Overcharged on a transaction and taken over my credit limit. Impact on credit score??

bearkardashian

I recently purchased a Premier Inn / Hypnos mattress. I should have been charged £467 but was mistakenly charged £4667 taking me over my £4000 credit limit.

The transaction is being refunded but I need to know the likely impact on my credit score (which is currently very good and I would have liked to keep it that way).

Is there a way to stop this from impacting on my credit score or do I need to wait and get it removed retrospectively?! I have tried phoning several credit reference agencies but it seems impossible to speak to a person or seek advice.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time as we are hoping to move house within the year and apply for further credit on our mortgage

National_Debtline

Hi

When you apply for credit such as a mortgage the lender will not see your actual credit score, as it’s just a rough guide made up by the credit agencies. It’s possible that exceeding your credit limit could impact a mortgage application though so if it’s incorrectly reported you’ll need to ask the creditor to correct it retrospectively. You could contact the creditor now to make sure as they may not need to show the incorrect balance at all.

James
@natdebtline

bearkardashian

Thank you for your reply James. When you say creditor do you mean Halifax (the bank with whom I have the credit card)? I have already spoken to them twice today and both times got through to people who spoke with a foreign dialect (to put it politely)... two rather frustrating phone calls later all I know is I am going to be charged for going over my credit limit!!

National_Debtline

Yes, Halifax would be the organisation who report anything to the credit reference agencies about the transaction. Perhaps you could try a different option in the phone menu as I’ve certainly spoken to UK based call centres when I’ve phoned Halifax on a personal basis, although that was a while ago. You could also try contacting them by email or letter.

James
@natdebtline

pvt

I would suggest your best option is simply to dispute the £4,667 transaction as not authorised by you - then it will be removed from your credit card account.

I would also be asking Halifax !!!!!! they allowed a transaction through that was so clearly over your credit limit.