Cabot continue to add a default each month

Steven.h

Hi,

I had a loan from Northern Rock in 2004 and in 2010 I had a serious head injury and was unable to work, hence NR registered a default on my file I setup a payment plan when I got out of hospital.

And this plan continued and then the debt was sold to Cabot in 2013 I can't remember getting a letter from them but the direct debit continued to leave my account for this plan and still does.

I checked my credit file recently on Noddle and found that since they bought the debt they have been registering a default every month to date. I emailed them asking them to remove these and they wrote back saying they are continuing the original default that Northern Rock started and that my credit file reports a reducing balance on the debt !

I have around 4 other debts and none of the other DCA's register a default every month for years on end, the 6 years will be up on this debt at the end of the year and I won;t be borrowing any money but I can't even get a mobile phone contract and only checking my credit file I realised why !

Can I dispute these defaults or do they not make any difference to my credit score (because of other debts as well?)

Thanks

National_Debtline

Hi Steven.h,


I wonder if the Noddle report is showing that the account still has a default status every month (sometimes marked with a letter D). This is can be confusing as it looks similar, and can recur on the account each month, but the debt can only show for 6 years from the original default date.


The debt collector is also able to register the original default date under their name, but they cannot re-register it as a new date.

It may be worth checking Experian and Equifax (Clearscore) as well to see how it shows on them. Some reports are clearer than others. Best of luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

Steven.h

Thanks for reply, I disputed the defaults with Noddle and they wrote back to me saying the entries cannot be disputed by Marlin Financial services (must be part of Cabot).

I don't understand why no other DCA is registering one against me just Cabot I can pay for an Experian one and see if it shows on there !

Steven.h

It maybe because the other defaults on my file have expired as my head injury was in August 2010 and the other lenders registered their defaults within 3-6 months but northern rock left it until December 2011 !

National_Debtline

Hello again Steven.h,


I think it would be worth getting a copy of each credit file for clarity and if you are concerned that information has been recorded incorrectly you should complain to the creditor. If the information is correct, I am afraid it can't be removed. However, if you believe it is wrong and they refuse to remove it, you can take the complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (and the Financial Ombudsman).


With regard to when the default has been recorded you may be able to challenge the date of this, depending on what happened between 2010 - 2011. You can try and challenge the date under the Information Commissioners Guidelines - http://www.scoronline.co.uk/sites/default/files/high_level_prinicples_document_final.pdf


Laura
@natdebtline

TheDebtinator

Am I correct in thinking that a default can only be registered after 6 months of failing to make the correct payments, and that it has to be done at that point? I.e it cannot be put on after a year of missed / incomplete payments?

Candyapple

TheDebtinator wrote: »

Am I correct in thinking that a default can only be registered after 6 months of failing to make the correct payments, and that it has to be done at that point? I.e it cannot be put on after a year of missed / incomplete payments?

No. That 6 months is only an ICO guideline. A default can be applied whenever, although if say it was placed 1 year after missed payments and you wanted to dispute it, I would imagine after taking the complaint case to the ICO / FO that the owner of the debt who placed the default would need to show evidence as to why they placed it so late. I haven't heard of any success stories on here about getting defaults removed due to late placement of dates.

TheDebtinator

Thanks, I wasn't sure as generally 6 months was when defaults were placed on my file, so was just checking to see if it would give the OP any help.