Default without credit agreement

cplmadison

Hi

Just after a bit of advice

last year (sept 2018) i purchased home contents insurance for the princely sum of £120 this "expired" sept 2019. It seems the insurer as renewed the cover without me knowing and Premium Credit who deal with the monthly repayments have been spamming me for 2 or 3 weeks telling me I have to sign the credit agreement or face default charges etc

Now as I didnt ask for my contents insurance to be renewed I was initally reluctant to sign.

On October 2nd 2019 (yes 7 days ago) I decided hey maybe I should carry on with the insurance it isnt much, so I signed the Credit Agreement. On October 4th (2 days later) I was issued with a Default Notice as the payments for September 2019 werent made (as we had no valid credit agreement).

My question is, is the Default registered on my credit file legal since I only had only signed the agreement 2 days previously and can I / Should I cancel the agreement within my 14 days. Would cancelling within my 14 day period automatically void and remove the default?

Ive spent 5 years slowly building up my credit score after a period of bad debts in order to get a mortgage in March 2020 and was almost there but now these guys seem to have screwed it all up for me again

Seriously regretting signing the agreement but can they really enforce septembers payments on me when I only signed in October? Doesnt the credit agreement start from the date of my signature?

Appreciate any help!

cplmadison

update -

A Default Notice has been served apparently because i cancelled a direct debit on the 4th and no payment could be taken from my account

I signed the agreement on the 2nd, no direct debit was setup by them, the dd from 2018-2019 is still valid on my account ....how can they say i cancelled my DD when they didnt set one up?

this company have seriously screwed up their admin and im paying for it !

Willing2Learn

I thought you could not have an account defaulted until it was three months in arrears. In fact, three months is what the official guidance says (as I just checked).

Besides a Default Notice gives you at least 14 days to bring the account back up to date. The account has not defaulted.

cplmadison

IMPORTANT YOU SHOULD READ THIS CAREFULLY
This is a default notice served under Section 87 (1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The credit provider is:
Premium Credit Limited, Ermyn House, Ermyn Way, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8UX


so this wont go on my credit file?

they claim i cancelled a direct debit just because within 2 days of signing they failed themselves to get one setup with my bank !

Willing2Learn

cplmadison wrote: »

...so this wont go on my credit file?...

No. It is a default notice and not a default. You have 14 days from the date of the Default Notice to clear any arrears. To be honest, I am not even sure insurance companies report to the three Credit Reference Agencies. I pay annually, so I wouldn't really know if that was the case...

cplmadison

premium credit are on my Credit Karma file (Transunion) and i think equifax too

I will have ot monitor the situation

either way i made a formal complaint in writing and cancelled the credit agreement with in my 14 day period, i will give them 8 weeks and then pass it onto the ombudsman to look at

Willing2Learn

Don't forget to purchase some home contents insurance with some provider or other. Don't try going uninsured, as that is a recipe for disaster...

fwor

cplmadison wrote: »

It seems the insurer as renewed the cover without me knowing

When you take out insurance, one of the things you need to check is whether "auto-renewal" is part of the terms and conditions. Many insurers do not offer the option to decline this when you take the insurance, and say that you have to contact them to cancel the feature.

So you need to be sure that the insurance did not have that term when you signed up last year.

If it did, then they were within their rights to renew your policy if you did not make contact when it became due.

The issue of a Credit Agreement is a completely separate one. Even if you fail to sort out a new credit agreement, payment for the months of insurance that you have already had will be due (because they have provided you with a service). Whether you pay for it via a Credit Agreement or all at once in cash is up to you - but it still has to be paid.

Conversely, if you did not sign up to auto-renewal then the insurance company had no right to renew your policy. That's why you need to be sure about what you signed up to last year!

cplmadison

tbh i cant remember where i initially purchased the insurance from but i will check

my main concern is receiving a default notice 2 days after signing the credit agreement

cplmadison

well finally managed to have a phone call

Yes i do have a default on my credit file

The reason for the default is the company tried to take a payment against a closed account

something went wrong their end not mine, but this is going to screw with my mortgage app

Willing2Learn

What was the date of the default notice?

The default notice has to give you 14 days to rectify the problem.

You said that Premium Credit are on your credit files. Is that as an active credit account or only a search of your files? Premium Credit are not allowed to record inaccurate data on your credit file.

You said you have made a written complaint. I recommend refraining from making any more telephone calls. This situation needs to be resolved in writing. With a paper trail. If there is inaccurate information on your credit file then you would need to escalate to the ICO as well as the Ombudsman should your complaint not be upheld.

Have you checked the snapshots of your credit files? Are they showing a default on your file?