Satisfying a default nearing expiry

mgldev

Hi people,

I know there's lots of knowledgeable people here and I've not got a clear picture after having spoke with Equifax and the MoneyAdviceService so I'd appreciate your input.

I primarily use Experian to keep on eye on my credit file however recently I used Equifax's 30 day trial to see their perspective of my credit report.

I know not to put much faith in the actual score values and how they're only indicative - but Equifax give me 286 (Poor) vs Experian's 804 (Fair).

What I didn't know is that Equifax hold an account against me linked to my first address - I'm now on my third address. The account is with BT Telecoms and is in an unsettled default state.

Default screenshot: 188.166.149.212/default.png (copy and paste in to a browser - I'm new so I can't post links!)

The default date is 29/06/2010 and thus 29/06/2016 should be the date it falls off the CRA's view (give or take ~28 days for administration time).

What should I do?

1. Pay the amount before 29/06/2016 in full by tracing the current owner of the account (if that's still BT or if it's been passed on I'm not sure). If I do this - are there any consequences? Is it possible for this to have a negative effect, i.e. reinstate the account or extend the default?

2. Wait until the 29/06/2016 passes and pay in full

3. Await further contact and pay when requested

I guess my main concern is having BT or the owner of the account apply for a CCJ. I believe they could have done this at any point in the last 6 years. I do not have any CCJ's on either CRA regarding this account - if they do decide to apply for a CCJ for the money now one thing that would concern me is if they sent the CCJ request to a previous address - I wouldn't know about it.

Am I right in thinking that if a CCJ was sent to my current address regarding this amount I have 30 days to clear it and the CCJ won't make it on to the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines?

I'm currently saving up for a mortgage and the last thing I need after all the effort I've put in over the last few years is for a tiny niggling debt of £160 to bite me in the !!!!

Thanks,
Mike

Ben8282

Do NOTHING.
The default will disappear 6 years after the default date.
Assuming you have not acknowledged the debt since the default date it will become statute barred.

mgldev

Thanks Ben8282.

Six years is a long time - I certainly haven't had any comms in the last 2-3 years regarding it and I genuinely can't remember before then.

I'm a bit uncomfortable with the do nothing approach just out of paranoia that they'll suddenly decide to take action at some point for the outstanding balance.

Is it not worth hunting this down at some point once it drops off to clear and pay it - get it off my conscience? Any impact or consequences doing that?

Mike

Richey_

Mgldev I think your situation depends on whether you are a gambler or not. You can either sit it out and hope they do not apply for a CCJ, because if they do it could cause you problems for another 6 years. As you said if you paid the CCJ within 30'days then it would not show on your credit records etc. That does depend on the company having the right address for you as if they don't, the CCJ is awarded against you to an old address and you later receive to your current address, you would have to pay I believe £255 to apply to have it set aside and then hope the judge would accept that you not giving them your new address is a good enough reason to set it aside.

What I would do if I was you is just pay it, it's your debt that you owe and it is such a small amount when it could cause you another 6 years of credit problems. Ring the company, you could even try for a settlement figure lower than the debt, but either any if I way I'd just clear it. Come June you have a clean credit report and no worrying that a CCJ is lurking, registered to a previous address that could show up at any point and cost more than the debt to try to set aside.

fermi

When did you actually last pay anything on this account or acknowledge the debt in writing?

mgldev

Richey_, thanks for you advice. This is what it feels like I should do - there will be some effort involved in chasing the tail of the debt - it could be as simple as contacting BT unless it was transferred to another debt collection agency. This approach in no way could revive / extend the default?

fermi - thanks for the reply. This is a difficult one to answer. I've just logged in to my online banking to see what kind of support they have for historical statements and I can see I can access statements from any date going back to 2009 so if I've made any payments I hope to find them in here - I'll start looking today.

EDIT: Had a 20 minute scan through all transactions - nothing apparent with regards to BT or a collection agency I don't recognise from that period.

Unfortunately in the period between 2009 - 2011 I made a right mess financially - I'm much more aware of my finances these days and monitor all creditors and payments daily - I'm financially sounds these days but there was a period where letters were ignored and payments were not paid. I can't remember what communication I had regarding this account to either BT or another agency who managed the account, either telephone based or paper based - so I can't be certain if in the early part of the last 6 years I acknowledged the debt or made a payment.

It looks, according to the Equifax payment status for the account, that November 2008 is when I stopped paying - from there on the missed payments went from 2,3,4,5,6 to consistent default codes until they stopped being reported in January 2010.

Providing I have no way of proving if I've paid or communicated - what action would you recommend?

Thanks,
Mike

mgldev

fermi wrote: »

When did you actually last pay anything on this account or acknowledge the debt in writing?

Fermi,

I've read the articles on statute barred debts so I understand why you're trying to ascertain if I've acknowledged the debt or made payments in the last 6 years.

Can I just ask - other than saving me from paying £160 (which is no bother) - are there any other reasons you would advise against paying the debt in terms of how it'll affect my credit history?

If there are no reasons against paying then I'm going to go ahead and get in touch to get this cleared.

Appreciate the help so far from everyone.

Mike

Richey_

Mgldev the company cannot extend the default past the 6 year point or reregister it with a new date etc by paying. The only way they could extend it is by getting a CCJ against you and it not being paid within the month. This would then go on to your credit report for another 6 years and could affect credit for longer as many companies ask you on application if you have ever had a CCJ. As said in my last post the CCJ could be registered against an old address and by the time it catches up with you it could be outside of the month to pay and it would cost you £255 to apply to hope that the judge will accept that not updating them with your new address is a good enough reason to have it set aside, i suspect it would not be.
Good luck to you, hope that you get it sorted

mgldev

Richey_ wrote: »

Mgldev the company cannot extend the default past the 6 year point or reregister it with a new date etc by paying. The only way they could extend it is by getting a CCJ against you and it not being paid within the month. This would then go on to your credit report for another 6 years and could affect credit for longer as many companies ask you on application if you have ever had a CCJ. As said in my last post the CCJ could be registered against an old address and by the time it catches up with you it could be outside of the month to pay and it would cost you £255 to apply to hope that the judge will accept that not updating them with your new address is a good enough reason to have it set aside, i suspect it would not be.
Good luck to you, hope that you get it sorted

Thanks for that Richey.

I'm going to go ahead and find the current owners and get it paid - I'm not prepared to hang around and end up with a CCJ - I've had one already and it fell off my credit file last December - it's a huge relief and I'm now in a great position whilst saving up for a mortgage.

Thanks to all for the advice - I'll pop back and report what happens regarding paying the outstanding balance off and then all should be sorted.

Mike