Super confused, help!

sparkly_momma

I posted yesterday as we had the nice surprise of a default dropping off my husband's equifax report as it was 6 years since the last default. It was a surprise as we believed it would be 6 years from the settlement date which isn't until July 2016. I was assured that it is definitely 6 years from the default.

Now having checked on experian it says it won't drop off until July 2016 as they remove records 6 years from the settlement date? I'm so confused!!!

sparkly_momma

Experian have said it's not classed as a default but a late payment, however it is still from dec 2008 so surely it shouldn't be seen by lenders?

sparkly_momma

So we have spoken and because it's been advised by Lloyd's as a late payment not a default it will remain for 6 years from the settlement date. We are appealing to say it was a default. How ridiculous, I still can't understand how defaults make stuff magically disappear after 6 years!

fermi

That is correct.

Defaulted = Removed 6 years from default.

Undefaulted = removed 6 years from the account settlement/closure

It's something that CRAs often don't make that clear on their websites, however on Equifax they set it out here.

How long will information stay on my Credit Report?

Credit agreements
Six years from the date the account was settled, written off or defaulted – whichever happened first

i.e if defaulted then later settled/satisfied, it is 6 years from the default.

If not defaulted it is 6 years from the settlement.

sparkly_momma

Thanks, yes it's really bizarre. Equifax and experiAn both now show it as 6 late payments, so we are appealing to have Lloyd's change it to a default.
They won't do it over the phone so we need to go into the branch apparently. Has anyone had any success with getting them turned into a default?

fermi

Yes some have.

Point out the Information Commissioner Guidelines say that this should have been marked as a default back in 2008, and recording it as 6 payments late is inaccurate and a breach of the data protection act.

You can point out that the information commissioner specifically forbids this saying that:

A record showing a series of payments as six months in arrears when this does not reflect the real payment history should not be used as an equivalent of a default.

Not sure that branch staff will be much help as they are often clueless, so I would be prepared to make a formal complaint in writing. Saying the above and that you will take them to the FOS and ICO.

sparkly_momma

Thank you very much fermi, that is really helpful. Will get on the case!