Scottish Power recorded AR on credit file.

anonmortgageposter

Gerry1 said:

I'm no fan of SP (they certainly don't have the best customer service reputation), but sadly it has to be said that:-

• You seem to have misunderstood the DD system and

• You have done all the wrong things.

1) Your Monthly Fixed DD isn't your bill.  It's not All You Can Eat, it's merely a top-up of a kitty which may or may not be sufficient to pay the actual bill.  You can't fill a trolley in Aldi, plonk your jam jar of coins down at the checkout, wheel the trolley out the door and tell them to whistle for it !

2) If you don't supply monthly readings (or have working smart meters), the bill can only be a guesstimate which may be much more or much less than your actual kWh usage.

(3) Even with accurate meter readings, a credit balance is only a snapshot in time.  If usage has been high, the next reconciliation can turn a positive balance into a negative one in the same way that a black bank balance can suddenly go red after a big cheque you've written is presented for payment.

(4) Regardless of supplier, deliberately stopping payments and letting a massive debt of £3,000 build up was guaranteed to trash your credit rating.  It will also have switched you to a more expensive non-DD tariff.

(5) I doubt that you will be able to delete the AR and restore your credit rating quickly because you'd be trying to rewrite history, but others with more knowledge may be able to advise.

(6) Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear or if it sounds harsh, but unfortunately that's the reality of the situation.

Hi,

I'm not sure if it makes a difference. However, I never had a direct debit set up. I always paid when the bill came through the door.

EssexHebridean

Do you have in writing from them (on a chat transcript for example) that this debt would not be reported to the CRAs? If so, then write to them, enclosing a copy of that transcript (or what ever other form you have it in) and remind them that they gave you their word that there would not a a CRA marker applied over this agreement, and accordingly, that they should now move to get the marker removed.  If they categorically stated to you that it would not be reported, then you had a right to rely on that statement. You do need to be able to prove it though! 

@BarelySentientAI AP (AR) markers ARE worse than a default in real terms. A default marker stays on the credit file for 6 years past the date it is applied, and then drops off. An AP marker stays on until six years after the debt is cleared - so in this case, if the OP took a further 3 years to clear the debt, then that would give them a damaged file for 9 years! This is why we usually encourage folk to get defaults if they are entering any sort of DMP as it means they will have a clean file far sooner. 

BarelySentientAI

EssexHebridean said:

@BarelySentientAI AP (AR) markers ARE worse than a default in real terms. A default marker stays on the credit file for 6 years past the date it is applied, and then drops off. An AP marker stays on until six years after the debt is cleared - so in this case, if the OP took a further 3 years to clear the debt, then that would give them a damaged file for 9 years! This is why we usually encourage folk to get defaults if they are entering any sort of DMP as it means they will have a clean file far sooner. 

Good explanation, thanks.  So even though it's an "I'm still paying, just not according to the contract" mark, the length of time the bad marker stays on the file makes it have a more detrimental effect than a complete default.

EssexHebridean

BarelySentientAI said:

EssexHebridean said:

@BarelySentientAI AP (AR) markers ARE worse than a default in real terms. A default marker stays on the credit file for 6 years past the date it is applied, and then drops off. An AP marker stays on until six years after the debt is cleared - so in this case, if the OP took a further 3 years to clear the debt, then that would give them a damaged file for 9 years! This is why we usually encourage folk to get defaults if they are entering any sort of DMP as it means they will have a clean file far sooner. 

Good explanation, thanks.  So even though it's an "I'm still paying, just not according to the contract" mark, the length of time the bad marker stays on the file makes it have a more detrimental effect than a complete default.

Exactly that. Allowing that often debt can take years to clear (we have seen people over on DFW with DMP's that last 20 years or more) it means that those people are then disadvantaged by something that happened a huge amount of time ago for far longer, and potentially long past the time when anything else would have dropped off their files. Of course those people are also often those who desperately need things like decent 0% balance transfer offers and the like, too! 

anonmortgageposter

EssexHebridean said:

Do you have in writing from them (on a chat transcript for example) that this debt would not be reported to the CRAs? If so, then write to them, enclosing a copy of that transcript (or what ever other form you have it in) and remind them that they gave you their word that there would not a a CRA marker applied over this agreement, and accordingly, that they should now move to get the marker removed.  If they categorically stated to you that it would not be reported, then you had a right to rely on that statement. You do need to be able to prove it though! 

@BarelySentientAI AP (AR) markers ARE worse than a default in real terms. A default marker stays on the credit file for 6 years past the date it is applied, and then drops off. An AP marker stays on until six years after the debt is cleared - so in this case, if the OP took a further 3 years to clear the debt, then that would give them a damaged file for 9 years! This is why we usually encourage folk to get defaults if they are entering any sort of DMP as it means they will have a clean file far sooner. 

Thanks for the reply.

I was told it would not affect my credit file. If I had known this, I would have paid this off once the complaint was closed. The people commenting to state it's not an interest free loan aren't understanding the situation. Had I been told it wasn't, I would never have entered into this.

I have requested a SDAR and they have acknowledged this. I am waiting for this to be emailed over.

I raised a complaint over the phone and paid off the remaining balance. I was told I would receive a call back within 7 days and surprise, surprise, we have a repeat of the very thing that made my last complaint last over a year. No contact at all. It's been two weeks now, 

I am going to call again today.

Now that the balance is paid and it only shows 4 month AR markers on my file. What will the future look like for obtaining credit?