Recurring default

Patdaddy88

Hi All,

I wonder if anyone is able to offer any guidance for a predicament my fianc! has found herself in.

She has an issue with her credit score with regards to Vodafone. She's recently become aware that Vodafone have registered a default on her in relation to £150 debt they state is owed from 2010. She is not sure of the details of the debt and has had no correspondence from Vodafone in relation to this.

It appears from her credit score that Vodafone have registered a default on her account EVERY MONTH since the 2010 date they say the account has been overdue. There is therefore 56 defaults on her account from Vodafone and the default date is being created as new each month and as such the default will never leave her credit score. In addition PRA Group have put a default notice on the debt as well (when written to they stated that they bought the debt in Dec 2014). PRA state that they sent a notice of assignment to the address provided by Vodafone but this is an old address. My fianc! had a contract with Vodafone until January 2013 and so they would have been well aware of our true and correct address so it is not clear why Vodafone have provided PRA with an old address. We actually have letters from Vodafone (sales etc.) to our address which were sent in 2013.

We have written to Vodafone twice, the first letter was replied to by the Vodafone legal team which stated that they did not have to send us any notification of the default as they are not bound by the consumer credit act (but completely ignored the query over the repeated defaults) and the second was answered by the customer service team which again, did not comment on the query over the multiple defaults or the query over them providing PRA with the incorrect address.

- Where can I go from here? Each time we went Vodafone a letter they take weeks to reply and don't answer the complaint in full. They also send us letters asking us to call them to discuss it each time we write to them but we've made it very clear in each letter that we want all communication via letter or email for an audit trail (and because my fianc! gets very nervous on the phone and they'd be unlikely to speak to me about her account)
- can Vodafone really register a default on her credit score without any notification of the debt being sent to the address?
- is it legal for them to renew the default date each month, given that the debt was defaulted in 2010 and therefore should be about to drop off her report, but at present it is showing as a fresh default...

Any thoughts would be appreciated because we feel like we're banging our heads against a wall at the moment.

fermi

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=68473912&postcount=5

CRA Default on a credit file Vs default under the CCA

I was not sent any default notices, should the default on my credit reference file be removed?

In most cases, the answer will be ‘no’, provided that adequate fair processing information was provided when the account was originally opened.

It may help to explain that a “default” on an individual’s credit file does not mean that an individual has been defaulted under the Consumer Credit Act; essentially, the same word is being used to describe two slightly different things (which can obviously lead to some confusion). Instead, a “default” on a credit file simply means the lender considers the relationship between itself and the individual to have broken down.

Therefore, whilst it may be a requirement of the Consumer Credit Act to issue default notices, there is no DPA obligation on a lender to issue a default notice to individuals before marking an account as being in default on their credit file. Although we advise that it is good practice to issue a notice, lenders will often have provided individuals with fair processing information about defaults and notices in the terms and conditions when the account was opened. Provided this was the case, then it is likely to satisfy the “fairness” aspects of the first principle.

fermi

Patdaddy88 wrote: »

- is it legal for them to renew the default date each month, given that the debt was defaulted in 2010 and therefore should be about to drop off her report, but at present it is showing as a fresh default...

A D or 8 every month in the status history are NOT new defaults.

They are just status updates on the original default.

It is how a defaulted account should show on your report.

The account and entire history, including all these markers, will still be removed from your credit report 6 years from the initial default.

Vodafone

Hi Patdaddy88,

If your fianc!e would like me to look into this further, ask her to email me with her details via the Contact us form here.

To access the form she'll need to enter the code WRT135.

As well as stating her query in the question box, please ask her to also quote "MSE Forum".

Once sent, she'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

Kind regards,

Lee

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Vodafone UK