Debt and defaults

Tigsy1987

Ok so when I was 20 I very stupidly got a credit card after the bank said (it'll be good when you go abroad incase of emergencies). I had never had a credit card before and didn't quite understand the consequences, so quickly I blew the £2500, so the bank then said "its ok, we will transfer that amount onto your loan (a £2000 loan for some surgery I had) and we can give you another 2500 on your credit card! Brilliant I thought. Well then I ended up not paying it and a while later it was passed to a debt company. Which is fine I have been paying it since 2012 every month and I now have no credit cards, loans, store cards, overdraft etc. I just live on what I earn basically.

But I want some advice. I have been paying every month for 3 years yet still it shows on my credit file as DEFAULT, DEFAULT, DEFAULT!!!!! Now I know this is because I am not paying e.g. Bank of Scotland, Lloyds etc, directly, but is there no way that my repaying the debt can be acknowledged on my credit file? It clearly shows under the amounts owed and to who that the amount is going down and by the same amounts every month. I own my own house and no have arrears, i pay my council tax, my mobile phone bill and everything else. Its just this debt from my past that haunts me! So far I have cleared about 4k of my debt, but have another 4k to go. I have a family with 2 children so I pay what I can every month which totals about £120 a month. Not a lot I know but I am trying my best and paying extra when I can.

Thanks for any advice

Candyapple

The default will remain on your credit files for 6 years from the date it was first put on.

Tixy

The default remains on file for 6 years from the first default. After that the whole record of the debt drops off. The monthly status updates don't count as new defaults. As you say the outstanding balances are coming down which is correct.

If you finish paying before that 6 years are up then the record is marked as a satisfied default, which will look a bit better on your credit file.

Tigsy1987

ok so even though it says JAN- DEFAULT, FEB- DEFAULT - MAR- DEFAULT and so on, do you mean its only the first one that technically counts as it stays on there for 6 years, so if I pay off my debt before 6 year before it should be marked as a satsified default?? Sorry money and numbers and all this jargen is not my specialty

Tixy

Yes that's it. The record should show a "date of default" field on it somewhere. It is 6 years from that date that the account stays on your file.

chanz4

if noddle, its just how they display

Thrugelmir

Your accounts are in "default" i.e. not being maintained in accordance with contractual terms. The flags are there to warn other users of the data.

m4rc

Tigsy1987 wrote: »

ok so even though it says JAN- DEFAULT, FEB- DEFAULT - MAR- DEFAULT and so on, do you mean its only the first one that technically counts as it stays on there for 6 years, so if I pay off my debt before 6 year before it should be marked as a satsified default?? Sorry money and numbers and all this jargen is not my specialty

If you have been paying for 3 years I assume the defaults were added more than 3 years ago, so in less than 3 years they won't show on your credit file. Things should start to improve after that happens. Companies can't add a default more than once, once it's added the clock starts ticking. If they try to do it you can demand they correct your file.

Tigsy1987

Oh brilliant. Im going to have a look at them tonight and see if I can make any adjustments to pay them off quicker. On Friday I doubled what I paid to one company to get it paid off start of next year and I doubled another one, but it might take a bit longer to clear!

Thanks everyone for your advice! Im hoping by the time i get married in 2017 My credit score will be looking a bit better and I can start married life on a slightly better financial foot! x