Help re Default Dates

jojororo · 9 August 2013 at 12:29PM

Hi,

In May 2009 I set up a DMP with PayPlan.

I have 3 cc's, 1 loan and 1 Current A/C OD with debts of just above £50k

I have been paying it off each month since, however due to drastic drop in income (Im self-employed) my payments are now down to £100/m which means it will take 41 years to pay back in full

There is a chance that I now might be able to get some money from a family member to pay off the debts but that's a whole different story.

I was reading the forum and was rather surprised to learn that debts were removed from your credit file 6 years after default even if they were still outstanding.

Since starting the DMP I have been too "scared" to request my Experian report so had no idea about what was or was not on there.

A couple of days ago I took advantage of their free 30 day offer and requested a report to see just how bad it was.

My score was 532 (Very Poor) as I expected

I had 6 defaults - two of which were for the dame debt - seemingly where one debt was transferred to another company - one of showed as "satisfied"

The default dates for the five remaining debts were:
20/8/09, 25/9/09, 13/1/10, 3/5/11, 21/7/11

I thought was default date should be the date the DMP was agreed, whereas my default dates were set up to two years after which means that my credit file will not be "clean" until 2017 rather than 2015

Is this right and if so how do I go about getting the dates changed ?

One further question...

I had a Lloyds TSB Current Account Overdraft of just over £2k - this is showing status of "6 payments late".

Why would this NOT be set to "Default" like the CC's and Loan ?

Should this be the most important debt to clear ?

Thanks in advance
Jo

Tixy · 9 August 2013 at 1:02PM

The ICO guidance on filing default notices is not particularly straight forward, in fact in some places it is contradictory, particularly when someone is on a DMP.
The ICO guidance also distinguishes between someone making relatively high payments on a DMP and someone making very low payments.

Usually a default would be added to your file when you were more than 2months in arrears with your debts and at the latest when you were 6months in arrears.
So if you were paying relatively high payments to your DMP then its possible that a 'fair' default might be entered up to maybe 9months after entering a DMP.

But sometimes someone may be paying a high enough level to start that the creditor decides not to enter a default, but subsequently then has to lower their DMP payments and it could be then that a default could be filed on your credit file.
Its possible to try writing to complain about a default you feel has been added unfairly late, the ICO guidance is here - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3172602

Regarding the default for the same debt. It is definitely not acceptable for this to show twice. The debt collection agency should not enter a default or any entry on your file unless they have previously agreed with the original creditor that there entry will be removed. And if the original creditor does remove their entry then the debt collector must use the same default date.
Write to the DCA and send a copy to the original creditor. State that you note that they have added an entry to your file whilst the original creditor's entry still shows and that you require them to remove their entry ASAP.

Just a thought, given the very long timscale of your DMP have you gone back to Payplan or one of the debt advice charities to see if it is still the best option for you?

izools · 9 August 2013 at 3:22PM

If your income, expenditure, and debt is so much that it would take you 41 years to clear your debts, why aren't you declaring yourself bankrupt?

simeyb · 9 August 2013 at 3:45PM

"I was reading the forum and was rather surprised to learn that debts were removed from your credit file 6 years after default even if they were still outstanding."

Just to quote this part of your post - you aren't working on the basis that the actual debt is cancelled after 6 years are you? They come off your credit file, but owing money to the creditor is a completely different thing and you will still owe the outstanding amounts.

Like others have said, a DMP for 41 years sounds a bit daft - IVA or Bankruptcy? Suggest speaking to whoever's running your DMP for you.

jojororo · 12 August 2013 at 10:51AM

Thanks for all the replies and advice

@simeyb no worries, I realise that I still have to pay the money back even after debts are removed from credit file

The 41 years thing is a bit of a red herring, as I mentioned I am looking to see if I can set up F&F deals with my debtors with monies offered by a family member.

My main question was about dates of default so that my credit file can get "cleaned" ASAP for which Tixy provided some good advice (Thanks)

Re my second question :-

jojororo wrote: »

Hi,

One further question...

I had a Lloyds TSB Current Account Overdraft of just over £2k - this is showing status of "6 payments late".

Why would this NOT be set to "Default" like the CC's and Loan ?

Should this be the most important debt to clear ?

Thanks in advance
Jo

Does anyone has any insight on this ?

fermi · 12 August 2013 at 10:56AM

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3172602

A record showing a series of payments as six months in arrears when this does not reflect the real payment history should not be used as an equivalent of a default.

• Accounts should not be routinely filed as being in default where full payments or those due under a rescheduled agreement are fewer than three consecutive months in arrears.
• Accounts should normally be filed as being in default where those payments due have not been received for six months.

Help re Default Dates

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