6 years from then or 6 years from now?

TradWifeWannabe

Hi all
Very regrettably I incurred a series of defaults back in 2014 and 2015. I was only 22 years of age.
Some I have paid off, but I have 5 remaining:

£994 Santander (was an 1800 student overdraft that defaulted in 2015 at 994.)

£1600 RBS (defaulted 2014 at 1750)

£200 Cabot financial (was £400 at the time!!! Silly amount to default really)

£460 Lowell financial (catalogue)

£490 Lowell Financial (other catalogue).

I have two questions:
1. will these 5 remaining debts disappear in 2020&2021 regardless of whether they are settled/partially settled or left as they are?

2. how much do you think I can partially settle these outstanding debts for in total? If we round it up it’s roughly 3800 of debt. What would I need to scrape together to clear these so far on? Some of the debts have been passed from agency to agency to no avail (I had moved) and finally brought back in house (Santander and RBS).

I know I made a terrible mistake but I really want to show I’ve changed my ways and have a fresh start I’ve been punished long enough with not being able to do anything apart from have a credit card of £200.

DCFC79

TradWifeWannabe said:

Hi all
Very regrettably I incurred a series of defaults back in 2014 and 2015. I was only 22 years of age.
Some I have paid off, but I have 5 remaining:

£994 Santander (was an 1800 student overdraft that defaulted in 2015 at 994.)

£1600 RBS (defaulted 2014 at 1750)

£200 Cabot financial (was £400 at the time!!! Silly amount to default really)

£460 Lowell financial (catalogue)

£490 Lowell Financial (other catalogue).

I have two questions:
1. will these 5 remaining debts disappear in 2020&2021 regardless of whether they are settled/partially settled or left as they are?

2. how much do you think I can partially settle these outstanding debts for in total? If we round it up it’s roughly 3800 of debt. What would I need to scrape together to clear these so far on? Some of the debts have been passed from agency to agency to no avail (I had moved) and finally brought back in house (Santander and RBS).

I know I made a terrible mistake but I really want to show I’ve changed my ways and have a fresh start I’ve been punished long enough with not being able to do anything apart from have a credit card of £200.

When was the last payment made to the debts as that determines when they drop off.

What is it you want to do that you cant with a card limit of £200 ? Realistically you cant do much now.

How have you changed your ways ?

Do you stick to a budget ?

Why not speak to stepchange.

[Deleted User]

Agree with DCFC's points re: budgets etc., that's the key advise whatever happens to your file/limits etc.

With regards to card limit - I see where you're coming from, I was itching for a higher limit card (and eventually got 2 over £3k and quite a few at about £1k), but in reality, I don't actually use credit anywhere near as much as I did before my adverse.

RE: debts coming off your file - just to clarify. If they have formally been recorded as a default (on your credit file) it'll be 6 years from that date. So default 5th Jan 2015 will drop off on 5th Jan 2021, even if you then paid it today or were on a payment arrangement of say £5pm throughout.

If the accounts haven't actually defaulted and are still showing late payments/arrangements to pay or similar, then 6 years from when they're eventually settled/defaulted.

See: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/677875/credit-reference-file-clean-up-post-bankruptcy re: default dates/challenges etc. It's for bankruptcy, but the same principles apply - you need to make sure there's an ended/defaulted date across every account for 2014/15. Some lenders won't default (or report the default correct) for several years. Obviously you can't send the bankruptcy letters to get the dates changed, but you can follow the complaints/ICO route if you believe the default date is significantly later than it should be (or possibly not showing at all)

If all your adverse accounts show as defaulted/ended etc. in 2014/15, then yes by the end of next year they'll all be gone,

Be aware that as per the above link, Experian show 8's (default) as most recent status, which is a bit confusing - but as long as there's a default date, it'll drop 6 years from that date. 

TradWifeWannabe

DCFC79 said:

TradWifeWannabe said:

Hi all
Very regrettably I incurred a series of defaults back in 2014 and 2015. I was only 22 years of age.
Some I have paid off, but I have 5 remaining:

£994 Santander (was an 1800 student overdraft that defaulted in 2015 at 994.)

£1600 RBS (defaulted 2014 at 1750)

£200 Cabot financial (was £400 at the time!!! Silly amount to default really)

£460 Lowell financial (catalogue)

£490 Lowell Financial (other catalogue).

I have two questions:
1. will these 5 remaining debts disappear in 2020&2021 regardless of whether they are settled/partially settled or left as they are?

2. how much do you think I can partially settle these outstanding debts for in total? If we round it up it’s roughly 3800 of debt. What would I need to scrape together to clear these so far on? Some of the debts have been passed from agency to agency to no avail (I had moved) and finally brought back in house (Santander and RBS).

I know I made a terrible mistake but I really want to show I’ve changed my ways and have a fresh start I’ve been punished long enough with not being able to do anything apart from have a credit card of £200.

When was the last payment made to the debts as that determines when they drop off.

What is it you want to do that you cant with a card limit of £200 ? Realistically you cant do much now.

How have you changed your ways ?

Do you stick to a budget ?

Why not speak to stepchange.

