Ghost credit card ruined my credit score.

FatMatt73

Before I start, I want to state that I have written a formal complaint to the credit card company and I am thinking of suing them, so I can't mention their name here, however I would be interested to know if this has happened to anyone else. 

I took out a credit card almost 5 years ago, a single credit card. I received the card and then two weeks later I was sent another card. I had already used the first card and was confused when I received my first statement, because the first card nor the spending for the first card was there, just the second card. I called the card company and they said initially they couldn't find the card or the account, then found it. I asked if they could transfer the balance on to the second account as I believed it was their mistake and they said no, when I started moaning they said they would look into it and get back to me, that was almost 5 years ago. 

I want to add at this point, that I have had zero communication from them about the first card and the outstanding balance since my initial raising of the matter, nor did I get a default notice and not even a debt collectors letter in the five years I have had an account with them. 

Fast forward to December 2025, and I was applying for a Chase credit card on my Chase bank account and was refused. I couldn't understand it as I have a good salary, savings etc and always pay my bills early and above min payment. I was then refused a new mobile phone. 

I got my credit report and have found the card company had added 41 missed payments for the first card, when I found out I paid it immediately, and again they couldn't find the account, then suddenly they found it. I knew speaking to a call agent at this point was a waste of time so I have made an official complaint. 

I never asked or two cards, I never asked for two accounts, and I was never told about the outstanding balance (which was £369.00). 

Am I correct in thinking this is their mistake and they have to remove the late payment markers. I have also hade some credit or a car, but it has been at an extortionate rates, and I have since found out that it is as a direct result of the missed payments on the ghost account.

This has destroyed my credit rating, I mean decimated it! I was refused a mortgage and a business loan, I have super high interest rates on everything. Yes, there is some culpability in me not getting my credit report sooner, but I thought it was more a sign of the times being refused and being single, rather than my credit rating. 

In essence should I sue and is this ghost account, their fault? 
What evidence should I be gathering?
Can I sue them for the additional interest I have had to pay across the board?
Can I sue for the refused mortgage?

Has this happened to anyone else, I can't be the only one.

I am so angry about this, I can't put it in to words, but any advice will be greatly received. 

Thanks in advance.      

marcia_

FatMatt73 said:

Before I start, I want to state that I have written a formal complaint to the credit card company and I am thinking of suing them, so I can't mention their name here, however I would be interested to know if this has happened to anyone else. 

I took out a credit card almost 5 years ago, a single credit card. I received the card and then two weeks later I was sent another card. I had already used the first card and was confused when I received my first statement, because the first card nor the spending for the first card was there, just the second card. I called the card company and they said initially they couldn't find the card or the account, then found it. I asked if they could transfer the balance on to the second account as I believed it was their mistake and they said no, when I started moaning they said they would look into it and get back to me, that was almost 5 years ago. 

I want to add at this point, that I have had zero communication from them about the first card and the outstanding balance since my initial raising of the matter, nor did I get a default notice and not even a debt collectors letter in the five years I have had an account with them. 

Fast forward to December 2025, and I was applying for a Chase credit card on my Chase bank account and was refused. I couldn't understand it as I have a good salary, savings etc and always pay my bills early and above min payment. I was then refused a new mobile phone. 

I got my credit report and have found the card company had added 41 missed payments for the first card, when I found out I paid it immediately, and again they couldn't find the account, then suddenly they found it. I knew speaking to a call agent at this point was a waste of time so I have made an official complaint. 

I never asked or two cards, I never asked for two accounts, and I was never told about the outstanding balance (which was £369.00). 

Am I correct in thinking this is their mistake and they have to remove the late payment markers. I have also hade some credit or a car, but it has been at an extortionate rates, and I have since found out that it is as a direct result of the missed payments on the ghost account.

This has destroyed my credit rating, I mean decimated it! I was refused a mortgage and a business loan, I have super high interest rates on everything. Yes, there is some culpability in me not getting my credit report sooner, but I thought it was more a sign of the times being refused and being single, rather than my credit rating. 

In essence should I sue and is this ghost account, their fault? 
What evidence should I be gathering?
Can I sue them for the additional interest I have had to pay across the board?
Can I sue for the refused mortgage?

Has this happened to anyone else, I can't be the only one.

