How long will a late payment on my credit file affect my chances of getting a mortgage?

blueskies9494

Hi all. 

This is my first time posting here, and I’ve tried to read many other threads for guidance but my situation looks sort of unique. 

Long story so here goes! I have always had excellent credit history without a blemish, and even had a mortgage when I was 24 (I’m now nearly 27). I’ve since sold that property due to a relationship breakdown and have been renting for a year with my new partner, with whom I’m wanting to get a mortgage with fairly soon (not enjoying renting due to the amount it costs!). He has a great credit report and no adverse history and both of us have reasonable annual salaries and stable jobs, as well as a good deposit (nothing huge, but around a 25% deposit to mortgage ratio based on properties we’re looking to buy in our area).

Slight issue is recently there was an error from Vodafone with an old phone account of mine (since closed) that they’d failed to communicate with me that I owed £16.00 on. It wasn’t until it appeared on my credit file as 3 consecutive late payments (December 2020 to February 2021) that I knew about it. I paid it straight away and was told they’d remove it as it was an error. Since then I’ve heard nothing and my credit score remains tarnished and incredibly low. 

Vodafone have now said that there’s nothing they can do to remove it and are refusing to help me. I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar and whether there is an avenue I can go down to remove it or rectify it on my report or even if there’s a rough estimate of how long it needs to be on my file for it to stop lenders from letting me have a mortgage. Are we talking months, or years? 

My partner and I are desperate to own a property together and are currently paying way more in rent than we would if we had a mortgage! We’ve also never missed a mortgage or bill payment and actually pay in full, much earlier than needed every month, so we’ve got good form. I’m just worrying myself sick from reading advice online that it can take 6 years before a blemish such as this is wiped off a report. 

Any help will be much appreciated! 

Thanks for reading.

Swoosh84

You will be fine, a good mortgage broker will be able to work around this 

K_S

@blueskies9494

- To try and get Vodafone to remove it, your best choice would be a formal complaint followed by taking it to CISAS. Use the MSE Resolver tool and they'll handhold you through the process.

- A recent '3' marker on your file may eliminate a few lenders but on its own this should not stop you from getting a mortgage. As the poster above said, I would recommend using a broker to get a realistic idea of your chances & budget when you are ready to start viewing. Good luck!