Credit file wrong????

carp1000

Hi all my first post, be gentle. A few years ago I was struck down with a rare disease that has limited my mobility greatly and prognosis is poor so I was too ill to work and am permanently disabled with full time care. I took a good look at my debts and contacted step change for advice, I took on an iva for a year but none of the money i was paying had reached creditors after a year so with step change advice i once again got in touch with creditors and cancelled the iva, the creditors I had all got a financial statement and medical records with a prognosis of my disease and they accepted that i will never be fit to work again and one by one the creditors agreed to write off the debts and close the accounts, a year down the line the accounts are showing as closed apart from one company who bought the debt from bank of scotland, they wrote to me and said they were writing off the debt and closing the account a year ago but if i look on my credit file it has shown as a default every month since they wrote to me to close the account and write off the debt, i am confused as to how they can mark an account that they consider closed and debt written off yet still mark as default each month?? if the account is closed then surely its closed?. I rang and asked them and they agreed the account was closed and debt written off but told me they would mark a default on my credit file every month until 2022, can they do that if they have written to me twice tellling me the account is closed and written off???

boo_star

Agreeing to write a debt off just means that they're not going to pursue you for it, it doesn't mean that there won't be any record of what happened. The account did default (albeit for circumstances outside of your control) so recording the account as defaulted is accurate.

If they're not reporting the account as closed then that's something you can pursue.

carp1000

No, on my credit file it just shows a default each month , it doesnt state that the account is closed its showing as an open account thats defaulting, i guess each company have there own criteria, ie I had 6 creditors all were written off and show as closed on my credit file apart from this one that is either closed or its not? I dont understand how you can continue to put a default each month against an account that they have written to me twice to say its closed???

boo_star

carp1000 wrote: »

No, on my credit file it just shows a default each month , it doesnt state that the account is closed its showing as an open account thats defaulting, i guess each company have there own criteria, ie I had 6 creditors all were written off and show as closed on my credit file apart from this one that is either closed or its not? I dont understand how you can continue to put a default each month against an account that they have written to me twice to say its closed???

Accounts don't default each month, they default once and the status of that account will remain as "in default" for 6 years after that date when it will drop off your file.

As I said before if the account really isn't closed (is it marked as satisfied?) then you can pursue that with them but it'll still be on as a default until you get to 6 years past default when the entire account will drop off.

carp1000

The account according to there letter is closed as of 8/2017 but they continue to mark a default each month , I thought once it was closed it would just show closed and default on the month it was closed?? Its not marked as closed or satisfied though the two letters from them tell me its closed???

boo_star

carp1000 wrote: »

The account according to there letter is closed as of 8/2017 but they continue to mark a default each month , I thought once it was closed it would just show closed and default on the month it was closed?? Its not marked as closed or satisfied though the two letters from them tell me its closed???

So write to them and tell them that they haven't done what they said they'd do.

carp1000

Yes i did and they sent me a letter telling me in one paragraph that its closed and in next paragraph they will continue to update the monthly report to say default every month until 2022, ombudsmen perhaps??

boo_star

carp1000 wrote: »

Yes i did and they sent me a letter telling me in one paragraph that its closed and in next paragraph they will continue to update the monthly report to say default every month until 2022, ombudsmen perhaps??

Strictly speaking a defaulted account is "closed" so they can continue to report it as they have until it drops off.

carp1000

Please be advised that this account was written off as a goodwill gesture due to you providing us with information surrounding your health circumstances. Due to this , your credit entry would not reflect as settled or satisfied as you had not settled the balance in full.

Although I agree that the account has been closed and no further balance is owed , I am unable to agree that we are reporting incorrect information to the credit reference agencies. The default entry will remain and continue to be reported each month as this is a fair reflection of the status of the account and is a representation that the terms and conditions of the origional credit agreement had been breached. The reporting of the default will continue monthly until it expires in january 2022.

Thats an extract of the last letter they sent me .......

boo_star

carp1000 wrote: »

Please be advised that this account was written off as a goodwill gesture due to you providing us with information surrounding your health circumstances. Due to this , your credit entry would not reflect as settled or satisfied as you had not settled the balance in full.

Although I agree that the account has been closed and no further balance is owed , I am unable to agree that we are reporting incorrect information to the credit reference agencies. The default entry will remain and continue to be reported each month as this is a fair reflection of the status of the account and is a representation that the terms and conditions of the origional credit agreement had been breached. The reporting of the default will continue monthly until it expires in january 2022.

Thats an extract of the last letter they sent me .......

So they have closed the account then. It doesn't appear that they said they'd mark it as closed on your credit file.

I'd move on if I were you.

carp1000

yes i guess so, but at no fault of my own it seems vindictive as the other accounts were not paid in full but written off , closed and marked as settled, just seems someone has taken it personally, its Link financial who want to make it a noose round my neck as they bought the debt from RBS and it is only £1024, strange how one in six creditors want to hang you , never mind eh