Is it possible to remove a CapitalOne default - they admitted some fault.

YellowPumpkin

Last year I missed a few payments on my Capital One credit cards due to not having a job. Once I got a new job, I called them and discussed a payment plan for the two cards. I asked them if I had my direct debit set up or if I could do it with them on the phone. The person I spoke to said it was all set up and I didn’t need to do anything else. 

I have ADHD, so I’ve been bad with money in the past and have forgotten about payments which is why I made sure I had the direct debits set up. 

Unfortunately, a few months later I got a letter saying I’d defaulted on one card. Only one direct debit had been set up and had been going out regularly. I had no idea as I’d been told they were set up. I know it’s on me to check, but I took the agent’s word for it on the phone. 

I then called them and asked why this had happened, they apologised but said they couldn’t remove the default. I tried to make a formal complaint but they rang me during work hours and when I asked them to call at another time, they didn’t. I then just accepted I’d messed up and there was nothing I could do. 

However, they then credited my account with a £100 payment and named it “Distress & Inconvenience” - I see this as them acknowledging they did wrong by telling me I had it all set up. 

Since then, I’ve seen that people have had defaults removed from their accounts and I didn’t realise this was something I could fight for. 

Is it worth me trying to do this? How would I go about it? I have the dates of the phone calls as I kept a note for the initial complaint. 

I’m gutted I have this on my file as I’m working on getting my credit score up to apply for a mortgage and now I have this for another 5.5 years bringing me down. I’ve been paying the defaulted card off every month and have paid off around 25% of it so far. I would be happy to pay the rest off straight away if I can remove the default. 

Thank you in advance for any help!