and your financial circumstances. Which will allow other users of the report to make an informed decision.

Good point. I find it mildly irritating when people, especially the CRAs, talk about your credit report. It is far from being yours. You have no control over it, you cannot prevent it existing, and the people/organisations who can access it are wide and varied.

Anoneemoose

GingerBob wrote: »

Good point. I find it mildly irritating when people, especially the CRAs, talk about your credit report. It is far from being yours. You have no control over it, you cannot prevent it existing, and the people/organisations who can access it are wide and varied.

I disagree that you don't have any control over it.

You might not have any control over the fact it exists but you can control what is reported on it. And although the system has its flaws, there needs to be some way of potential lenders seeing what kind of person they are going to lend to before they decide to do it.

GingerBob_3

Anoneemoose wrote: »

I disagree that you don't have any control over it.

You might not have any control over the fact it exists but you can control what is reported on it. And although the system has its flaws, there needs to be some way of potential lenders seeing what kind of person they are going to lend to before they decide to do it.

Absolutely not so. You are completely at the mercy of those who report on you, whether it be real creditors, utility companies, the local council or whoever. All you can do is hope they get it right. When they don't (and see the mass of material on this site for examples of where they don't), you may not know they've got it wrong, and even if you do, it's usually a devil of a job to get it put right.

badobsession81

EE/Orange have been horrific to deal with.

I don't know the detail of your experience, but irrespective of t&cs and letter of the contract, that is not the service you should be receiving from a reputable company. If you have been open and honest in your correspondence and have been in regular contact but not informed of the £10 or default, instead working to an agreed plan then, you most certainly should pursue the complaint.

I've had call centre advisors create havoc when simply changing my payment date. Never missed a payment, but got a text message saying they hadn't received payment after moving my repayment date. Phoned immediately and spoke to a number of people who told me I'd just have to "wait and see" if it affected my credit report. Appalling service that I complained about - eventually confirmed all was okay (the moved payment date collected the amount plus the additional rental for the extra week, and reported fine on my credit report), but that's not the point.

Irrespective of t&cs do not every accept poor customer service and unsatisfactory results. Perhaps you should've pushed harder in the first place, or perhaps you could've been more inquisitive about impact on your credit report, but having an advisor tell you there were no charges at the point of reporting the theft (assume you have a police crime number too?), then finding out there were and agreeing a payment plan, to then find out there's an additional tenner floating around when it is far too late is poor show. I always double and triple check when closing CCs or accounts that there aren't any unexpected charges due 'next month' or in the future - e.g. interest etc. You'd be amazed at the number of advisors who don't know, can't tell you or who suddenly remember that yes there will be, despite telling you you've settled the account.