How To Dispute Default On Credit Report

Anthorn

welly_59 wrote: »

Pointless going to the CRA first and the creditor will usually tell them that it's correct

The same thing can happen when you go to the lender first: In my experience the lender either dismisses it or almost automatically claims the entry is true or worse just refuses to even check the entry. At least going to the CRA first provides some sort of control which will obligate a response from the lender.

sambaird

Chanz4 - Yes... that is true, but it isn’t the landlord that is taking the court action - it’s the gas company.

The liability for the debt is with those that have taken out the contract with the gas supplier and that is what is in dispute.

SimonLanes

Thanks for the responses.

The gas supplier seems to have created an account for 4 tenants from 2009 to 2014 (when the tenant whose name was on the bill did a runner).

I lived there from 2009 to 2011, and during that time, my name was never on the bill, everyone paid the gas money to the liable tenant (I was liable for the phone and internet bill).

So somehow they've bundled me into this even though I moved out in 2011 and was never liable for the gas.

This was so long ago that I don't have any tenancy agreements.

The landlord's son dealt with the property, and recently I had to report him to the police for harrassment (as did many others in my local area, and for criminal damage.)

He's a paranoid schizophrenic and was recently sectioned under the mental health act, so I and others put our police complaints on hold, hoping he'd start behaving himself.

So there's no chance of obtaining any old tenancy agreements.

As I moved out of that property over seven years ago, is any debt not collectable now anyway?

This is a mess and my credit report is poor as a result (according to that, I defaulted on a £2800 bill in 2014).

I've also got a financial association listed with the dodgy tenant who did a runner.

Should I speak to a solicitor perhaps?

Or try the Which legal service?

Cheers

[Deleted User]

Ignoring the poor rating as it’s not real...

You need to raise a complaint with the supplier in the first instance and either get a resolution or a letter of deadlock.

You can then take this to the Ombudsman

SimonLanes

Thanks Gary.

What do you mean 'it's not real?'

I wish I could just ignore it :-/

[Deleted User]

The credit ratings and scores generated (read: plucked from the sky) by the CRA’s are not seen or used by lenders.

People can have a 999 score and be refused a £20 per month phone contract but have a 300 score and get a £300k mortgage.

Bankrupts get a 999 score and high rating.

So just ignore it

SimonLanes

Really?

My online research seems to suggest it's important.

Got any links about how CRA aren't used by lenders?

Cheers.

Willing2Learn

Sorry, but your research is incorrect.

A lender only ever sees the data held in your file by one of the three CRAs.
They don't see the score

[Deleted User]

Lenders don’t see the scores.

The only credit scores that mean anything are those used in the USA.

The ones used in the UK aren’t real.

Lenders look at the data on your credit files and use their own internal algorithms and scoring mechanisms to match you against products.

These are industry secrets and not disclosed by the companies and are nowhere near the CRA scoring mechanism

SimonLanes

Sorry, when I said credit score, I meant the credit report.

Lenders will see this default and that will affect my credit rating with them (via whatever algorithm they choose to use).

I've challenged the default and the financial association on Equifax now.

Will complain to the gas supplier too.