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Done some digging - old BT bill

Hello

So i have been doing some digging around at my credit history as i have discovered my score is down to low. I wanted to consolidate my 2 credit cards into one loan but i have been refused.

I thought my credit score was so low because of one missed payment with my Tesco CC. I called them today to chat about it and they said that while i missed a payment, it was only one day late so that would not be reported as a failure to pay.

After checking Equifax and various other places (from advice on this website!) I have seen that my score is low because of 2 reasons.

One is that i am getting to the limit of my cards. I am fixing that by increasing my payments as best i can and chipping away faster!

But the second reason was a failure to pay a BT bill. This was from December 2009!!! Back then i remember i was in a shared flat and my name was on the BT bill as i set it up. I distinctly remember BT being a right pain as they had set up 2 accounts. As far as i knew that was sorted and when we moved out the account was paid and i thought nothing else of it. I guess what happened was that the 2nd account was not paid and seeing as it was in my name i have been left with the black mark. You can clearly see on the Equifax report that i had 2 accounts with BT and one was closed and one was open with a bill to pay. After 6 months the account was 'settled'. Presumably due to no response from me.

I have now paid off this bill today (only £9.20!!) seeing as i have discovered this. But the damage is done. Or is it? Is it something that can be explained away? Could i contact BT or Equifax? My credit score is rubbish and its not all my fault!

I see that data is kept on your report for 6 years so maybe this will eventually go away and my score would improve?

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