Get default complaint removed / corrected in credit report

Messiah9

Hello,
There is a default reported by Vodafone to credit agency on a SIM card which I never used. This happened back in May 2019.

This is a long read, so I appreciate your time in advance. I felt like details are important here to describe full scenario.

Here is the background. Firstly, I arrived in UK in late 2017 and the only SIM I have ever used from Vodafone is a pay-as-you-go bundle. I never got a mobile contract from them.
In 2019, I was contacted by Advantis Credit agency stating that I have not paid Vodafone bills and if I do not make the payment, I will be reported to credit agencies as a default. I immediately reached out to credit agency and Vodafone to get more details and told them to check their records again because the mobile number they asked me to make the payment was never ever used by me. Vodafone customer support told me that I might have been scammed and to go ahead and make the payment anyway to Advantis agency. So I made an 88 GBP payment to Advantis Credit (this included the overdue payment and the penalty both).
After this was done, I requested Vodafone to ensure that this number is not linked to me and that nothing further is reported to me.

At that moment, I thought everything was okay but I never had opportunity to check my own credit report. You need 3 years of residence before getting access to report. So finally after completing 3 years, I checked my report and see that back in 2019, Vodafone reported a default for me even though I made the payment to Advantis credit agency.

I do not understand why they have still marked it as a default if the whole point of me paying Advantis credit agency was to prevent a default? Seems to me that whether or not I paid the 88 GBP amount, the outcome would be the same - a default.

I have gone to the Vodafone store in-person a couple of times, with all the information including evidence of the payment done to Advantis agency in 2019, the mobile number for which they charged me and all other details I could gather. Vodafone has been uncooperative and they keep saying that they cannot find any historical record of this number being linked to me. They redirected me to credit report of Experia stating that a reference number is mentioned on the report which I need to tell them. There is no such reference number on my Experian credit report but Vodafone insists that the only way to move forward is if I provide them a reference number from the report. I have shown them the report but they just keep deflecting it.

Thanks to this misunderstanding or error on Vodafone's side, I cannot open any new bank account in UK, I cannot take any loan for 6 years. I have paid all my rents, council taxes, utility bills always on time. All my records in Experian credit report show good with the exception of an entry from Vodafone default for a number which I never used!

Is there anyway I can get this sorted out? Or seek some help or escalate it to higher authority?

Because if there's no other option left to correct it, I think I'm better off to leave UK since I cannot continue living on rent for so many years. I wanted to buy a house, and make plans for settling down.

What surprises me is that if UK government and credit reporting process is so strict that they do not spare a person for a default entry of even 76 GBP, then they should at least have a historical record of full details of the default and be able to investigate and correct it?

At this point, I have reached out to Advantis Credit agency who redirected me back to Vodafone who redirected me back to Experian Credit agency who redirected me back to Vodafone.

Appreciate any help. Thanks.

adamp87

Lodge a formal complaint to Vodafone either by post or email going step by step through what’s happened and when or whom you’ve spoken to.

It seems odd they’d suggest paying off Advantis when they stated it might be a scam. 

Vodafone should respond to you with a resolution (removing the default.. etc) or providing an explanation as to why they think it’s your account. And then come back once you have a reply so people can advice further if it’s not solved