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I wish it was simpler..
supermassive
Posts: 464 Forumite
"it's a true reflection of your credit history"
Well, yes, if you want to disregard that most of it consists of administrative errors...
A default with EE that I'm trying to get removed is giving me a headache.
The story goes like this:
I changed banks, they said all DD/SO would switch automatically. I stupidly believed them. So I continue using my phone, and one day it goes plop - it was a galaxy and had the notorious death they seem to all get. I was too preoccupied with life at the time to bother with a phone I didn't use much.
During this time, I expected that the bills would continue to get paid and I'd send it away to get fixed at 'some point' when I actually wanted to use the thing.
Noddle checked, all is fine... then along comes a gaping great £400 default from EE! Not a letter of warning, not a phone call (ok, that's excusable) not a letter about the first missed payment - nothing!
Apparently, with EE you have to go online and change your bank details on their website... so as my house is outside the 3g area and my phone is broken... what then? Magically tell them my account has changed? Even better - Get my Standing orders and Direct Debits automatically changed to my new bank when I open an account with them...
The ee DD was the only one that didn't transfer over. I never knew about it, and would've obviously paid if I'd known about it (and send my phone to be fixed post haste).
So when I saw this on my credit file I phoned them and paid on the understanding that there'd been a massive mistake made by the bank - and infact a mistake by EE for sending no communication - and that I would be paying the money to them on the understanding that it's taken off my credit file as they acted outside of their guidelines.
Am I within my rights to say/do this? They told me the debt had actually been written off anyway and wasn't being chased in any form, but I paid it out of principle..
It's not an accurate picture of my credit history, but a documentation of what effect administrative errors can have on the lives of individuals.
Advice on bits of guideline/laws to quote in letters that I'll need to send because EE are notorious for being beyond crap?
Well, yes, if you want to disregard that most of it consists of administrative errors...
A default with EE that I'm trying to get removed is giving me a headache.
The story goes like this:
I changed banks, they said all DD/SO would switch automatically. I stupidly believed them. So I continue using my phone, and one day it goes plop - it was a galaxy and had the notorious death they seem to all get. I was too preoccupied with life at the time to bother with a phone I didn't use much.
During this time, I expected that the bills would continue to get paid and I'd send it away to get fixed at 'some point' when I actually wanted to use the thing.
Noddle checked, all is fine... then along comes a gaping great £400 default from EE! Not a letter of warning, not a phone call (ok, that's excusable) not a letter about the first missed payment - nothing!
Apparently, with EE you have to go online and change your bank details on their website... so as my house is outside the 3g area and my phone is broken... what then? Magically tell them my account has changed? Even better - Get my Standing orders and Direct Debits automatically changed to my new bank when I open an account with them...
The ee DD was the only one that didn't transfer over. I never knew about it, and would've obviously paid if I'd known about it (and send my phone to be fixed post haste).
So when I saw this on my credit file I phoned them and paid on the understanding that there'd been a massive mistake made by the bank - and infact a mistake by EE for sending no communication - and that I would be paying the money to them on the understanding that it's taken off my credit file as they acted outside of their guidelines.
Am I within my rights to say/do this? They told me the debt had actually been written off anyway and wasn't being chased in any form, but I paid it out of principle..
It's not an accurate picture of my credit history, but a documentation of what effect administrative errors can have on the lives of individuals.
Advice on bits of guideline/laws to quote in letters that I'll need to send because EE are notorious for being beyond crap?
I can't add up.
0
Comments
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I believe that under the switch guarantee, EE should've still been able to try and take the payments from your old account, and these would automatically be taken from your new account for 12 months.
I'd complain to the bank you switched from/to, and if you can't get anything satisfactory out of them with them officially admitting it's their mistake, I'd make a complaint to the Ombudsman. I'm pretty sure that EE should still take payment regardless of you changing your account, and they should have given you phone calls, written warnings etc before defaulting you.Credit 'Score' - Don't buy the credit 'score' that Experian, Equifax and Noddle want to sell you. It's an arbitrary number that means nothing when it comes to applying for credit.
ALWAYS HAVE A DIRECT DEBIT SET UP FOR THE MINIMUM PAYMENT ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU PLAN TO LOGIN AND PAY EACH MONTH.0 -
thebritishbloke wrote: »I believe that under the switch guarantee, EE should've still been able to try and take the payments from your old account, and these would automatically be taken from your new account for 12 months.
I'd complain to the bank you switched from/to, and if you can't get anything satisfactory out of them with them officially admitting it's their mistake, I'd make a complaint to the Ombudsman. I'm pretty sure that EE should still take payment regardless of you changing your account, and they should have given you phone calls, written warnings etc before defaulting you.
