Unrecognised default on credit file - Lowell

thethirdbar

Hallo, I'm after some advice hopefully. Sorry in advance - this is a bit long !

I check my experian report regularly via MSE Credit Club and it's all in good shape. My husband and I have made an offer on a house and are hoping to get a mortgage. We got our AiP through Trussle which I understand doesn't do credit checks, so I've registered to check Experian and Noddle and have found an (unsatisfied) default I don't recognise

This default shows up on my Noddle report but does not show on my ClearScore report or my Experian report (via Credit Club - I haven't checked Experian directly).


I have a couple of questions.

1) How can something show on my Clearscore report but not my Equifax one? Shouldn't they match?


2) I've done a bit of googling and it appears that Lowell buy debts. My (admittedly limited) understanding is that when a debt is sold on the original will still show on your credit report but will mark as having been sold on? My report shows no defaulted telecoms credit accounts - only O2 ones paid in full.

The dates on the default are confusing. The original date of the account is December 2008 with the default dated October 2013. I did take out an Orange contract for my husband (ironically - because he had bad credit at the time!) around the time of the stated account so I can only assume it relates to that - but I know for a fact I've never taken out a mobile phone contract that was longer than 24 months, so how can I have defaulted on one almost three years after it would have been settled?

I know they drop off after 6 years but - if the default date really was October 2013 then surely the original should still be on there as its not yet been 6 years? But there's no record of the original Orange credit account having been in default. Could just be that I have misunderstood the entries which arise when a debt is sold on though!

Also - it states the default was in Oct 2013 but on Noddle it only shows activity from June 2016 - presumably when Lowell bought the debt? I've received no letters but the address stated on the report is one i moved from in April 2013. I do recall receiving some calls in the summer but they were automated and I must admit I assumed they were spam and blocked the number.


3) I've raised a dispute with Noddle stating that I don't recognise the default. Do I also have to raise a dispute with Equifax or will it naturally get corrected on all of them when / if it gets resolved?


The default is 'only' for £70 and we are looking at a mortgage well with in our affordability range, but I'm genuinely devastated as I thought I was in great financial health, and now I am very concerned about how this is going to impact our mortgage application. I hardly slept last night stressing about it.

Fortunately the vendor of the house we have offered on is not yet proceedable and nothing has progressed yet - so we can rescind our offer with only a bit of embarrassment and wasted time but no cost to anyone. But I really don't want to have to !

From the date information am I right that it seems like this is something that should have been statute barred even if it is legit?

We're going to talk to a mortgage broker but any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Edit: I should add, even if it does relate to that old Orange account, I don't believe it ever was or should have been in default, to my knowledge it was paid in full ! But I have no idea how to go about proving that.

[Deleted User]

1) How can something show on my Clearscore report but not my Equifax one? Shouldn't they match?
Do you mean Noddle (Call Credit), not Clearscore (Equifax)?
It depends on who the DC's report to

Yes Lowell buy debts - if you are unsure what it is for, then send them a Prove-It letter, but DO NOT acknowledge the debt with them.

Noddle are not Equifax so you will need to contact each CRA separately - Equifax, Experian and Call Credit

thethirdbar

Hallo - thanks for the reply.

Sorry for the confusion - my understanding was that:

MSE CreditClub - gets its info from Experian
ClearScore - gets its info from Equifax
Noddle - gets its info from CallCredit

So as ClearScore gets its info from Equifax I thought a default showing on Equifax should also show on ClearScore.

However, the default is listed on both Noddle and Equifax, but not on ClearScore (or CreditClub - I haven't checked Experian directly yet).


I've spoken to the mortgage broker and he didn't seem overly concerned that it would have too detrimental an impact, but that I should still go ahead and try to get it removed or settled. So feeling a bit reassured but still annoyed!

I'll follow Noddle's dispute process through and go direct to Equifax - should I also send a prove it letter or is there any reason to just wait for the CRAs process?

Cheers!

[Deleted User]

When did you sign up for Clearscore?

It might be that it's just slow in pulling the data through and it will be there in the next monthly update.

It's also likely Equifax or Clearscore will ask you to contact Lowell to confirm what the debt is, and that they cannot remove it without instruction from Lowell

magyar

A similar thing happened to me recently with Lowells, in my case it was an O2 account and it was reported on Equifax but not Experian or CC.

