Help a newby - please

lovefoodeveryday

Hello all,


I have had poor credit in the past due to financial circumstances beyond my control (having lost a job and also still trying to support my elderly parents). Spiralled into debt and using cards to get bye until I defaulted on a few of them.

Fast forward to now, I am much more secure, have a secure job and also happily married. Now looing to build for the future. All of my debts are now Statute barred as I haven't acknowledged them for 5.5 year now...however they still have a strong effect on my credit rating.

Ideally I want to look at a mortgage sooner than later,ideally next spring. Although my score is 929 now, the only live 'credit' facility I have is a vanquis credit card of '590' credit limit (using £100). I have a EE phone account and a HSBC Basic Bank Account. Apart from that, I have nothing.


The issue I have is a lot of these don't drop off for a number of months, I am worried the effect these will have n my mortgage and when is the best time to apply. I will be hoping to go for the help to buy scheme for new builds in Scotland (5% deposit)


Extract from Experian


Name - Amount - Default Date
1. Lowell £1.9k 6/5/10
2. Lloyds £0 6/5/10 (amount sold to Lowell, shows Zero and settled)
3. Lowell £2.4k 22/12/09
4. Bank of Scotland £2.4k 16/12/09 (amount sold to Lowell, still shows o/s and show a £2.4k balance)
5. Lowell £0.4k 19/8/10
6. Barclays £0 19/8/10 (amount sold to Lowell, shows settled and £0)
7. Lowell £929 4/3/10
8. Lloyds £0 4/3/10 (amount sold to Lowell, shows settled and £0)


Whats the best way to clean up my report, is it worth me attempting to pay something as a full and final on the balances which don't clear to next summer.


Bank of Scotland drops at the end of the year, and I contacted Experian about the double counting on the default dates but they said to contact Bank of Scotland direct. I didn't want to do this because of the SB clock,


Im in a bit of pickle, the mortgage piece is an important one and I need to think of how to build up my credit rating in order to get a mortgage. I was offered a loan (to fund a car purchase) earlier this year, around £5k but involved paying back £7.5 in total due to high interest. I was able to get a car through my work instead. However I have recently sourced a better paying job and therefre I need to hand my other car back.

So the two things I need to think about (short term and long term) is:-


1) Ability to get a car in November this year (either finance/pcp or buy a cheap car out of savings)
2) Mortgage - Next Spring to Summer


Sorry for the long post - please help

Tixy

Hi

Defaults still on your credit file will absolutely affect your ability to get a mortgage and particularly the ltv and rate at which you are likely to be able to borrow. I would expect even old defaults still on file will make it very difficult to get a 95% mortgage.

If you feel the defaults have been added unfairly late then I would consider contacting each lender/debt collector reporting to your credit files and dispute the date they have used.
You say you are reluctant to do this because of the 'SB clock' but if the debts are already statute barred then there is no 'clock', the debts are legally extinguished.

lovefoodeveryday

Thanks a lot for your advice - very helpful.
In general, what would you is a fair date to use, is there a industry standard time which tends to mean the debt should be defaulted (six months from non payment)


A second question, if that’s ok, if a debt is statute barred and I can get the individual companies involved to agree it is. How likely is it, that they would write the debt off or reduce the amount to zero.

National_Debtline

Hi

A default should be registered on your credit reference file within 6 months of the contractual payments being missed. If any of your defaults are shown over 6 months after this happened you can request that the creditors correct your file or complain, as Tixy suggests.

If a debt is statute barred it still technically exists, it just means that it’s unenforceable in court. I doubt creditors would show the balance as zero on a statute barred debt which is still showing on your credit file but you can always ask.

James
@natdebtline

lovefoodeveryday

Thanks James.


Would a £1 token payment reset the 6 month clock. The contractual payment would have been much higher than this as most likely the minmum payment due on the balance would have been £10ish.


I think my last real payment was made in mid 09 however I did make a £1 token in Jan 10 but then nothing since. So wondering if the default should have been six months from Jan 10 so perhaps June 2010 or 6 months from mid 09?

Thanks so much for your help