Credit rating ruined by EE

ashp_2

It's quite simple really. Many do not read these contracts nor do they consider the ultimate cost of breaching it. It's only when they want to get a mortgage or other credit they turn up here wondering where it all went wrong! I was in this situation myself 10 years ago.

Nasqueron

sargeantsalt wrote: »

@Nasqueron "Nope, an example of someone not reading the terms and conditions." @Arleen "As you can read in your agreement..." Yes the OP should have read and memorised the agreement enough to be able to recite all terms and conditions verbatim on demand. Just a poll: How many MSE users have read the terms and conditions and privacy notices of MSE? A few perhaps. How many can remember everything? How many contracts are each of you bound by in your day to day lives? How many did you read and how much do you remember? There was a recent study (I can't remember where I read it) but anyhow, it was calculated that the average person would have to spend about 2 hours per day reading terms and conditions if they actually read them for every service/contract or website they used. The estimated lost productivity to the economy would be £billions. Better to spend 2 hours per day earning money and save it up as a buffer for when you get shafted by some small print.

If I sign up for a 2 year contract I know I have to pay for 24 months, then would ring up and cancel if I wanted to cancel, I'd wait for a confirmation letter. I know full well cancelling a DD doesn't end a contract, that doesn't need 2 hours reading terms and conditions

GingerBob_3

Normally if cancel any DD ahead of its expected termination, you get a letter from the beneficiary asking what's going on. Seems like no such letter arrived .....


Seems to me that EE knew the OP wanted to cancel the contract but have gone out of their way to trash his ability to obtain credit.


It's this sort of behaviour that should bar the likes of phone providers from reporting to CRAs. In any case, they are not real credit providers.

sargeantsalt

“ With any credit agreement, I always assume there's some kind of minimum contract term, minimum period, notice period, get-out requirement or automatic renewal.. Originally posted by Chappaz ” I agree with GinerBob: A phone is not credit. Why are phone companies allowed to mix subscription data with credit records? DFS have to issue a CCA regulated credit agreement if they want to sell you a sofa on credit but the phone company does not. How is that fair? @Nasquerton: A simple way to save 2 hours a day reading terms and conditions is to use CTRL+F to search for the words "credit reference agencies". If those words exist anywhere in the contract, DO NOT SIGN UP, if not, you're good to go!

Ohic

Hi guys appreciate all the help, however a few people saying i shouldn't of cancelled the contract at 21 months - this is obvious and as i stated not what i did i didn't cancel the payment until after the 24th payment had left my account. Obviously i made the mistake as has been pointed out a plenty. Now i just have to focus on trying to remedy it as having spoken with EE this morning they are refusing to budge on removing it from my credit score. I have requested all correspondence that was sent to the old address so i will see.

ThinkingOutLoud_2

OP
- good on you for recognising (we can be a bit keen here to identify failings - but this is not just you as noted / revealed - it includes some of us!) Life has lessons for us all.
- I am sure ongoing, you will note when and how you can cancel and make sure you get written confirmation of that and any changes.

Hope EE help and you can get things resolved enough to mortgage.

Neptune

I finds myself in a similar position with TalkMobile. A summary of the events goes like this.

I took a 30 day rolling contract with Talkmobile in June 2016. After all sorts of number transfer issues, appalling phone service and customer service after 1 month I decided to cancel the £15.00 pm rolling contract.

Called Talkmobile's CS (which is based in Egypt).

Advised them I was giving notice of cancellation, and they advised that was fine and the contract would end at the end of the current monthly payment cycle.

The month following cancellation my account was debited again.

I called Talkmobile CS and advised contract had been cancelled over the phone (as you can do, as per T's&C's). CS member confirmed that that was fine and would arrange a refund, as the payment had left that morning from my account I advised I'd call the payment back under the DD guarantee, they just needed to ensure I wasn't billed again as I would now cancel DD with my bank to prevent future unauthorised payments. I was assured all was OK.

That was in August 2016, this month my credit rating and ability get credit went through the floor. It turns out Talkmobile had marked the next payment for September as a defaulted payment (this came to light using the Experian CreditMatch).

Since the last call to CS I'd heard nothing from Talkmobile, no letter to chase subsequent payments. No letter to chase the last DD returned unauthorised payment, nothing. I had thought as I had been advised, everything was cancelled and the account was in order.

I wonder because I left a poor trust pilot feedback in June if a disgruntled CS member decided to mark the account as defaulted?

The problem I face now is apparently £11.00 was marked as the default (not even the monthly amount due). Not only can I not get credit, neither can my company, it can't even change banks! January and February are also cash tight for my industry sector. So without a line of credit we need to fold in a matter of days.

I have placed a notice on the account with Experian (who in all honesty have been pretty good in helping me get it sorted).

A DSAR and letter of intended action have gone off to Talkmobile. Will let you all know what happens.

Anyone with any practical and positive advice would be greatly appreciated.

KoshB5

Your doing the right things you should also apply the Notice of Correction on your credit file with Equifax and Callcredit.

samay007

Hi Ohic, Just do what KoshB5 says... (Normally mobile contract will not ruin your credit report that much). I previously has bad credit from EE when i applied for mortgage.

Speak to EE and pay any outstanding fees and make sure to remove the default. Please have everything by writing (PM if you need a letter that need to send to EE). Then you can apply the Notice of Correction on your credit file with Equifax and Experian.

leslieknope

phone companies are very trigger happy when it comes to applying defaults. i cancelled a monthly broadband dongle with three TWICE, once on the phone and once in the store getting the sales assistant to call on my behalf before speaking with them AGAIN as they hadn't cancelled it when i called the first time, only for them to charge me a cancellation fee and then not tell me about it even though they had my address. which meant this was sold to a debt collection agency and defaulted on my CS for a year before i realised!

luckily the DCA was gracious enough to remove this and not expect me to pay it back but it put a very sour taste in my mouth given i paid 3 months for something i didn't use due to their failure to cancel it. they told me the second time i couldn't cancel without paying the outstanding bill and that i should do that just to cancel the account and then claim it back as a refund. i didn't get a refund surprisingly!