Issue with cancelled credit card

SSheldonW

Hi All

I'm looking for a bit of advice.

I cancelled a credit card back in January, paying off the full balance over the phone at that point. The card was automatically removed from my online banking therefore I knew it was cancelled. Having viewed my credit report today, it shows the card is still active and that there has been an outstanding balance of £8 for the last several months, effectively taking my credit rating from 'excellent' to 'poor'. I spoke to the bank and they confirmed that the card was cancelled by me, but that it was reactivated a month later at which point the £8 interest was added to the account. The card was not automatically added back to my online banking, plus the card was registered to my old address (I moved in February), so any correspondence about it was presumably sent there. This meant I had no idea whatsoever that the card was still active and that there was an outstanding balance on it.

Is anyone able to advise me on the best course of action to get it corrected on my credit report and what evidence I need to gather?

Kind regards
Sam

MEM62

SSheldonW wrote: »

an outstanding balance of £8 for the last several months, effectively taking my credit rating from 'excellent' to 'poor'.
No it didn't - you don't have a credit score. (Although the data will show on your credit history)

I spoke to the bank and they confirmed that the card was cancelled by me, but that it was reactivated a month later at which point the £8 interest was added to the account.
This is common. Interest is added in arrears and is not usually calculated / included if you clear you balance this way. You needed to keep the account open for an additional month or so for any residual interest to be added.

Is anyone able to advise me on the best course of action to get it corrected on my credit report and what evidence I need to gather?
There is no correction to be made. The information on your report is factual. The only chance you have is to speak with the card provider and see if they will remove it as a gesture of goodwill.

I know that it's probably not what you wanted to hear but this is the way a lot of credit card providers operate. Any account (not just credit cards) you 'close' is not automatically done and dusted at the time you close it. You need to monitor such accounts for a month or so to ensure that there are no residual transactions. Keeping financial institutions updated with your current address also helps.

SSheldonW

Thanks MEM62.

That's definitely not what I wanted hear. I've had the account for over 15 years, with a history of paying everything on time, so let's hope they remove it as a gesture of goodwill. Fingers-crossed.

Kind regards
Sam

MisterBaxter

You haven't said why or how it was reactivated and whether or not the charge that caused it to be reactivated was a legitimate charge (although it looks like it is just trailing interest). If nothing else you need to know what the charge is for and how it was calculated. If it was for trailing interest then there is nothing really you can do other than perhaps ask why you weren't told about it at the time of closing the account and ask nicely for markers to be removed because you weren't told.

If the charge was something do with a recurring item such as a subscription then there isn't much you can do other than pay it off and then make sure all of your other accounts are kept in good order. If the charge wasn't yours in the first place then challenge it.

If you had been paying your bills in full each month for at least the two months on the run up to closing the account then there shouldn't be any trailing interest but if you had been carrying a balance then it is likely to be that.