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A Mortgage Horror Story
AgentBip
Posts: 9 Forumite
My partner and I are FTBs who miraculously enough found ourselves in the fortunate position of finding a beautiful, affordable house in the very location we'd dreamed about for years. Imagine our surprise then, when despite our hitherto unblemished credit record and comfortable fulfillment of lending criteria, we were turned down for a mortgage. At the brokers suggestion, we checked our credit files, and were utterly shocked by what we found.
It turns out that a company who shall remain nameless, but who for arguments sake will be known as British Gas, opened an account in Autumn 2017 without my permission in my name for a property I left five years ago. Since then, they've been merrily marking defaults every month against my credit record for failed payments. I called to try and resolve the situation and was met with an utter lack of urgency. I was on hold for an hour yet the best they could do was to make a vague promise to close the account (Again) and to call back within 7-10 days. They simply wouldn't provide a more meaningful timescale, an explanation of this gobsmacking error, or even make a meaningful apology.
I'm not even sure I can articulate how I feel. After maintaining a very good credit score for decades, it seems a third party can secretly balls it up and potentially ruin the most significant financial decision you'll ever make. I presume that if I hadn't applied for a mortgage, the arrears would continue to increase up until the bailiffs or a CCJ arrived at my current address,.
Can anyone advise on what, if any, channels I have to take it further?
It turns out that a company who shall remain nameless, but who for arguments sake will be known as British Gas, opened an account in Autumn 2017 without my permission in my name for a property I left five years ago. Since then, they've been merrily marking defaults every month against my credit record for failed payments. I called to try and resolve the situation and was met with an utter lack of urgency. I was on hold for an hour yet the best they could do was to make a vague promise to close the account (Again) and to call back within 7-10 days. They simply wouldn't provide a more meaningful timescale, an explanation of this gobsmacking error, or even make a meaningful apology.
I'm not even sure I can articulate how I feel. After maintaining a very good credit score for decades, it seems a third party can secretly balls it up and potentially ruin the most significant financial decision you'll ever make. I presume that if I hadn't applied for a mortgage, the arrears would continue to increase up until the bailiffs or a CCJ arrived at my current address,.
Can anyone advise on what, if any, channels I have to take it further?
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Comments
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Presumably you have also disputed it with the CRAs? And checked all three?0
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Why did they open the account if you left 5 years ago? Did you settle the account when you vacated the property?0
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Not yet. I only found out today, so I'm trying to figure out out what to do next. BG have said they'll refer it to their credit reference team to get it taken off but God alone knows how long it'll take. They said they'd ring back in 7-10 days which, frankly, is rubbish. Is it better to leave it with them or try and do it myself?
Nice avatar, btw.0 -
I would attack it from both angles - BG and the CRAs.0
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God alone knows. The account was settled in full and closed in 2013. It shows as such on my credit file, and I probably have the letter somewhere.0
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'Credit File & Ratings' would have been a better home for this and would be more likely to yield helpful results.I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.0
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Ok, I wasn't sure where to put it as the mortgage search was what flagged it up. Can I move it or do I need to repost in that forum?0
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Your broker only suggested checking the credit files after a decline!0
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Well, tbf, the mortgage was comfortably affordable, we had all the bank statements and paperwork, an agreement in principle and evidence of the deposit. On the surface it should've been greenlit. Is it normal for a broker to recommend checking beforehand in light of that?0
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Last time we applied for a mortgage the Very first thing are broker did was to check are credit file with the 3 credit sites.
Made sure we were on the electoral roll and All our credit commitments.
This was before we applied to any mortgage lenders
You have been turned down which may effect your credit score even after BG get there act together0
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