EE ruined my credit score

cymruchris

As others have said - sadly it's your own actions that caused the problem, although at the time you might have believed you were doing the right thing. If it's the only black mark on an otherwise impeccable file, you'll get a mortgage quite easily. There are those on here with CCJ's and ex-bankrupts that can get them - and so can you. You'll have to take this as a learning for the future, and keep your files clean. (And people also say all of the time - the score is made up and nobody sees it except you - other credit providers just look at the facts and then judge by their own criteria.) Just make sure the bill is settled as quickly as you can, and instead of asking them about the punishment they've inflicted - you might want to consider wording it as though you made an honest mistake, thinking the account was terminated and the balance was settled, and if you were to settle the bill, would they at least consider removing the default accordingly. There's no guarantee they will, but if you word it correctly - there's at least a chance they'll be sympathetic.

Vasilis_M

cymruchris wrote: »

As others have said - sadly it's your own actions that caused the problem, although at the time you might have believed you were doing the right thing. If it's the only black mark on an otherwise impeccable file, you'll get a mortgage quite easily. There are those on here with CCJ's and ex-bankrupts that can get them - and so can you. You'll have to take this as a learning for the future, and keep your files clean. (And people also say all of the time - the score is made up and nobody sees it except you - other credit providers just look at the facts and then judge by their own criteria.) Just make sure the bill is settled as quickly as you can, and instead of asking them about the punishment they've inflicted - you might want to consider wording it as though you made an honest mistake, thinking the account was terminated and the balance was settled, and if you were to settle the bill, would they at least consider removing the default accordingly. There's no guarantee they will, but if you word it correctly - there's at least a chance they'll be sympathetic.

Credit score is a very shady business. Thanks for the clarification, which make things less stressful.

sourcrates

cymruchris wrote: »

As others have said - sadly it's your own actions that caused the problem, although at the time you might have believed you were doing the right thing. If it's the only black mark on an otherwise impeccable file, you'll get a mortgage quite easily. There are those on here with CCJ's and ex-bankrupts that can get them - and so can you. You'll have to take this as a learning for the future, and keep your files clean. (And people also say all of the time - the score is made up and nobody sees it except you - other credit providers just look at the facts and then judge by their own criteria.) Just make sure the bill is settled as quickly as you can, and instead of asking them about the punishment they've inflicted - you might want to consider wording it as though you made an honest mistake, thinking the account was terminated and the balance was settled, and if you were to settle the bill, would they at least consider removing the default accordingly. There's no guarantee they will, but if you word it correctly - there's at least a chance they'll be sympathetic.

The OP has settled the bill, and was told he owed nothing to EE.
EE then changed their minds and charged the OP a further £18 which then caused the default to be added.

Vasilis_M

sourcrates wrote: »

The OP has settled the bill, and was told he owed nothing to EE.
EE then changed their minds and charged the OP a further £18 which then caused the default to be added.

I would say thats at least 50/50 responcibility.

I believe it is 50/50 too. I just expected them to understand the reasoning behind this payment that I didn't make until later when I realised.

This email was their final one. I switched provider and then didn't hear from them again. Apparently, there was one more bill, which I didn't expect and didn't receive an email for as I switched provider before the next bill period.

adindas

Vasilis_M wrote: »

God...I cancelled DD after I paid my final bill, as I was paying my monthly bill in advance.
But there was an additional £18 leftover which I wasn't aware of...and I still don't know where this stemmed for as my monthly bill was 30something.

Does the common sense prevail here ?

If your record shows that you never miss the payment, For the tiny amount of £18, they should have contacted you by email, phone, writing, etc before reporting a default to CRAs. They have contributed to ruin people lives, difficult (ot not be able) to get a major credit for at least six years to come.

If the common sense applies here, it is highly unlikely that it is a deliberate attempt to avoid payment for such a tiny amount. Are there many people outthere wanting to ruin their credit worthiness just for the sake of £18 ?

For other people it is very simple to say. it is a statement of fact, true record, etc. Keep in mind the bank have not been trying to contact the OP asking for payment and there is no statement from the OP s/he is not intending to pay.

[Deleted User]

You never pay in advance it’s always in arrears.

CRA credit scores are shady yes. As in not real.

mattvolatile

I think most people on this thread have been really quick to jump to "this was your fault, idiot!". If reported correctly, it really looks like EE are to blame here for a) not submitting a correct final bill and b) not contacting OP to chase a failed payment. Direct Debits can and do fail for perfectly ordinary reasons all the time, and it seems that the move to a default has indeed been excessive.

OP: if I was in your shoes, I would write a letter of complaint to EE; dispute the default with each of the the CRAs; and then escalate to the ICO if you don't get satisfaction. Include a copy of your final bill, and point out that as you were still a customer with them (at another division), they should have been able to let you know that £18 failed.

If your letter from EE absolutely does say "This is a final bill", show a balance of zero, and is dated before the failed debit, it seems to me (at least) that you'll have a pretty straightforward time getting this removed.

As a broader point, it's really amazing to me how little empathy some posters on this board have!

mattvolatile

“
The OP has settled the bill, and was told he owed nothing to EE.
EE then changed their minds and charged the OP a further £18 which then caused the default to be added.

This is precisely the reason why people often do, and are even advised to, cancel their DDs.

OP: thinking about it, you might also have a claim under the Direct Debit Guarantee. https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Incorrectpayments.aspx

[Deleted User]

Why would they be able to claim under the DD guarantee when the person cancelled the DD themselves?

When I was with EE I was advised to not cancel the DD and a final bill would be issued (as billed in arrears not advance like OP keeps saying).

The advise probably given was that there were no ETC’s but a final bill would still be issued for the billing period from the last bill.

mattvolatile

!!! wrote: »

Why would they be able to claim under the DD guarantee when the person cancelled the DD themselves?

Because part of the DD Guarantee explicitly protects people from having money debited about which they were not sufficiently warned in advance.

A Direct Debit Instruction should be set up as outlined in Making payments. When the arrangements are in place you should receive advance notice confirming when the payments will be taken and how much they will be – it is advisable to check this to confirm the details are correct.

If a Direct Debit payment has been taken which is not in accordance with the advance notice received i.e. more has been taken than the amount specified on the advance notice or the payment has been taken on the wrong date you are entitled to an immediate refund of the amount debited from your bank under the Direct Debit Guarantee."

If the OP was not notified correctly, as he asserts, then the instruction to debit £18 was not in accordance with the DD scheme rules. You also don't have to inform your provider that you're canceling the debit, though to be fair, it is advised.

Obviously if you're continuing to receive what you paid for, that's a legitimate default, but if the OP is correct that they didn't inform him of the upcoming debit, EE were in breach of the scheme rules.