Sort of debt-free but hope to be a super-scrimper in 2019

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

Glad to hear it .

Thank you:)

I hope you have a nice day planned away from PPI form-filling and working on your business especially if the sun is trying to shine in your neck of the woods too:beer:

HairyHandofDartmoor

Good luck and don't forget to include copies of statements, proof of when you stopped making payments etc.

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

Good luck and don't forget to include copies of statements, proof of when you stopped making payments etc.

Thank you:)

I think my situation is different in that I never stopped making payments at all. I never missed a single payment on any of my mountainous £57K of debts (goodness knows how I managed it, I was living on my nerves from one day to another:eek:) until I realised that the way I was going was totally unsustainable. I started a DMP with Stepchange in February 2013 and just paid them a lump sum every month to distribute among my creditors. The repayment amounts had been agreed with the creditors and Stepchange. I started off my DMP paying more than I could afford really but I was so anxious to repay every single penny I owed in the shortest time possible. Within 3 months of entering a DMP the first of my creditors began to default and by the end of 2013 the others had done so:j. They also froze interest which is one of the main reasons I entered a DMP in the first place. The continued added interest each month where I had only been able to repay the minimum balance meant it was taking me right up to and over my credit limits and constantly incurring added overlimit fees and charges:mad:


Some of my creditors went on to sell on the debt but the original default date stood. It means that 6 years to the day after the original default all trace of the debts will stop being shown on credit files. I don't want a squeaky clean credit file for reasons of trying to obtain more credit:eek: but it's important to me that after coming so far and repaying the vast majority of my debts I should have a clean 'record'. I don't think a lot of people realise that even where a debt is finally repaid partially or in full and theoretically 'cleared' or 'satisfied' the earlier red markers for late/missed payments can still show on the credit file for up to 6 years after the settlement. A credit file shows 6 years of history. Where a default has been issued, the file is cleared 6 years from that date and this is often sooner than the 'settled' marker might disappear.


I cleared this particular debt in full a while ago as it was my smallest debt and I had assumed it had been defaulted in 2013 like my others as details of it didn't appear at all with most CRAs and only in truncated form with the one who did report it. I shouldn't have made assumptions but sadly I did:o. I now know it hadn't been defaulted and it will still be showing the DMP markers until almost 5 years from now.



The only statements that could be relevant to send are the annual ones Santander and later New Day sent me which just show a list of the 12 payments made to them via Stepchange each year. I have made a copy of these but other than that and a screenshot of the very sketchy data from my CRA file which doesn't go back as far as 2013 I have nothing else to send. The information from when Santander had the debt (up to April 2014 when it was transferred to New Day) has totally disappeared from the record. It was in that 2013 period when the default ought to have taken place:(


I haven't found Santander to be particularly helpful or efficient whatever I've had dealings with them about, although they did seem to have their act together with the reclaiming PPI on a couple of old storecards that I did:j. Let's hope they can sort this out for me. Lloyds were brilliant over a default issue and even gave me £100 as an apology as they admitted it had been an error on their part. Somehow, I don't have as much faith in Santander:o

HairyHandofDartmoor

I think I phrased it badly as what I really meant was proof that you stopped making the monthly payments Santander wanted you to make and started making smaller monthly payments via Stepchange. They do normally default you and freeze interest and charges once Stepchange get involved, as this makes it clear to them that you're in financial difficulties.

Hopefully the paperwork you do send will do the trick. Can you complain to the FSA or ombudsman if not?

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I think I phrased it badly as what I really meant was proof that you stopped making the monthly payments Santander wanted you to make and started making smaller monthly payments via Stepchange. They do normally default you and freeze interest and charges once Stepchange get involved, as this makes it clear to them that you're in financial difficulties.

Hopefully the paperwork you do send will do the trick. Can you complain to the FSA or ombudsman if not?

Thanks,:T HH

They don't always default or freeze interest though, even on a SC DMP. Lots of posters on The DMP Support thread mention that their creditors didn't always do either. I know one person on there who even escalated her complaint about non-default to the FSA and it wasn't upheld. Creditors don't have a legal obligation to do it but most usually do (eventually!). They don't have to default in a certain time frame either although it tends to be after 3-6 missed or presumably greatly reduced payments. After that a complaint should be justified. I don't think being with SC makes a jot of difference to some of these companies. they treat us how they like, often with disdain:mad:

HairyHandofDartmoor

I must have been lucky in that both my CCs and my overdraft were defaulted when Stepchange got involved. Last time I checked I had four years to go before I had a clean credit file, but I must check again.

I hope that Santander do agree in the end to change your default date, as it would be nice to have a clean credit file.

But at least you're very close to being completely debt free :T.

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

But at least you're very close to being completely debt free :T.

Thank you:)

Yes, being debt-free is what's important:j. What my credit file looks like is immaterial seeing as I won't be wanting a mortgage or big loan ever in my liife:rotfl:. Someone told me that arranging a new mobile phone contract is sometimes difficult with poor credit history as they credit-search but I don't suppose I'll be wanting one of them either. I'm perfectly happy with my basic PAYG non-smart phone. It does everything I need and I have my laptop for anything internet-related. By the end of this year, if Santander don't default and backdate it, I'll only have that one debt with any red markers on my file and it was fully settled anyway over a year ago. It shouldn't be too much of a black mark on my creditworthiness.

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I must have been lucky in that both my CCs and my overdraft were defaulted when Stepchange got involved. Last time I checked I had four years to go before I had a clean credit file, but I must check again.

Great that your creditors were so quick to default:T:j. All mine froze interest as soon as SC took over but it was at least 3 months after that before the first default happened:(.


I've finished the letter to Santander and printed it off. I seem to have wasted so much time on this over 2 days so I hope it all pays off in the end. I've made copies of everything that I'm sending them but have decided to drive to the Post Office tomorrow morning so I can get a Proof of Posting receipt just in case. That's unless I can get OH to go for me instead;)

beanielou

I would send it signed for.
About £1 more to do.

Sallyforth

Hi CBC
Just to add when I was going through sorting settlements I found Santander the worst. They kept telling us “it’s in the back room” and we had visions of all these poor workers in Spanish caves. Seriously they were extremely inefficient.
Sally x