Feeling fed up....

Uptotheneckinit

Hi, Newbie here so apologies if I'm in the wrong place. I'm feeling well and truly fed up and disheartened at the moment. I'm in debt through my own carelessness but trying really hard to sort it out. I am Currently in a DMP with Stepchange and there are 3 debts involved. The first 6 months of the DMP were token payments to each of the 3 creditors. Two of them, Aqua CC and Capital One CC rightly registered defaults on my credit file shortly after I commenced the DMP in March 2015. However, the 3rd debt, Vanquis CC didn't register a default at the time but I've just recieved notification from Noddle that they have now, almost 2 years after the others and I'm gutted about it. :-(

Regarding the Vanquis debt, as mentioned, I was making token payments of £5 per month (via stepchange) off a £1500 debt. Around 6 months later, I was earning a little extra doing overtime so the payments were increased to £44 per month to Vanquis however when the overtime dried up around 6 months later again, the payments were dropped to just under £20 per month. In August 2016, I received notice from Moorcroft Debt Collection Agency stating the debt had been passed to them which is understandable. I responded to their letter re iterating that my debts were being handled by Stepchange, who then arranged for payments to be redirected to Moorcroft instead of Vanquis and I heard nothing more until a couple of days ago when I recieved an alert from Noddle saying Vanquis had registered a default with a date of 3/2/2017.

I'm so upset about it as I'm really trying to sort my finances out and starting to wonder if it's worth the bother when vanquis do things like that. I've recently increased my income and therefore payments to my DMP. This means I will be debt free in 2 years time. The defaults from Cap1 and Aqua would be 4 years old and satisfied by then which would help improve my credit file but the Vanquis one will still have 4 years to go. Gutted :mad:

Can anyone offer advice please? Many thanks in advance

[Deleted User]

Request that they move it to no more than 6 months after default.

ashp_2

It's a difficult one. It depends what agreement you had with them really in regards to paying this back after you originally defaulted.

From the ICO:

4. If you fall into arrears on your account, or you do not keep to the
revised terms of an arrangement, a default may be recorded to
show that the relationship has broken down.
As a general guide, this may occur when you are 3 months in arrears, and normally by the
time you are 6 months in arrears.
There are exceptions to this which may result in a default being recorded at a later stage,
such as secured or long term loans e.g. mortgages, or if the product operates in a more
flexible way e.g. current accounts, student loans, home credit.
If an arrangement is agreed (see Principle 3 above), a default would not normally be
registered unless the terms of that arrangement are broken.
Apart from being 3 or more months in arrears there are other circumstances which may lead
to the recording of a default:
1. Property such as a house or vehicle has been repossessed or handed back with no
indication to pay a remaining balance.
2. The provider takes steps to cut off a service.
3. The account is in arrears and the provider receives an indication that you have left your
address without notifying them.
4. Evidence of fraud.
5. The account is or has been included in a bankruptcy, CCJ, Individual Voluntary
Arrangement (IVA) or similar.
The lender must have notified you of their intention to register a default against you at least
28 days before doing so, in order to give you time to make an acceptable payment or reach
an agreement with them on an arrangement. This also applies in cases 1 - 3 above.
However, in 4 - 5 the lender or provider does not need to provide a notice and can file a
default as soon as they become aware of the situation.
Lenders will report the default amount and the default date to the CRAs.
The current balance then shows the actual amount due (which may include interest and
charges) and must be updated over time until the account is satisfied (settled).
A default will remain on your credit file for 6 years from the default date.

A default should not be filed:


 If you make a payment, in time, that fully meets the terms set out in the
default notice
 If jointly with the lender an agreement is reached for an arrangement and you
keep to the terms of that arrangement
 If the amount outstanding is solely made up of fees or charges
 If a lender is given evidence that a customer is deceased (for example a
verifiable death certificate, probate or letter of administration)
The date of default recorded on the file would normally be the date on which a decision to
file a default becomes effective, e.g. 28 days from the date of the default notice.
The default amount filed should normally be the balance amount as quoted on the default
notice. However, if any payments or charges apply in the interim period, the default balance
reported may reflect the outstanding balance at that time.
The current balance should be updated regularly and reflect any charges added and/or
subsequent payments received whether direct to the lender or via a third party organisation
(debt collection agency) or, for example, as a result of the sale of a repossessed asset.

Uptotheneckinit

Thanks for responses folk.
I've now written to Vanquis requesting they change the default date to no later than September 2015 and outlined my reasons why I think they should. I envisage they'll refuse at first but I can but try. It seems unfair to get this far down the line with a debt free date in sight to then find Vanquis is effectively prolonging the impact of the defaults by 2 years :-( I feel like I'm moving 3 steps forward and two back. The situation with the other 2 accounts in my DMP was identical to the Vanquis account yet the defaults on them are nearly 2 years old yet Vanquis is just beginning. So frustrating.....

Uptotheneckinit

*UPDATE*

Result! Emailed a complaint to Vanquis yesterday and received a call from them today. The problem appears to have stemmed from me raising the payment from the initial token payment of £5 per month to £44 per month when I was working overtime then reducing it to £20 per month when my income dropped again. StepChange hadn't updated Vanquis with my drop in income/reason for reduced payment so they had assumed I wasn't complying with previous arrangement of £44 per month so the account was passed on to Moorcroft debt collection and eventually defaulted.

Vanquis have now spoken to StepChange who admitted it was an error on their part not updating Vanquis. The account is now being recalled from Moorcroft and default removed. I have been assured I will have this confirmed in writing shortly.

Just for information purposes, Vanquis did say it is their policy to default customers after a period of 210 days if no acceptable payment arrangement is in place and maintained. They also have a very good relationship with StepChange and assured me my issue is a result of a rare but unfortunate oversight on their part.

Feeling much more positive now :j