The answers to your questions are (1) usually, yes, but not always and (2) no, at least not publicly, your account will just show one default and the creditor will update if the debt is transferred. Call Credit should be able to tell you who lodged the original default.

You will have to contact Lowell. Do not acknowledge the debt in any way, but ask them for details of the original creditor. Your post doesn't actually say where you get the idea it's an Orange account? In my case, it simply said it's a "telecommunications supplier", but there should be some indication of this on your file.

Once you know who the original debt is from, then I would actually contact them. They should still have a record of it. In my experience O2 were pretty good at sorting this out, so I assume Orange (now EE) will be too.

Until you know the origin of the debt in question (e.g. if it does relate to your husband's phone) then it's hard to know the right course of action. Clearly if the debt does turn out to be yours then it's different to if it's either a mistake or fraud.

thethirdbar

I signed up for Clearscore within the last week, so that could be it. I just assumed that they'd have everything which existed on my Equifax report at the time of opening the Clearscore account.

However I've now seen the 'closed accounts' section on Clearscore and there is an account under Lowell's name which says I was making payments until September 2013 and no indication of any missed payments.

The assumption that it relates to an Orange account magyar is just because of the dates and the 'telecomms provider' description, all my O2 accounts (my main phone provider) show up correctly and the only other telecomms account I have ever had is the Orange one I opened in Dec 2008 - I've trawled through my emails for confirmation and it was an 18 month agreement. So I am not sure how I could have been paying on it until 2013 nor defaulted on it in 2013. If it does turn out to be legitimate then I would prefer to settle it with an explanatory note, but it just doesn't seem to make much sense to me and I am not convinced it is accurate. In which case I'd like it gone

I've disputed it with Equifax but I will write directly to Lowell and see if they can clear it up. Thanks for your reply

magyar

I see. I don't think you can really guess what it is until Lowell confirm. If there isn't a manifest error, then Equifax will simply say that only Lowell can remove it. If it turns out to be an Orange (EE) error, then I would recommend taking it up with then as the process will be easiest if EE "credit" that account (i.e. basically refund Lowell what they paid for it) and then Lowell will have no issue sorting it. It seems wrong that you have to do the legwork, but it will be quicker.

If it helps, then I can say that since in my case it turned out to be an error then both Lowell and O2 paid me a modest amount of compensation - so make sure to ask!

thethirdbar

Just an update on this, not sure if anyone has any ideas or thoughts for my next course of action... Lowell finally responded to my letter asking for further info and confirmed the default in question relates to an Orange account. I firmly believe there is no way the account was ever in default because my husband still has 'the same' account...

My rough guess is:

2008: (like an idiot) i open an orange account for my partner cause he can't get a credit agreement. the account is in my name but direct debit is setup from his account.

Sometime in 2013 - we called orange and switched the account into my partner's name & info. presumably this is when something goes tits up because according to Lowell the last payment was received in April 2013. April 2013 is also when we move house (so no correspondence received - boo).

April in 2014: orange account becomes an EE account and all his Orange history is wiped from his online account

My husband's account continues - the phone number he has in place today with EE is the same one i opened in 2008 which is listed on the letter from Lowell and the account has never been closed or not paid - though obviously he's switched to new airtime agreements & new phone credit in that time.

So my assumption is that when the account was switched to his name Orange messed something up / didn't close my account down properly.

We've tried calling EE and they basically said 'nah sorry we don't have records any more for the Orange account'.

We're currently seeing if we can get copies of the old bank statements from April 2013 onwards to confirm that payments continued. But if EE are saying they don't have records of the accounts, I am not really sure what to do next.

thethirdbar

Just an update on this for anyone who I'm sure has been on the edge of their seat - after a lot of round the houses back and forthing with EE - including having to go into an EE store with my marriage certificate so they could confirm my ID - I eventually managed to speak to someone from Orange's closed accounts team who could access the account and confirm the balance did correctly belong to the account.

Frustratingly they weren't able to provide me with copies of the relevant bills so I still don't know what the charges were for precisely. But in the interests of getting it off my mind as its been weighing on me for a while, I spoke to Lowell and negotiated a discount to settle the account. It'll be marked as partially satisfied on my credit report which isn't ideal, but at least I don't have to fret about the flipping thing anymore!

My credit history is otherwise in good shape and we managed to get an AiP from a real bank (not Trussle!) with no issues so I'm just going to write this one off as a bad experience and make sure I get a postal redirect the next time I move house!