Creation deny reporting a default to Experian and now refuse to get it removed

np1v08

Hello,

I'm in a frustrating situation at the moment and so I'm posting to see if anyone has been in a similar position and if they have any advice.

I raised a complaint with Creation in October 2025 because I thought my loan account with them should have been defaulted back in 2019 when it was 6+ months in arrears (as per ICO guidance on this). A DMP I started with PayPlan followed on from this 6 month period (when I was finally sinking in debt!) and Creation was one of my creditors who agreed to the plan. In 2021 the account was sold as part of a debt sale to Intrum.

Creation didn't agree with me or uphold my complaint, citing the fact I was in a DMP and I'd been paying back more than 1% of the balance each month. I let it go and moved on but then in April this year I discovered that I'd missed a 'SF' status on my Experian credit file for this loan account for February 2021 (the month the account was sold). The notes showed a default balance of £35 and the default date was February 19th. Equifax on the other hand just shows 'S' and a 0 balance - as it should be.

I wrote to the Creation Customer Resolution Officer who dealt with my complaint before and asked why there was a default after I'd been told categorically they had not and would not default the account. I also requested that it was removed. The response I received was one of denial; it was nothing to do with Creation and I was signposted to Experian to take it up with them. I pushed back because as far as I know, only lenders can request for crefit file information to be amended or removed. The response I received this week was: "Creation have reported correctly to the external credit reference agencies on the status of your account and as such we cannot request for the default to be removed as this was not placed by Creation."

I paid £14.99 to resurrect my Experian 'Credit Expert' membership because I thought I would get better/quicker customer service from the dedicated team for paid subscribers .. grrr! To be fair, the person I spoke to was great but also baffled at the response I've got from Creation. They confirmed they can't just remove this information and they can only contact Creation about it.

I'm concerned that this will turn into a stand-off and nothing will happen until I am forced to make a complaint to the FOS. Has anyone come across this before and were you able to resolve it without escalating to FOS? Thanks all!

Nasqueron

Just complain to the FOS, Creation said they won't change it

A default in Feb 2021 is not a bad thing though as it means the debt will disappear from your file next year

np1v08

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991256#Comment_81991256

I suspect I will end up having to complain to FOS. I know it would drop off in Feb 2027, and that would be better than it hanging around on my Experian files but I also want to apply for a mortgage this year (and in any case it will still be on the Equifax file as 'S'). t's infuriating that they won't just admit the reporting error probably happened at their end and take steps to correct the report entry!