It’s not so much about what I want to do. It’s the guilt, I’ve had enough. I was 18 when I took the debts out and spent money to try and fill the empty void inside of me, I thought shopping would fix everything and make me feel less lonely. Especially when I lived abroad for a year, for university. I have forgiven myself now and I am sick of looking at my terrible credit score and being “that type of customer” that would only be eligible for excruciating interest rates. I want the OPTION and the freedom to qualify for low interest offers. I want the option to get a mortgage.

It was after the defaults, when I started working for a DCA, that I realised the amount of options creditors provide and what I could have done instead of letting them default. Nobody told me I could do reduced payment plans or pay things back over 3-9 months. I took out debt to pay back debt, and ended up with not enough income left to pay for debts.

i would like to think I am wiser and in a better place mentally. 

TradWifeWannabe

Somerset_La_La_La said:

Agree with DCFC's points re: budgets etc., that's the key advise whatever happens to your file/limits etc.

With regards to card limit - I see where you're coming from, I was itching for a higher limit card (and eventually got 2 over £3k and quite a few at about £1k), but in reality, I don't actually use credit anywhere near as much as I did before my adverse.

RE: debts coming off your file - just to clarify. If they have formally been recorded as a default (on your credit file) it'll be 6 years from that date. So default 5th Jan 2015 will drop off on 5th Jan 2021, even if you then paid it today or were on a payment arrangement of say £5pm throughout.

If the accounts haven't actually defaulted and are still showing late payments/arrangements to pay or similar, then 6 years from when they're eventually settled/defaulted.

See: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/677875/credit-reference-file-clean-up-post-bankruptcy re: default dates/challenges etc. It's for bankruptcy, but the same principles apply - you need to make sure there's an ended/defaulted date across every account for 2014/15. Some lenders won't default (or report the default correct) for several years. Obviously you can't send the bankruptcy letters to get the dates changed, but you can follow the complaints/ICO route if you believe the default date is significantly later than it should be (or possibly not showing at all)

If all your adverse accounts show as defaulted/ended etc. in 2014/15, then yes by the end of next year they'll all be gone,

Be aware that as per the above link, Experian show 8's (default) as most recent status, which is a bit confusing - but as long as there's a default date, it'll drop 6 years from that date. 

Thank you for the clarification. Im glad they will be gone soon. What do you reckon I should do then? Should I still try and clear them off now as partial settlements or should I do nothing? I don’t want any CCJs...

[Deleted User]

Technically I believe they can try for a CCJ up to 6 years after default, some will actively threaten it at the last minute (e.g. just before it's due to drop) to scare you into a settlement. There's a forum on here where people are aware of the legalities etc (might be this board) in relation to legal paperwork/time limits.

If you haven't acknowledged or paid the debt in these intervening years, I'd be tempted to leave it and see what happens - if they threaten a CCJ there should still be a get out. If you acknowledge the debt, then I believe they can get a CCJ even once it's dropped off your file.

If you've moved house it'll be more tricky to wait it out, as they could serve the threats and ultimately the CCJ on your old house.

If you've got a reasonable settlement, you could pay it now - especially as it'll reflect as satisfied/part-satisfied on your file. That should help with getting credit between now and when it drops off.

If you want a mortgage before it drops off, then I'd look to pay it, as defaults are bad enough. Unsettled defaults will cause chaos - speak to a mortgage adviser (with a copy of your credit file) first though, as they'll be able to look at the whole picture

sourcrates

TradWifeWannabe said:

It was after the defaults, when I started working for a DCA, that I realised the amount of options creditors provide and what I could have done instead of letting them default.

Can i ask which agency you work for ?

TradWifeWannabe

Somerset_La_La_La said:

Technically I believe they can try for a CCJ up to 6 years after default, some will actively threaten it at the last minute (e.g. just before it's due to drop) to scare you into a settlement. There's a forum on here where people are aware of the legalities etc (might be this board) in relation to legal paperwork/time limits.

If you haven't acknowledged or paid the debt in these intervening years, I'd be tempted to leave it and see what happens - if they threaten a CCJ there should still be a get out. If you acknowledge the debt, then I believe they can get a CCJ even once it's dropped off your file.

If you've moved house it'll be more tricky to wait it out, as they could serve the threats and ultimately the CCJ on your old house.

If you've got a reasonable settlement, you could pay it now - especially as it'll reflect as satisfied/part-satisfied on your file. That should help with getting credit between now and when it drops off.

If you want a mortgage before it drops off, then I'd look to pay it, as defaults are bad enough. Unsettled defaults will cause chaos - speak to a mortgage adviser (with a copy of your credit file) first though, as they'll be able to look at the whole picture

Thankyou. I don’t want a mortgage before it drops off, just in the next 3-7 years maybe. 

This morning I have spoken to one of the bigger creditors, they were very nice and said it’s back in-house now, for the last 2 years, and they won’t go for a CCJ but that it could be sent back out possibly but unlikely. So I offered a third, will hear back in the next 28 days...

I want a clear slate where I have addressed them when they drop off as I don’t want to roll the dice with the last minute threats of CCJs, that would be another 6 years which is just unbearable prospect.

TradWifeWannabe

sourcrates said:

TradWifeWannabe said:

It was after the defaults, when I started working for a DCA, that I realised the amount of options creditors provide and what I could have done instead of letting them default.

Can i ask which agency you work for ?

I don’t work for them anymore, nor in that industry. Ironically it was outsourcing for Santander