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laurajanelolly

Hi
Having gone to my bank to apply for a small loan I was told that there was a mark against my name and I should get a report of my credit file before proceeding.

I was a little baffled as I could only recall having one late payment recently that had been sorted and I'd also got a mortgage last year.
Sure enough it turned out that my late payment to Southern Water had resulted in a default for £90 which has gone on both mine and my partners names due to it being a joint account.

When we moved last August there had been a mix up with paying some accounts and then in September I'd lost hours at work and was being paid less. The water bill was due in in September but wasn't paid. After receiving a letter in November from a debt collection agency I called Southern Water and paid over half of the bill leaving £90 to pay which I stupidly forgot about. Eventually I paid the money on the 27th Jan and had been informed that we had an additional charge of £45 for late payment which was paid on the next bill. I also set up a direct debit so that it wouldn't be confused or missed again.

On my credit report I have received a default for £90 on 08/01/17 and it's stated that it was settled on 12/02/17. I have called Southern Water an they said they had sent out letters to the both of us regarding this but the only one I have is a reminder of the late payment and it being passed to a debt collector. I was also told that even though I called Southern Water and paid half because I'd not set anything up with the debt collector I was deemed as not responding which it why it was put on the account.

Is there anything I can do regarding the default? I fully accept I paid late and should be accountable to that but in the 5 months I had actually paid over half the account. My other issue is that it was my fault that it was paid late so is there anyway I can have it removed from my partners credit report? Also how could this effect me in the future with taking out a small loan or trying to move house?

[Deleted User]

It all seems in order. It's a joint account, so both parties are liable.

It may affect future borrowing, so take it into consideration when choosing where to apply.

laurajanelolly

I figured that was probably the case. I accept I made the mistake of a late payment. My partner just isn't taking it too well though

It is what it is.

PixelPound

The late payment markers aren't so bad, the default will be more of a problem. Don't stress too much, it doesn't mean you can't get credit just some providers will reject you because of it, so more research will be needed before applying to any.