Damaged Credit Report - I want to sue

GuruJon

I ordered an O2 Sim(Contract) around Sep/Oct 2018.  The sim never arrived and I found a better deal else where.  I called O2 and we discussed the issue at the time.  They confirmed that the SIM hadn't been used and said they would refund.  I took their word for it and saw a portion of the refund on one of my accounts.  I thought that was it and went on with my life assuming everything was settled and all was good.  I found an Equifax Credit Report July 2019 and on it its shows O2 payment history as settled on OCT 2018.  No other marks.  On May 2019 O2 raised a default on the Equifax.  I was not expecting any issues so wasn't really checking  I discovered in July 2020 that there was an issue.  So I raised it with the credit reference agency.  They gave me contact details at O2.  They were adamant it was my fault at first but as I started to produce the documents etc.  They confirmed it was a mistake.  They said they would clear it and it could take a month.  So all good you might imagine.  Never mind any impact to my credit.  So dumb old me is expecting them to get on with doing the right thing now they have been caught with their trousers down.  Turns out not so much.  As of July 2020 they have logged a default.  But this time on all the credit reference agencies.  I did not have a look.  This is a negative mark on my account.  And I recently got a rejection on a mortgage application. No doubt this will appear on my credit file.  
What should I do?  Who do I go to?  I do want to take them to the cleaners.  They made £6.5billion in revenue.  So not much sympathy for them.  

Anyone got any advice on what the right thing to do is?

Yahoo_Mail

You have no losses as far as I can see so what are you going to sue for?  This isn't the US where you get eleventy bajillion dollars in compensation for hurt feelings.

Log an official complaint and if it isn't deal with within 8 weeks take it to whichever arbitration scheme they use.  Hopefully that will be enough to get the default removed and you might get £50-100 compo.

[Deleted User]

Sue them for the full £6.5 billion.

Nothing else will do.

sourcrates

My apologies, edited for the benefit of Yahoo-Mail.

Send an official written complaint to 02, they then have 8 weeks to investigate your complaint, and to issue a final response.

If you remain unhappy after this, you can then escalate your complaint to the ICO, as they deal with all data issues.

Yahoo_Mail

sourcrates said:

Escalate your complaint to the ICO, they deal with all data issues.

Seems a bit premature.

There isn't anything to indicate the OP has even raised an official complaint with o2 yet.

JJ_Egan

OP you want to sue as always you engage a solicitor .

nevertoolate21

Yahoo_Mail said:

You have no losses as far as I can see so what are you going to sue for?  This isn't the US where you get eleventy bajillion dollars in compensation for hurt feelings.

Log an official complaint and if it isn't deal with within 8 weeks take it to whichever arbitration scheme they use.  Hopefully that will be enough to get the default removed and you might get £50-100 compo.

They absolutely do have a loss, they were refused a mortgage due to O2s action, if it can be shown they would have gained a mortgage if it weren't for O2 actions then they can claim for a few losses, if they subsequently get a mortgage but at a worse rate, they they have had a loss of the difference, if that particular house was a good price and a similar house for their needs will be more then they have lost the difference in the cost of the houses

DCFC79

nevertoolate21 said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

You have no losses as far as I can see so what are you going to sue for?  This isn't the US where you get eleventy bajillion dollars in compensation for hurt feelings.

Log an official complaint and if it isn't deal with within 8 weeks take it to whichever arbitration scheme they use.  Hopefully that will be enough to get the default removed and you might get £50-100 compo.

They absolutely do have a loss, they were refused a mortgage due to O2s action, if it can be shown they would have gained a mortgage if it weren't for O2 actions then they can claim for a few losses, if they subsequently get a mortgage but at a worse rate, they they have had a loss of the difference, if that particular house was a good price and a similar house for their needs will be more then they have lost the difference in the cost of the houses

Theres no way to tell if the OP would have been able to get a mortgage if the issue with 02 hadn't occured.

GuruJon

Thank you for all your comments.  I guess in my mind, a loss is a loss of ability.  The purpose of credit reference agencies is to differentiate credit worthiness.  That reflects pounds and pence.  The potential of credit leads to credit.  And that can and does lead to a benefits.  If we are not able to measure any of the benefits and lack off.  What would be the purpose of having these agencies in the first place.  I would also suggest that there are legislative boundaries that the agencies and the companies that input into these agencies have to work within.  As such, breaches should have consequences.  I am impacted by not getting the best mortgage rates or credit for that matter.  And through no fault of my own.  O2 have not only accepted that the error was theirs, they removed all the markers for dates prior to my complaint to them.  So my credit file no longer has markers showing default for the period May 19 - Jun 20.  Instead it is now from Jul 20 to present.  It doesn't make sense.  I just got rejected for a loan too.  It's all a little frustrating.  I will write to the company and the FCA.  

sourcrates

nevertoolate21 said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

You have no losses as far as I can see so what are you going to sue for?  This isn't the US where you get eleventy bajillion dollars in compensation for hurt feelings.

Log an official complaint and if it isn't deal with within 8 weeks take it to whichever arbitration scheme they use.  Hopefully that will be enough to get the default removed and you might get £50-100 compo.

They absolutely do have a loss, they were refused a mortgage due to O2s action, if it can be shown they would have gained a mortgage if it weren't for O2 actions then they can claim for a few losses, if they subsequently get a mortgage but at a worse rate, they they have had a loss of the difference, if that particular house was a good price and a similar house for their needs will be more then they have lost the difference in the cost of the houses

But you would be hard pushed proving that, as you are not normally provided with a reason why you are declined for any type of borrowing, the OP would in this instance have to take 02 to court, and prove that this error by 02 contributed to their refusal for a mortgage, as 02 would not just roll over under such circumstances.

It would require a solicitor and a whole heap of money in order to pursue this, with no guarantee of success, in my estimation, it would be a lot of pain, for absolutely no gain.

GuruJon

On a further note, are there any lawyers here that have heard of any case law that might be relevant?