Company agrees to remove Default Notices! (need a 2nd opinion on my letter please)

sho_me_da_money

Hi Guys,

Apologies in advance for the long message.

I recently acquired my credit report and was alarmed to learn that there are more than a few defaults registered against my name. Some have been following me since my last residence.

Two of the defaults were with a mobile phone company who i had 2 seperate accounts with (1 default per each account).

I contacted the advisor and explained him the situation. The advisor learned that both accounts were closed and written off without being settled. I proposed a deal - i would fully pay them what i owed (£400) subject to them removing my Default Notices.

Furthermore i requested it in writing on letter headed paper. The advisor reverted to the admin dept. and said "Yes" they are prepared to do so ONLY if i pay. He has asked me to check his draft letter below and amend where needed:

Dear Mr X, Subsequent to our discussion over the phone regarding your previous o2 accounts, XXXXX AND XXXXX,
I am writing to confirm that once the balances on these accounts which are £ 308.18 and £65.16 respectively have been cleared, we will be more than happy to contact Equifax to amend your credit file.

We would require however that you provide us with a copy of your credit file which you can get from Equifax, with which we can then go ahead.
REGARDS"
I felt that this letter was a little too vague for my liking and therefore ammended it as follows:

Dear Mr X, Subsequent to our discussion over the phone regarding your previous o2 accounts, XXXXX AND XXXXX,
I am writing to confirm that once the balances on these accounts which are £ 308.18 and £65.16 respectively have been cleared, we will be more than happy to contact Equifax to amend your credit file.


To be more specific, we will ensure the following actions will be carried out:

• The Default Notice(s)/Registration(s) on both accounts will be removed
• The Status of both accounts will change from “Defaulted” to “Settled”
• The Current Balance will appear as £0.00
• The Default / Delinquent Balance will be set to £0.00
• There will be no date in the “Defaulted Date” field (as they will be removed)
• There will be no date in the “Date Last Delinquent” field on the report

We would require however that you provide us with a copy of your credit file which you can get from Equifax, with which we can then go ahead.
REGARDS"
I would just like a second opinion please before i send this to the advisor - is there anything more i need to include or have i covered everything? Is there anywhere you guys feel i need to re-word?

Thank you for reading guys!

bathgatebuyer

Also make sure that they remove details of these from other credit references too in case they feature on more than just one agencies files.

sho_me_da_money

Hi there,

Thank you for the speedy response.

I have added the following bullet point:

• All the above will also apply to all other credit reference agencies such as Experian etc.

Just out of curiosity - how many credit agencies are checked?

Do i need to obtain a report for each one?

And lastly, if i am rejected credit from a financial lender and produce the most up-to-date report from ONE agency (Equifax) to the lender - will that suffice or do i have to obtain a copy of every agency and supply all reports to him in order for him to re-consider my request?

bathgatebuyer

There are 3 credit reference agencies of which Experian and Equifax are the most common. There's a matrix on here in which Martin has listed which companies use which CRAs when assessing for credit. I know from experience that Experian and Equifax sometimes have different details (for example, my Egg credit card has never been listed with, um, I think it was Experian but is on Equifax).

Regardless, make sure they notify each of the CRAs that the default on your account does not stand and then there's no opportunity for error.