5 year default with Lowell Portfolio - Mortgage?

Vetch1912

Hi everyone

It's almost midnight, and what a day today has been!

Myself and my fiancee have been looking to get a mortage for a while now, and decided that we would apply once I have finished my annual trip away in June. Despite not ever being in a struggle with finances I decided to check my credit file (first time ever) When I did there were 2 negative factors. 1. Not being on the electoral roll (which I have applied for and had an email from the local council in August 2016 telling me I'm on it, just waiting for Experian to sort it their end) and 2. A default place by Lowell Portfolio in December 2011.

I had a phone contract with Orange, and prior to departing to Afghanistan in April 2011 I phoned them and asked if my account could be put on hold/frozen for the duration, to which the guy on the other end agreed to. I returned 4 months later on leave to discover that my account was in the process of being sold to a debt collection agency and that the matter was no longer for Orange to deal with. Anyway, I was 21 years old and I had a little over 7 days before flying back out, so back then it was the least of my worries. I returned late September to a number of letters from Lowell demanding the sum of £169, paid it off and that was that. However, like I mentioned above, upon checking my credit rating today, I noticed this default, and so contacted Lowell. I explained the situation as best I could, only to be told by a very nice chap 'they have phones over there, you should have called Orange to confirm it had been frozen' Thanks mate! He was right I Suppose, but living with 30 men, of which most had families, my call to Orange would not have been top priority on a sat phone with a 20 minute battery life! He added there was nothing Lowell could do and that I had to take the matter up with Orange.

I tried numerous different numbers for Orange, to no avail. 'Cant find your account', 'If it was sold there is nothing we can do'. Anyway, I managed to find a number for the EE executive office and thought why not? The guy I spoke to there (I'm assuming he was quite high up in the everything everywhere food chain) was quite helpful, and after finding my account details confirmed I had made a call to Orange in April, and again in September - However the reason for calling was not listed next to the call log. He told me my best chance would be to email them explaining everything, and 'they would see what they can do' (I wont hold my breath).

Ultimately I'm not using my being away as an excuse, I'm fully aware it was my fault, maybe I should have called and double checked, but I'm just curious as to what my chances would be on getting a mortgage approval with the default on my account? Combined we earn £55k a year, my outgoings are literally a phone contract (not with Orange!) and car insurance, affordability wise we are in a good place and have a decent deposit saved. The default has been on my account for exactly 5 years and 4 months, and like mentioned previously was for £169 which was paid off. I had a credit card 8/9 months ago with no problem whatsoever? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks guys