Default added years later?

C1992x

Hi,
sorry for the long post but really need some advice 
I took a TV out with perfect homes in 2014, due to a relationship breakdown/ being young and stupid/ other issues I couldn’t afford weekly repayments. 

I discussed this with the manager and he said that due to me having paid half the total tv price if I returned the TV then he could just close the account. I did this and it was marked as closed/settled with a balance 0 on my credit report.
early this year I received a letter from a debt company stating they were acting on behalf of perfect homes and that I owed £300. After a discussion on the phone I was basically told if I didn’t pay it would likely end up in a default being added to my report. 

As I am looking to buy a house in the near future I paid this off as I didn’t want to risk any adverse credit being added to my credit score. This was paid in full and now my credit report had the original perfect homes settled account balance 0 and another under the same name but said satisfied balance 0.

A few months later I received an alert - your credit score has dropped because a default has been added to your report. They have now said I defaulted in 2016 on the satisfied account. 

I disputed this with transunion which was successful and the default was removed and my credit score went back up.
now again I had the same alert - my credit score has dropped and a default added. 

I have raised a dispute again but it’s been unsuccessful this time and I don’t know why because it was exactly the same scenario as last time.
I’ve contacted perfect homes and they’ve said they can’t help me as they have no record of my account on their file?!
couldn’t of happened at the worst time as I am in the process of buying a house and applying for a mortgage which I will probably be rejected for now because of this.
I’d spent years rebuilding my credit and for this to happen now is so frustrating. 

My question is is this right for them to do can they legally do this? Any advice
thanks

sourcrates

Legalities don`t come into this, its a civil matter, TransUnion just display the information made available to them, when you questioned it previously, all they did was "hide" the default from view, until they have had time to get the other side of the story from the creditor.

On this occasion the creditor has told them the default is justified, as that is probably what it says on their systems, so the default has again become visible.

If you have an issue with data on your credit file, you should contact the creditor/company concerned, and raise a formal complaint with them, because until you do that, and it gets investigated properly, the information will keep coming back as being correct.

So you need to send an official written complaint to whoever has registered this default against you, stating the reasons why you believe its incorrect, stay off the phone, as the call handlers will not be able to resolve this for you, that will happen at a much higher level, that you can only access by means of a complaint.

If this cannot be resolved by the company concerned, then escalate the matter to the ICO.

ItsComingRome

The problem is that you have a verbal agreement from 5 years ago that you're unlikely to be able to prove, and then you paid the DCA which doesn't look good.

It's a bit hard to argue you had an agreement to return the TV and the account would be settled when you paid the DCA £300 you supposedly didn't owe.

The ICO are unlikely to do anything, on the face of it the default looks correct.  The FOS might be more willing to take your side but if you're in the process of buying a house, there's nowhere near enough time to sort this out if the DCA refuses to play ball.

nyermen

Paying the money possibly doesn't help, but that said there still needs to be evidence of the debt/default.
I'd start by following what sourcrates has said - "If you have an issue with data on your credit file, you should contact the creditor/company concerned, and raise a formal complaint with them, because until you do that, and it gets investigated properly, the information will keep coming back as being correct."

Quick question - when did this "return" (and therefore, when you stopped paying) happen?  eg. If it was soon afterwards (eg. 2015? I dont know how long these agreements normally are), I'd firstly be asking why there's been no contact in so long.  Also - what is the date of default, is it correct to that date?  The default will drop off 6 years later.

ps. Just noticed - welcome to the forums

ItsComingRome

nyermen said:

Paying the money possibly doesn't help, but that said there still needs to be evidence of the debt/default.
I'd start by following what sourcrates has said - "If you have an issue with data on your credit file, you should contact the creditor/company concerned, and raise a formal complaint with them, because until you do that, and it gets investigated properly, the information will keep coming back as being correct."

Quick question - when did this "return" (and therefore, when you stopped paying) happen?  eg. If it was soon afterwards (eg. 2015? I dont know how long these agreements normally are), I'd firstly be asking why there's been no contact in so long.  Also - what is the date of default, is it correct to that date?  The default will drop off 6 years later.

ps. Just noticed - welcome to the forums

OP realistically needs practical advice, not the "letter of the law advice" that sourcrates is famous for giving.

And here it is.  Contact the DCA and try to convince them that you had an agreement in place (and I'd be doing this over the phone initially if you're part way through a house purchase, there won't be time for a back and forth via letter) and if that fails find a broker specialising in adverse lending.  This case isn't particularly adverse and there are high street lenders who will lend with settled defaults past the 3 year mark.  But you absolutely need the assistance of a broker if you go down that route.