I am so angry about this, I can't put it in to words, but any advice will be greatly received. 

Thanks in advance.      

 Its not a ghost account, you used the card and should have continued to chase them as annoying as it was to make payment on your debt.

MyRealNameToo

FatMatt73 said:

Before I start, I want to state that I have written a formal complaint to the credit card company and I am thinking of suing them, so I can't mention their name here, however I would be interested to know if this has happened to anyone else. 

I took out a credit card almost 5 years ago, a single credit card. I received the card and then two weeks later I was sent another card. I had already used the first card and was confused when I received my first statement, because the first card nor the spending for the first card was there, just the second card. I called the card company and they said initially they couldn't find the card or the account, then found it. I asked if they could transfer the balance on to the second account as I believed it was their mistake and they said no, when I started moaning they said they would look into it and get back to me, that was almost 5 years ago. 

I want to add at this point, that I have had zero communication from them about the first card and the outstanding balance since my initial raising of the matter, nor did I get a default notice and not even a debt collectors letter in the five years I have had an account with them. 

Fast forward to December 2025, and I was applying for a Chase credit card on my Chase bank account and was refused. I couldn't understand it as I have a good salary, savings etc and always pay my bills early and above min payment. I was then refused a new mobile phone. 

I got my credit report and have found the card company had added 41 missed payments for the first card, when I found out I paid it immediately, and again they couldn't find the account, then suddenly they found it. I knew speaking to a call agent at this point was a waste of time so I have made an official complaint. 

I never asked or two cards, I never asked for two accounts, and I was never told about the outstanding balance (which was £369.00). 

Am I correct in thinking this is their mistake and they have to remove the late payment markers. I have also hade some credit or a car, but it has been at an extortionate rates, and I have since found out that it is as a direct result of the missed payments on the ghost account.

This has destroyed my credit rating, I mean decimated it! I was refused a mortgage and a business loan, I have super high interest rates on everything. Yes, there is some culpability in me not getting my credit report sooner, but I thought it was more a sign of the times being refused and being single, rather than my credit rating. 

In essence should I sue and is this ghost account, their fault? 
What evidence should I be gathering?
Can I sue them for the additional interest I have had to pay across the board?
Can I sue for the refused mortgage?

Has this happened to anyone else, I can't be the only one.

I am so angry about this, I can't put it in to words, but any advice will be greatly received. 

Thanks in advance.      

You knew that you had two accounts and that the spending on the first one had never been transferred across. Sure they should have come back to you with an outcome of the request, sent bills etc but ultimately you knew you had a debt with them that wasnt being paid. 

What happened in the nearly 5 years after you asked them to transfer the balance? Forgot about? Hoped you'd get away without paying it? 

How have you found out about it being a "direct result of the missed payments" that you had to pay higher interest rates and declines? Not saying it's not a logical conclusion but I'm very very surprised that any lender has given you evidence this is the case. They would have said something banial like to check your credit history and not actually said its because of this one account. 

On that note, why didnt you check the credit history sooner? 

You can sue anyone for anything, if you have a snowballs chance in hell is another matter. The ombudsman is typically a better route than the courts for consumers given there is no charge to you and no risks of you being lumbered with their legal costs if you lose. 

Generally you can only sue for actual financial losses, so if you could prove without doubt that the increased interest was because of the card and that lender says what the interest would have been if that card's history wasnt there then yes. Not sure what your financial losses were because a mortgage was refused? 

To be blunt, leaving it 5 years and not making enquiries sooner doesnt look good. If it was originally treated as a complaint, which it should have, then you've timed out for the Ombudsman because you have 6 months to go to them after a complaint to a bank/insurer etc. 

flaneurs_lobster

Naming the card co will not have any bearing on your ability to sue anybody but your choice.

So you spent on a card (how much - is the £369 the original spend or the spend plus 5 years worth of interest)?

You have never received a statement for this card. You asked for the card 1 balance to be shifted to card 2, not allowed.

So you then just ignored the debt? You describe it as a "ghost debt" but it's not really - you had the debt, on a card in your possession, I think perhaps you should have tried harder to settle that debt. 

Mistake by card co - not generating/sending statements (are they online?)

Mistake by you - not trying harder to pay off the card.

