Help needed please - Lloyds Credit Card default

coys83

Advice needed please...
Difficult to know how to start this,
I had a default applied to my credit file in February 2011 in relation to a credit card account with Lloyds to my correct address, but had not received a default or any correspondence.

At the time I was not aware of the default, my knowledge of the default came about in late 2011 when my credit file was searched in relation to a change of mortgage.

The credit card was an old one which had last seen a payment made during early/mid 2010. I also had a Lloyds current account and a direct debit was made every month toward the card from this account (or so I thought). Payment had been coming out of my account every month for a number of years prior to the last payment in 2010.

The payments ceased and I took this to mean the balance was paid off and the account clear, I was still and am using the same Lloyds current account.

It may seem unusual to believe in this day and age but there was no record of this CC account on my internet banking, only my current account. This as far as I was concerned was the end of the matter.

When I realised I had the default I sent out letters to Lloyd's in relation to statements of account, CCA etc as I had not received any correspondence at all from them.

They did not respond to any letters and as a result I involved the financial ombudsman, many months later they upheld my complaint in part, that Lloyd's had failed to respond as required to me.

At this point I was provided with full statements of the account but no other documents at all.

These statements were for some 4.5 years of transactions.

I went through each one and there were payments taken every month as I had been aware of as well as late payment charges and large amounts of interest as a result of supposed late payments.

Following this I made an appointment in my local branch to get to the bottom of it.

We went through the payments and it transpires that the payments that I believed were DD were in fact Lloyds setting of the balance. They stopped this in 2010 and as a result a default was applied. I had no correspondence to say they were setting off initially or ceasing this.

Lloyd's provided me a letter stating that among other things the account would not have shown on my internet banking, that the payments made were believed to be DD by me and it was clearly not intentional mismanagement of the account and that they had an incorrect address for me (despite the default being applied at the right address and me having submitted a change of address form).

This letter assisted me in changing my mortgage to my sole name (some 2 years later than hoped).

As a result of this meeting and letter, I wrote to Lloyd's again with a proposed settlement figure. I requested that given the accepted conduct of the account that I wanted the charges and associated interest waived and I would pay the balance in return for removal of the default.

This was in May 2014 and I once again heard nothing from Lloyd's. Instead I heard from a DCA requesting the full amount.

I wrote back to them saying this was in dispute with Lloyds directly and I did not acknowledge any debt to them.

I heard nothing more until recently receiving paperwork relating to a potential judgement being issued and for me to either pay the total or submit my defence.

I put forward a defence that this was in dispute and that I was seeking a settlement with Lloyds essentially.

I was prepared to settle this at what I thought was a fair request and so when I received the form from Northampton where I could agree to mediation I made contact with the DCA to offer them the settlement I originally made to Lloyd's.

They refused this and said they would accept an amount which was double my settlement offer and around 80% of the total they claim I owed.

I feel like Lloyds have sold this on when really they shouldn't have as I had written communication from them basically saying that I wasn't mismanaging the account intentionally.

The problem is, it seems I either go to court and risk losing and have a judgement entered? Win but have a lot of stress in the meantime. Pay the amount in full for a settlement or installments which they state will still incur a judgement (this is not an option).

I have a young family now and cannot afford a ccj on my file so it limits my options.

I can't help feeling I have been hung out to dry somewhat and that I have legitimate cause for complaint against Lloyd's, yet the DCA are not interested in that obviously.

If I were to pay the balance now to settle, therefore avoiding ccj, am I able to initiate a complaint myself against Lloyd's to try and recover the money / some of it and have the default removed?

I can live with the default on my file until it is spent in 2017 as I have the letter from Lloyd's which puts it in to context and companies are obviously willing to look at it in conjunction with the letter to make decisions but the figure they claim I owed is affected by factors which they agree were not part of any mismanagement on my part.

Does anyone have any advice on what should I do?

Thanks in advance.

coys83

sorry it is such a long post, wanted to try and get as much detail in as possible.

jonesMUFCforever

A bit long - but honestly you are in no position to haggle.
If you don't want the ccj against you pay what you owe.
Then complain.