clearing defaults from your credit history

alooof

hi guys!
i hope this is the right forum for this query.

i was recently turned down for credit and ordered my experian credit file to understand why.
i had 2 defaults on my account relating to mobile phone contracts i had 3-4 years back.

the first one was with 3 mobile (in the year they launched, when they were notoriously useless). about 6 months into my contract I was too broke to pay, so i missed one or 2 payments and my line was suspended. this has happened to me quite often in the past, and once you pay your bill you are reconnected. so in the 8th month of my contract I paid all outstanding monies and expected my line to be reconnected. i made over 20 calls to their customer services (based overseas, poor line, bad grasp of english, no clue etc) and every time i was told my issue will be dealt with by engineers within a certain timeframe (normally 24 hours). this went on for about a month, after which point I started writing letters. again, nothing was done. therefore, although I was still under contract, they weren't fulfilling their end of the bargain so i refused to pay further.
I was supposed to have 4 more months at £35/month on my contract, totalling £140 but before I knew it i had debt collectors asking for about £250. i told them the situation and they didnt really listen, i again tried to resolve it with 3 but with no luck. eventually it went away (so i thought) only to find out I'd been hit with a default.
there was absolutely no indication or notification that i had a default on my record.


I also had a similar situation with O2 when I signed up for their online service (which only offered e-support but didnt even respond to emails)

I want to clear these 2 issues, obviously without having to pay out any/much money and definately not the full amount
how can I appeal? the cases are 3 and 4 years old respectively

in both instances they went to debt collectors but there was absolutely no warning about the defaults
thanks!

Crown

Hi, To be honest I dont think you would have much chance of disputing these defaults esp since so much time has now passed.

The Defaults will fall off your credit files when they hit 6 years anyhow and will not leave any trace/damage. I think you will just need to sit tight and wait and try not to take out any more phone contracts unless you know exactly how much it is and what you are getting into.

pixiedust_2

Is there any way to clear them?

I have a recent(ish) default from Orange, which has been paid off (I cancelled the DD before the final payment had been taken, it was my own mistake and I'll happily admit that, and then moved house, but has now been paid and sorted out), but is currently the only thing blocking me from opening my student account before starting uni! Have tried to call them, but they won't talk to me without being a current customer or wanted to buy something from them... Is there a set procedure to deal with this?