Trying to remove incorrect Information on my credit file

jpok1977

Can anybody possibly give me some information as to how I can go about having incorrect information from my credit file? I had a mobile phone account two years ago now with Tesco Mobile, however, during that time of contract, I lost my job & got into serious financial debt & was unable to make payments on my account. After six months of missed payments, Tesco mobile decided to terminate my contract & drop all charges as they said it would be cheaper for them to do this rather than taking it to a debt collection agency. Now that I am once again in employment I am trying to pay off all my debts & clean up my credit score. However Tesco Mobile is displaying the amount of £580 on my credit files & it is also displayed as default. I have contacted Tesco Mobile on lots of actions now to try & pay this amount off however they have told me several times that the balance on my account is showing as zero & that there is nothing further to pay on it. I have challenged them many times now that if my account balance is zero & there's nothing further to pay on it then why are they displaying incorrect information on my credit score stating that my account I had with them is in default to the sum of £580? I have also asked them several times for a copy of my account balance either by post or email however they have refused to send that information to me stating that because the account is now closed they cannot send me a copy of such information on my account. Can anybody help me on this matter as I feel what Tesco Mobile are doing is wrong holding incorrect information on my credit file? Is there a body that I can take this case to & make an official complaint? 

LaHostessAvecLaMostess

You could try raising a dispute with the CRAs.  At least that way it gets through to the people responsible for reporting this sort of data.

Alternatively, you could make an official complaint to Tesco Mobile.  It's too early to take it to an ADR/Ombudsman as you need to go through the provider's complaint process first.

MalMonroe

You could ask the CRAs to put a note on your reports to say that you are disputing Tesco's entry.

And because Tesco have not only closed your account but have also been extremely awkward and refused to give you the important information you have requested, I think you are well within the time, and your rights, to contact the Financial Ombudsman without any further delay.

Here's the link -  https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/how-to-complain

LaHostessAvecLaMostess

MalMonroe said:

You could ask the CRAs to put a note on your reports to say that you are disputing Tesco's entry.

And because Tesco have not only closed your account but have also been extremely awkward and refused to give you the important information you have requested, I think you are well within the time, and your rights, to contact the Financial Ombudsman without any further delay.

Here's the link -  https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/how-to-complain

That's horrible advice.

An NOC serves no purpose other than to draw attention to the situation and ensure the OP has to have any credit application reviewed manually.

The account has defaulted and the outstanding balance is certainly a negative, but far less than the fact the account defaulted in the first place. Although a dispute raised with Equifax will result in an NOC by default, it's not advisable to create these manually

Also, the FOS doesn't cover complaints against telecommunications providers so advising the OP to go to the FOS is silly..

sourcrates

You really need to make an official complaint to Tesco, in writing, as I assume, to date, you have just dealt with the call handlers who only know what their screens tell them, you need to be aiming higher up the food chain here, to those who are the decision makers.

They cannot close your account, and wipe the balance, then mark your credit file as defaulted with a balance owing, as that is not only inaccurate, but also makes the situation unfair for you.

Which is why you need to set out your complaint in writing, detailing what they have done wrong, and what you want by way of restitution, then make sure you send it to to Tesco complaints, details on this page -

Making A Complaint | Other | Help | Tesco Mobile