Wescott / Barclays / Credit score

kn86

Hi all,

I'm a complete newbie at MSE but I'm hoping someone can advise on what is a small but rumbling problem - I'm not really sure of its implications.

I had a home insurance policy on my rented accommodation with Barclays for around two years up until Oct. 13, which I cancelled as I was going travelling and thus leaving the accommodation permanently.

When I came back to the UK a few months later I found letters from Barclays (to the house which I no longer lived in) and then from Wescott claiming a debt of around £30. Apparently I had one more payment to make on the insurance policy (which wasn't what I was told on the phone) and because the standing order to Barclays was cancelled, it couldn't be taken - hence my debt was passed on to Wescott.

I talked to Barclays to ask them how they expected me to know about a debt by writing to a house which I no longer lived in (I'm sure I had changed my address details with them before I left, and they didn't bother to use any of the other contact details they hold on file for me) and after reading threads MSE regarding this, I tried to arrange with Barclays to pay the debt directly to them, but they don't want to know as I "now owe Wescott".

I phoned Wescott to talk about this and initially agreed to pay it off, but decided not to and ignored their calls. They have now stopped phoning and I don't think they have my current address.

This seems is really small fry but I'm concerned about my credit rating. I am a PhD student with an annual stipend and I recently phoned to extend my credit card limit. They couldn't process my application as I hadn't received the first instalment of my stipend, but the advisor asked me if I had any debts which have been passed to an agency, which obviously I do have.

Can anyone tell me whether this debt with Wescott is likely to be a problem in future? I don't really want to pay Wescott this tiny sum, partly because they don't deserve it and largely because I don't feel that I should be in this position in the first place. Should I just pay them? Will this improve my credit rating?

Thanks for reading.

[Deleted User]

Yes, it is likely to be a significant problem for any future credit application, assuming it's being reported on your credit file.

You might want to check this first, and if it is, I would pay it as soon as possible.

kn86

Thanks for your reply and advice.

I did sign up to a credit check site (checkmyfile) and my current scores there seem to be average and all my accounts are clean. The only thing that seems to be out of place is a loan from Gresham (which I believe is who underwrites Barclays' insurance). This is listed as seen at Callcredit (but no others) with a balance of £0. Does this sound like it's being reported?

I have also just signed up to Experian's free trial, so might it be reported differently there?