Brie

Ok - so you knew the card was there but thought company had sorted it out.  But in 5 years you never checked your credit history and didn't see that something was wrong.  You should have, but you didn't, so let's move on.

You had a card and the company was reporting to the credit agencies about it but never mentioned anything to you.  This despite the fact that they had your details.  This is, in my opinion, the basis for your complaint.  They knew but never told you.  Which breaks rules about how any credit card company must write to you annually with all the activity on your account - even if the activity is an unpaid balance.  Obviously you must have been getting other correspondence regarding the second card so why not the first one?  I believe this may be a breach of FCA rules.  (happy to be corrected)  Do you get paper statements, or text messages about your DD changing or anything for the second card?  Have you double checked that there isn't anything about the first card as well?  What about emails??

So how to resolve this?  You say you've complained (great!) and you plan to sue (not necessary and possibly costly in my opinion).  You need to get the complaint to run it's course and hopefully the CC company will sort things satisfactorily. 

You could ask for a copy of the credit agreement.  If they think they have no knowledge of the card but can't find it they won't find the CA and therefore there is nothing for you to pay back and they shouldn't have reported the ££ as being owed.  Might work.  

You could put in a Subject Access Request to get all the copies of everything they hold for you including any documents they supposedly might have sent you.  (where to?  blank address?  their fault.)  It would also include transcripts of your calls where they don't find then do find your account.  (so they knew there was a problem but didn't do anything.  their fault)

What I'd want is for them to wipe the money owed, tidy up your credit history and then also pay a bit for compensation.  Maybe £200?? (+ £369 you owed).

If they come back and say it's not their fault then I'd forward the complaint to the ombudsman.

FatMatt73

Brie said:

Ok - so you knew the card was there but thought company had sorted it out.  But in 5 years you never checked your credit history and didn't see that something was wrong.  You should have, but you didn't, so let's move on.

You had a card and the company was reporting to the credit agencies about it but never mentioned anything to you.  This despite the fact that they had your details.  This is, in my opinion, the basis for your complaint.  They knew but never told you.  Which breaks rules about how any credit card company must write to you annually with all the activity on your account - even if the activity is an unpaid balance.  Obviously you must have been getting other correspondence regarding the second card so why not the first one?  I believe this may be a breach of FCA rules.  (happy to be corrected)  Do you get paper statements, or text messages about your DD changing or anything for the second card?  Have you double checked that there isn't anything about the first card as well?  What about emails??

So how to resolve this?  You say you've complained (great!) and you plan to sue (not necessary and possibly costly in my opinion).  You need to get the complaint to run it's course and hopefully the CC company will sort things satisfactorily. 

You could ask for a copy of the credit agreement.  If they think they have no knowledge of the card but can't find it they won't find the CA and therefore there is nothing for you to pay back and they shouldn't have reported the ££ as being owed.  Might work.  

You could put in a Subject Access Request to get all the copies of everything they hold for you including any documents they supposedly might have sent you.  (where to?  blank address?  their fault.)  It would also include transcripts of your calls where they don't find then do find your account.  (so they knew there was a problem but didn't do anything.  their fault)

What I'd want is for them to wipe the money owed, tidy up your credit history and then also pay a bit for compensation.  Maybe £200?? (+ £369 you owed).

If they come back and say it's not their fault then I'd forward the complaint to the ombudsman.

I have never received a single piece of correspondence, text, email or anything else about the first card. They appear to be two completely separate accounts, which I don't understand. I neglected the follow up as I had long covid and heart failure, so was some what distracted and also accepted their final response that they would look into it. 

eskbanker

FatMatt73 said:

I am so angry about this, I can't put it in to words, but any advice will be greatly received.    

FatMatt73 said:
I neglected the follow up as I had long covid and heart failure, so was some what distracted and also accepted their final response that they would look into it. 

Easy for the rest of us to say it, but best to try to find a way to contain the anger and simply follow the complaint process through, escalating to FOS if necessary, in as calm a manner as you can - it's unlikely to be quick and will probably be frustrating, so you'll need some reserves of patience to see it through....

HillStreetBlues

Simply put if credit card company haven't generate any statements then they are in breach of the CCA.
The whole point in forcing them to give statements is to avoid issues like this.

[Deleted User]

Was it showing on your credit report at the time or only appeared five years later?