Problem with credit check on rented flat

katie_saver

Hello,


My brother has paid the fees to the agency for credit checks and reference checks. Turns out he has a £250 ccj against him from January and therefore he has failed the credit check. How is the best way for him to find out wht this is for? The landlord said that as long as he can prove that he has paid this then he will be fine.


Thanks

Pixie5740

Has he got hold of all 3 of his credit files? Experian he can get for £2, Equifax he can get for free via Clear Score and his Call Credit file can be obtained free through Noddle.

katie_saver

Thanks.


Will that actually tell him the company he needs to pay to clear it?

katie_saver

Sorry I meant to ask that he thinks it is probably non payment of an electricity bill - would Noddle tell him who it was to? Or does he need to use Clear score and Expirian too?

Guest101

Well start with noddle and see, CCJs typically appear on all reports.


On a side note he's ruined his credit for 6 years, so he'd better get it paid asap. Most landlords wouldn't touch him.

katie_saver

Yes I know his credit has been ruined already for various other reasons (he is total nightmare with money) but until recently he had been doing well. I have sent him to check Noddle. I need him to move out of mine!

Guest101

katie_saver wrote: »

Yes I know his credit has been ruined already for various other reasons (he is total nightmare with money) but until recently he had been doing well. I have sent him to check Noddle. I need him to move out of mine!

nothing ruins credit like a CCJ!


The only added bonus is, it's £250, so below the threshold for any meaningful enforcement. Basically the company were making an example out of him. So he's unlikely to lose his (presumably few) assets over this

Small_Yeti

He might not have ruined his credit depending on the circumstance. Years and years ago I decided to have a nosy at my credit score just to see what it looked like on one of the free month trials that were being offered.

Turned out my nosiness helped me out quite a lot. I discovered I had a black mark against my file - not a CCJ but my electricity company in an old flat had stated that I owed them £100 or so and this was logged against my name. Well I didn't! I ended the tenancy on 30th June and the very last thing I did before leaving the flat was call the gas and electricity companies, read them my final meter and pay the final bill. And I knew this particularly because both meters were by the front door and it was the last thing to do before I locked up. So that meant I knew the exact time and date I had called.

The letting agents/landlords then went in, decided to upgrade the flat and spent over a month refurbishing the place. When they left they called the electricity company and told them they were calling on behalf of a tenant that had just left and gave them the meter reading (which was all after I left and included all the use for their power tools, etc, nice). The electricity company thought, as I was the last tenant, that the bill belonged to me and just added it to my file. As I had paid everything I hadn't given them a forwarding address and they couldn't contact me to let me know they thought I owed the money.

When I saw my credit report I was able to see who had lodged it, called them up and could clearly prove when I called, when my tenancy ended and that I paid in full on the final date of my tenancy (down to the time I did it). They apologised, explained how it had happened and took the mark off my file. I think it took a couple of weeks but that wasn't a problem as I had found it by chance rather than because I was applying for something.

If it is a genuine error it can be corrected.

Guest101

Small_Yeti wrote: »

He might not have ruined his credit depending on the circumstance. Years and years ago I decided to have a nosy at my credit score just to see what it looked like on one of the free month trials that were being offered.

Turned out my nosiness helped me out quite a lot. I discovered I had a black mark against my file - not a CCJ but my electricity company in an old flat had stated that I owed them £100 or so and this was logged against my name. Well I didn't! I ended the tenancy on 30th June and the very last thing I did before leaving the flat was call the gas and electricity companies, read them my final meter and pay the final bill. And I knew this particularly because both meters were by the front door and it was the last thing to do before I locked up. So that meant I knew the exact time and date I had called.

The letting agents/landlords then went in, decided to upgrade the flat and spent over a month refurbishing the place. When they left they called the electricity company and told them they were calling on behalf of a tenant that had just left and gave them the meter reading (which was all after I left and included all the use for their power tools, etc, nice). The electricity company thought, as I was the last tenant, that the bill belonged to me and just added it to my file. As I had paid everything I hadn't given them a forwarding address and they couldn't contact me to let me know they thought I owed the money.

When I saw my credit report I was able to see who had lodged it, called them up and could clearly prove when I called, when my tenancy ended and that I paid in full on the final date of my tenancy (down to the time I did it). They apologised, explained how it had happened and took the mark off my file. I think it took a couple of weeks but that wasn't a problem as I had found it by chance rather than because I was applying for something.

If it is a genuine error it can be corrected.

That's lovely, but that's not a CCJ, it's not the same as contacting the utility supplier.

Small_Yeti

Guest101 wrote: »

That's lovely, but that's not a CCJ, it's not the same as contacting the utility supplier.

I think I was trying to say it might not definitely be a CCJ and it might be fixable!

Guest101

Small_Yeti wrote: »

I think I was trying to say it might not definitely be a CCJ and it might be fixable!

Well that wasn't what you said


Letting agents don't see those defaults or late payments and the Op says it's a CCJ, so I'll just stick to it being a CCJ.