Aqua default letter

Fiona_CW

I have been in a DMP with StepChange since August. Yesterday I received a default letter from aqua wanting me to pay £56. I am clearly not in a position to pay this. They know that I am in a DMP so why are they sending me a default letter now? Do I need to phone them to explain this again or can I jus ignore it?

sourcrates

Hi Fiona,


There are certain requirements placed on a creditor by the consumer credit act, one of which is they must write to you and tell you when you have broken the terms of your original agreement, and to give you a statutory time frame in which to rectify the breech.

They are required by law to write to you, they would be at fault if they did not do it, it has nothing to do with your DMP, and does not take your DMP payments into account, you can just ignore it, after the 14 days or whatever time frame they have given you, your account may be defaulted, this is part of the natural process of being in debt mangement, and should have been explained to you at the start.


So you dont have to do anything, carry on as normal.

Fiona_CW

Thanks Sourcrates. Am I likely to get similar letters from all my other creditors then?

sourcrates

Fiona_CW wrote: »

Thanks Sourcrates. Am I likely to get similar letters from all my other creditors then?

Yes, more than likley, they are required to send them you see.


But actually, they are a good thing, once your account defaults, and a default is placed on your credit file, that will then remain there for exactly 6 years, after which it will drop off your file, and your record will be clear again.


So the sooner you are defaulted, the sooner your credit file will clear itself, do you see ?


Some creditors may mark your acount as AP (arrangement to pay) instead of defaulting you, the thing with AP markers is they stay on your file for 6 years AFTER you have made your last repayment to the debt, so potentially a lot longer.


You should periodically check your credit file, and see if any creditors have marked you as being in an arrangement to pay, if they have, make a complaint to them, and insist they default you instead, and backdate it to within 3 months of the start of your DMP.

Fiona_CW

Thanks for advice.

sourcrates

Fiona_CW wrote: »

Thanks for advice.

No problem, good luck in DMP land.

Dont know if your aware or not, but we have a dedicated DMP support group here on our forum, its there for help and support, and questions just like yours really.


It can be found here :


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5897083/dmp-mutual-support-thread-part-13&page=64


Drop by and introduce yourself.