Advice about default

windchime70

Hi all,

I have been looking on the forum for a few hours now and have gained much advice, however i still feel as though i need a bit more of your great advice/guidance.
I feel a bit stupid tbh that this has happened as iv always paid on time. I was brought up that if i cant afford it, i don't get it! It was only a few years ago i dare get my first credit card! lol.

Anyway, this begins with my wife and i applying for a mortgage and being refused out right. I obtained an Experian report and noticed i have a default by Lowell Portfolio Ltd. I remember getting a letter approx 3 years ago, i contacted them who told me it was a bill from o2. I had had 2 contract with them and was not aware of owing them any monies, however i paid Lowell there and then and stupidly thought that would be the end of it! I can not recall any mention in the letter or call of being in default.

i have spoken to O2 and Lowell and this is the breakdown of events:

*5th sep 2011 - sim only rolling £13 contract cancelled
*19th sep 2011 - final bill 75p less 56p credit = 19p
*18th oct 2011 - bill £41.68 (DD denied on 1st Nov)

*23rd Nov 2011 - sold to Buchanan clarke + wells debt
*22nd may 2012 - sold to Fredrickson International
*12th oct 2012 - sold to Lowell Portfolio Ltd
* nov 2012 - Got Letter and Paid amount

Experian account shows:

*O2 account settled 22nd aug 2011 - no problems
*O2 account settled 20th jan 2012 - late payment £13, £0 following month.
* Lowell - 29th April 2012, Default placed
* Balance of Default £42.00 (no settled notice on the amount)

Most of this information was given to me from O2 customer Service and the email i received from their complaint department. The 1st i knew about this debt was from the letter i got from Lowell, i have never heard of the other 2 debt collectors. I also emailed O2 about the default and a breakdown of the bill as i find it hard to imagine a £13 sim only having a final bill of £42.00. However O2 stated that they could not give me a breakdown as they don't have this record anymore and they can not uphold my query/complaint.

Sorry to go on and i hope i have laid it out so its not too confusing lol.

I am grateful for any advice about the above problem. Or any advice on how i would get a mortgage with this on my record

Bev

Candyapple

Not sure how much luck you would get with getting o2 to remove the default, however as the default is now 3 years old, yes it's still bad, however there are lenders out there that might be willing to lend to you re obtaining a mortgage.

You would need the advice of an independent mortgage broker and you will also highly likely need a higher than average deposit (20% or more) and everything else on your credit files to be clean e.g. no other adverse history of late payments etc. Don't expect to receive the best rates, however if you are desperate for a mortgage, you may still be in luck even with the default on your file.

windchime70

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I have looked a bit more into my problem and it seems that Lowell have placed the Default. The Balanced also still shows as £42, however i paid this in November 2012. Would this be the problem with the mortgage too.

Another thing i do not understand is Lowells Default date being April, when according to O2s email Lowell did not own the Debt until October! the debt was owned by BCW at that point.

Thanks for your advice

Bev

DevCoder

The default is April because thats when the 6 months (max) after your required payment time was up.

Creditors can't just put any default date they want on your record, the usual rule is 3-6 months after the missed payment.

So lowell are actually being "nice" in this regard.

You should contact lowell with the payment proof and ask them to mark the entry as satisfied.