Default on Credit report

mykeeb

So, applying for a mortgage recently and my mortgage adviser told me to get a credit report done to make sure everything is ok. Haven't really had any loans or credit cards since I was a teenager but they were all paid off and I cut the cards up.

There's a marker on there for an old debt of nearly £3.5k that has been defaulted for years.

Now, I know for certain that this isn't mine. The problem I have is my dad and I have the same name (lazy parenting) except for the middle name. The debt doesn't have a middle initial but has my date of birth. Now my parents are divorced he has moved abroad so I have no idea what this credit card was used for or even who it was with.

What are my options? Pay the debt off myself so my mortgage application can go through - although all the defaulted payments are still on my record. Keep speaking to Experian to get it removed?

I'm stuffed aren't I?

[Deleted User]

Dispute it with Experian and have it removed.

CakeCrusader

You're not necessarily stuffed. How long ago was the last payment? Defaults are supposed to drop off a credit file after 6 years.

mykeeb

Deleted_User wrote: »

Dispute it with Experian and have it removed.

They have come back and because it has my DOB on it, they cannot remove it.

You're not necessarily stuffed. How long ago was the last payment? Defaults are supposed to drop off a credit file after 6 years.

I didn't even know it was on there so there has been no payments. The 'Default Date' is Sept 2011 and the 'Account Started' July 2003

Candyapple

How old is the default?

If you definitely don't recognise the debt, you'll need to report it to Action Fraud and use the crime reference number to go back to the lender and ask them to remove the data from your files.

Experian/Equifax/Call Credit won't remove the default - only the company that applied it in the first place can.

CakeCrusader

If the default date is September 2011, it will drop off your credit file in September 2017 (default date is the date of the last payment by the way). You can report it to the Police and get a crime reference number (which you send to the creditor, and they will remove it all from your file), it may be wise to speak to your father first though, if you can/are willing.

mykeeb

It'll be six years in September