Bank hammered my credit rating for a card I didn’t know I had

Emmia

Perhaps a Subject Access Request (SAR) for your personal data, rather than an FOI?

nyermen

Someone will be along to confirm or not regarding default status.  What I'm unclear of (for credit cards especially, as "revolving credit" behaves differently to other debt.  This includes overdrafts as well) is whether they should have defaulted you or not after x months.  The mention above of british gas is this such situation, they'd continued to put late payment markers rather than defaulting the account.
Currently, I believe you will now get a debt satisfied marker, but that will indeed stay for 6 years.  What you want is for them to remove all markers from 6 years after there should have been a default (ie. All markers as its more than 6 years since it should have been defaulted all those years ago)

Incidentally, as it was statute barred, I'm not sure acknowledging it (if paying it is acknowledging it) resets that counter or anything.

Grabs39

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob said:

Follow the same, freedom of information request is a good place to start. If you start by obtaining information, you can make an informed decision. 

I think you’re confusing a Freedom of Information request (which is where you ask a public body like a government department or local council about something that the public have a right to know) with a Subject Access Request (which is where an individual asks an organisation for a copy of their personal data).

Freedom of Information requests can’t be submitted to commercial organisations like banks or CRAs.

Rosco32

You could argue that they should have defaulted your account after X months of nonpayment. Then 6 years from default date it would have completely dropped off your credit files. I’d do some work to check and confirm when a lender should default an account, and I’d then submit a complaint to said lender. 

Rosco32

I’ve just found this statement I don’t know how true it is etc...

A default notice is normally sent when you've missed or paid less than the full amount for three to six months. Default notices only apply to debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

sourcrates

Rosco32 said:

I’ve just found this statement I don’t know how true it is etc...

A default notice is normally sent when you've missed or paid less than the full amount for three to six months. Default notices only apply to debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

What a very strange series of errors your bank has made.
What you refer too above is current FCA guidance with regard to sec 87, CCA, yes.

My suggestion would be to stay off the phone, the call handlers are not going to know how to deal with this matter, send your bank a formal written complaint, detailing everything you have told us here.

Tell them what they have done wrong, and what you require from them to put things right, there is no way on this earth a delinquent account should be allowed to rack up charges over a period of 20 years, one year would be exceptional, 20 is just plain silly.

Obviously your account slipped through the proverbial net.

They have 8 weeks to issue you with a final response, so I suggest you get writing.

Beaglesabout

sourcrates said:

Rosco32 said:

I’ve just found this statement I don’t know how true it is etc...

A default notice is normally sent when you've missed or paid less than the full amount for three to six months. Default notices only apply to debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

What a very strange series of errors your bank has made.
What you refer too above is current FCA guidance with regard to sec 87, CCA, yes.

My suggestion would be to stay off the phone, the call handlers are not going to know how to deal with this matter, send your bank a formal written complaint, detailing everything you have told us here.

Tell them what they have done wrong, and what you require from them to put things right, there is no way on this earth a delinquent account should be allowed to rack up charges over a period of 20 years, one year would be exceptional, 20 is just plain silly.

Obviously your account slipped through the proverbial net.

They have 8 weeks to issue you with a final response, so I suggest you get writing.

Thanks for this. I’ll try that.