Late Mark on credit file
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abbiesmom
Posts: 102 Forumite
Morning,
Looking for some advice how I can deal with a 1month late payment marker on my credit file.
I actually have 2 of them 12 months apart reporting on my rent account which seems to have been recently added, it certainly wasn't there last month.
My rent is always paid on time by monthly DD and my landlord controls the amount due, the late payments can only be due to being entitled to a very small amount of HB which is paid in arrears and therefore these payments are beyond my control and I feel that they may negatively impact me going forward as I look to buy.
To the best of my knowledge, I haven't agreed for the landlord to report to my credit file, I've been in my home for 6years and haven't received any communication to advise that they will be doing this.
What are my options now? Can I opt out of the reporting? Should I put a note on my credit file about the HB being paid in arrears? Should I just cancel my HB as its such a small sum anyway?
Looking for some advice how I can deal with a 1month late payment marker on my credit file.
I actually have 2 of them 12 months apart reporting on my rent account which seems to have been recently added, it certainly wasn't there last month.
My rent is always paid on time by monthly DD and my landlord controls the amount due, the late payments can only be due to being entitled to a very small amount of HB which is paid in arrears and therefore these payments are beyond my control and I feel that they may negatively impact me going forward as I look to buy.
To the best of my knowledge, I haven't agreed for the landlord to report to my credit file, I've been in my home for 6years and haven't received any communication to advise that they will be doing this.
What are my options now? Can I opt out of the reporting? Should I put a note on my credit file about the HB being paid in arrears? Should I just cancel my HB as its such a small sum anyway?
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Comments
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How about paying the rent in full and having the HB as a top up to repay you for the extra bit you have paid?
Can't comment about your LL reporting to the CarA.Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0 -
MovingForwards wrote: »How about paying the rent in full and having the HB as a top up to repay you for the extra bit you have paid?
Can't comment about your LL reporting to the CarA.
This isn't an option as I used to be in a large surplus on the rent account and they just reduced my monthly DD amount until I was no longer in credit. It really is something I seem to have no control over so any late payment marker even only 1 month which seems to be December for both isn't my fault and as far as I'm concerned isn't reflective of how I manage the account.
Thankfully the amount I get in HB is low but this must seriously impact those who have their rents fully covered by HB?0 -
Is your landlord a private landlord or via a housing association?0
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It's a housing association, sorry for the late reply only now getting in0
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I can't quote or tag you as I am on my phone.
The reason I mentioned you paying in full is to get you back on track.
Eg rent £400
HB £20
Your normal amount £380
You pay £400, keep the £20 from HB, your pocket balances as does your rent.
Or even do it for a month just to get the HB element a month ahead so it then balances out the rest of the time.
Unless HB is paid directly to the HA? In that case contact them, explain the situation and ask if they will let you carry a rolling month of overpayment just equivalent to the HB amount as it is unfair you are being penalised for the way the HB element falls and their credit reporting.Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0 -
Housing associations now report to Experian as part of the Rental Exchange Initiative
https://www.experian.co.uk/rental-exchange.html
Whether you as a tenant can opt-out I don’t know, but for most people it’s beneficial for them.0 -
MovingForwards wrote: »I can't quote or tag you as I am on my phone.
The reason I mentioned you paying in full is to get you back on track.
Eg rent £400
HB £20
Your normal amount £380
You pay £400, keep the £20 from HB, your pocket balances as does your rent.
Or even do it for a month just to get the HB element a month ahead so it then balances out the rest of the time.
Unless HB is paid directly to the HA? In that case contact them, explain the situation and ask if they will let you carry a rolling month of overpayment just equivalent to the HB amount as it is unfair you are being penalised for the way the HB element falls and their credit reporting.
They pay direct to the HA, will ask if I can carry a credit as all months are fine except for 2 which are both incidentally in December, I'm wondering if the extra holidays delays the HB payment further but even so when they are aware that mine is on time a late payment marker is not reflective of how the account is managed as surely the payment is never a whole month late?
I'm hoping to buy this house shortly and have started the ball rolling but I'm now panicking that my problems are going to be a little more than passing the affordability test having just found this added to my report0 -
Thought I would update you on this. I've spoken to the landlord who says the late payment is as a result of paying monthly because of the 4 free weeks and everybody who pays monthly is in the same boat. Didn't really understand their explanation, but it's something to do with paying 48 weeks over 12 months instead of 52 weeks over 12 months.
I've managed to raise it as a dispute finally with Experian and hopefully it will get sorted soon as this is down to a fault in the way people who pay monthly are reported.
Interested to hear if anybody else who has 'free week's' are also hit with these late payment markers0 -
A friend of mine is house via a HA and pays by monthly DD rather than weekly or 4-weekly.
His HA states reporting to Experian sometime last year and all months are green ticks with late payment markers.
It sounds like the person you spoke to doesn’t understand what they are talking about.
Little point raising as a dispute with Experian as they will just contact the HA and will likely be given the same explanation you were.
It might be time to contact the Housing Ombudsman if you get nowhere after this0 -
A friend of mine is house via a HA and pays by monthly DD rather than weekly or 4-weekly.
His HA states reporting to Experian sometime last year and all months are green ticks with late payment markers.
It sounds like the person you spoke to doesn’t understand what they are talking about.
Little point raising as a dispute with Experian as they will just contact the HA and will likely be given the same explanation you were.
It might be time to contact the Housing Ombudsman if you get nowhere after this
Thank you, I will wait to see what experian come back with as it seems incredibly unfair that I am being penalised with late markers when I pay monthly in advance. I asked about opting out of reporting too and they said they would send me a form to complete but all I received was an empty return envelope in the post this morning:mad:
How long does experian usually take to respond to a dispute? If it can be fixed I'd much prefer for it to be reported as it should be a positive factor but if they can't fix it I'd much rather just opt out.
What would complaining to the Housing Ombudsman entail and eventually achieve?
Sorry for so many questions, I'm just keen to get this resolved quickly as hoping to apply for a mortgage soon and don't want this to negatively impact me for the best rates0
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