Yes, this is my point with them. The payments should've still gone through, and the fact that they didn't isn't really an accurate representation of my credit handling, which is what the credit file should represent... not to mention the cloak-and-dagger way they went about it. I didn't find out i had one for almost a year!I can't add up.0 -
You have to accept some responsibility really. Did you not notice you weren't paying ? I'm with EE and i get most correspondence from them by text, the fact that your phone was broken and you didn't bother to mend it isn't their fault. Being preoccupied with other things, however stressful,isn't an excuse that will wash with EE. Did they agree to remove the default ? If not, i wouldn't hold out much hope, it is an accurate picture of your credit file, you did default.0
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I'm pretty sure they have to go through adequate means of contact before defaulting a customer. They would have been able to see on their system that the phone hadn't been used in months, hence they couldn't contact them through it, so they should have sent a letter.You have to accept some responsibility really. Did you not notice you weren't paying ? I'm with EE and i get most correspondence from them by text, the fact that your phone was broken and you didn't bother to mend it isn't their fault. Being preoccupied with other things, however stressful,isn't an excuse that will wash with EE. Did they agree to remove the default ? If not, i wouldn't hold out much hope, it is an accurate picture of your credit file, you did default.Credit 'Score' - Don't buy the credit 'score' that Experian, Equifax and Noddle want to sell you. It's an arbitrary number that means nothing when it comes to applying for credit.
ALWAYS HAVE A DIRECT DEBIT SET UP FOR THE MINIMUM PAYMENT ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU PLAN TO LOGIN AND PAY EACH MONTH.0 -
thebritishbloke wrote: »I'm pretty sure they have to go through adequate means of contact before defaulting a customer. They would have been able to see on their system that the phone hadn't been used in months, hence they couldn't contact them through it, so they should have sent a letter.
They probably should have. Maybe they did ? 12 months is a long time to not notice you aren't paying a monthly bill though ?0 -
You have to accept some responsibility really. Did you not notice you weren't paying ? I'm with EE and i get most correspondence from them by text, the fact that your phone was broken and you didn't bother to mend it isn't their fault. Being preoccupied with other things, however stressful,isn't an excuse that will wash with EE. Did they agree to remove the default ? If not, i wouldn't hold out much hope, it is an accurate picture of your credit file, you did default.
I accept the same responsibility as I did when I took out the contract in that I would pay the money as agreed. I did pay the money agreed when made aware they hadn't received it.
And, no, I didn't notice it wasn't being paid because I wasn't in a position to check (working all hours & no access to internet) but it's not JUST my job to check, they were aware it failed in a split second then didn't tell me and registered a default instead when what should've happened was:
We are writing to tell you your payment due on x was not paid.
oh, silly bank. Oh well, they probably dont know. Here's my account details.
but no, it's a case of banks not bothering and reassuring me of something they didn't do properly.I can't add up.0 -
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thebritishbloke wrote: »I'm pretty sure they have to go through adequate means of contact before defaulting a customer. They would have been able to see on their system that the phone hadn't been used in months, hence they couldn't contact them through it, so they should have sent a letter.
Their t&c's state that if you don't pay for whatever reason, your account will go to collections, dca and your credit file updated accordingly.
OP - Also, EE as a service provider are not covered under the consumer credit act and at present, are not required to send a default notice. They send text messages when your balance is overdue but of course you wouldn't have received that as you weren't using your phone. Not really their fault.
And contrary to popular belief, there isn't any way for their systems to randomly flag up that you aren't using your phone any more. And really, it IS just YOUR job to check your bills are being paid. They DO send reminders, you just didn't receive them.0 -
supermassive wrote: »Yes, this is my point with them. The payments should've still gone through, and the fact that they didn't isn't really an accurate representation of my credit handling, which is what the credit file should represent... not to mention the cloak-and-dagger way they went about it. I didn't find out i had one for almost a year!
On the contrary, this is an accurate representation of your credit handling.
A month or 2 I could understand, but a whole year? I think you need to take some responsibility.
There are also no laws or guidelines that will help you.0 -
supermassive wrote: »I accept the same responsibility as I did when I took out the contract in that I would pay the money as agreed. I did pay the money agreed when made aware they hadn't received it.
And, no, I didn't notice it wasn't being paid because I wasn't in a position to check (working all hours & no access to internet) but it's not JUST my job to check, they were aware it failed in a split second then didn't tell me and registered a default instead when what should've happened was:
We are writing to tell you your payment due on x was not paid.
oh, silly bank. Oh well, they probably dont know. Here's my account details.
but no, it's a case of banks not bothering and reassuring me of something they didn't do properly.
So you don't accept any responsibility for not paying 12 months worth of payments ? And you blame EE and the Bank ? How can you "not be in a position to check" for 12 months ? No one works 24 hours a day and can't access the internet for a whole 12 months.0
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