6 Year Debt Dispute still ongoing

Can anyone please offer some advice on the following matter. I had a dispute with vodafone back in 2007 when my phone was stolen and within 24 hours and the time it took me to realise and cancel my phone, a bill had been accumulated for over £1200. I was insured and despite my efforts, vodafone insisted I was liable to pay this. I seeked legal advice and tried for 2-3 years to resolve this matter. It then seemed to disappear but have recently had threats from Hamptons Legal saying that they are going to file me for bankruptcy and reclaim 'their' debt from my house. They are making offers such as pay 50% now and it will be settled.

The debt should be removed from my credit report in April 2013 so I assume this is why they are making such threats now. I also noticed they have updated the report to say 8 missed payments as of last year so I am unsure if this means that it will be on my credit report for another 5 years. Can anyone help me? I do not know where I stand and what I can do? How can they update my report to say this when its clearly not true?

I have contacted them to try to resolve and put forward my case but they are still making threats.

Can they really apply for a CCJ, bankruptcy or sell my house as threatened?

Comments

  • Dunroamin
    Dunroamin Posts: 16,908 Forumite
    What happened to your insurance claim for this theft?
  • whitepaper
    whitepaper Posts: 121 Forumite
    edited 8 December 2012 at 12:01PM
    22visual wrote: »
    Can anyone please offer some advice on the following matter. I had a dispute with vodafone back in 2007 when my phone was stolen and within 24 hours and the time it took me to realise and cancel my phone, a bill had been accumulated for over £1200. I was insured and despite my efforts, vodafone insisted I was liable to pay this. I seeked legal advice and tried for 2-3 years to resolve this matter. It then seemed to disappear but have recently had threats from Hamptons Legal saying that they are going to file me for bankruptcy and reclaim 'their' debt from my house. They are making offers such as pay 50% now and it will be settled.

    The debt should be removed from my credit report in April 2013 so I assume this is why they are making such threats now. I also noticed they have updated the report to say 8 missed payments as of last year so I am unsure if this means that it will be on my credit report for another 5 years. Can anyone help me? I do not know where I stand and what I can do? How can they update my report to say this when its clearly not true?

    I have contacted them to try to resolve and put forward my case but they are still making threats.

    Can they really apply for a CCJ, bankruptcy or sell my house as threatened?

    What 5 payments did you miss?

    Just because you had a £1200 bill in dispute as the phone was stolen, doesn't mean you don't have to continue paying the monthly rental.
    (Be aware that charges incurred before you informed the operator of the theft may not be waived)

    Not sure how this has gone on for almost 6 years. If you had made a complaint at the time Vodafone refused to waive the £1200 disputed bill incurred as a direct result of the theft, then after 8 weeks you could have referred the issue to the independent Alternative Dispute Resolution service provided by Ombudsman Services Communications.

    I see you have already sought legal advice. What did they advise you? I can't see how the CAB can offer any further legal help in this matter, other than to go back to that legal advisor.
  • I was told that my insurance didn't cover this and my account would be frozen until paid. I sorted out another mobile phone and tried to resolve this dispute with letters back and forth etc. I assumed this dispute was ended after a few years as I had heard nothing back and accepted this would mark my credit rating. It wasn't until last year when I learned that they had sold the debt to Hamptons that this has become a problem.

    The advice I was given was simply to try to resolve with Vodafone which I did but nothing came of it.

    I just wanted advice on whether they can actually change my credit rating to 8 missed payments as this is untrue. I never missed any payments, just disputed the £1200 charges. I also want to know if they can legally apply to make me bankrupt or use my property to claim the debt. I also want to know if this will still be removed 6 years after default or if I now have to wait another 5 years as Hamptons have recently falsely updated my credit file.

    Look forward to your responses.
  • Wywth
    Wywth Posts: 5,079 Forumite
    22visual wrote: »
    I was told that my insurance didn't cover this and my account would be frozen until paid. I sorted out another mobile phone and tried to resolve this dispute with letters back and forth etc. I assumed this dispute was ended after a few years as I had heard nothing back and accepted this would mark my credit rating. It wasn't until last year when I learned that they had sold the debt to Hamptons that this has become a problem.

    The advice I was given was simply to try to resolve with Vodafone which I did but nothing came of it.

    I just wanted advice on whether they can actually change my credit rating to 8 missed payments as this is untrue. I never missed any payments, just disputed the £1200 charges. I also want to know if they can legally apply to make me bankrupt or use my property to claim the debt. I also want to know if this will still be removed 6 years after default or if I now have to wait another 5 years as Hamptons have recently falsely updated my credit file.

    Look forward to your responses.

    Any incorrect entries on your credit histrory file can be corrected.

    The easiest way is probably for you to contact Vodafone, and get them to agree that you made all your monthly payments on time and in full. You can then ask them to correct their report to the credit reference agency about you.

    Alternatively, the CRA may be able to help you directly if you send them evidence of any wrong entry. If not, you can ask for a statement of your own to accompany any entry you feel agrieved at.

    When lenders seek a reference from the CRA, only the last 6 years credit history is usually disclosed.
  • CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative
    CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative Posts: 287 Organisation Representative
    Hi 22visual, thank you for your query regarding 6 year old debt
    Firstly it is not clear from your post if you ever had a final response to your complaint, if you did you are probably too late now to go to the Communications Ombudsman but if you have never received a final response then I would suggest you take your complaint to the Ombudsman but you need to be aware that even if the phone handset is stolen you are still liable for the standing charge on the phone for the rest of the contract period unless they have agreed in writing to cancel the contract which they very rarely do.
    If no action is taken in the court to enforce this debt and you make no payments then it will become statute barred after 6 years from the date payment was due or from when you made the last payment and the creditor will not be able to pursue the debt through the courts so you have the option at this point of continuing to dispute the debt or ignoring it in the hope the creditor will not initiate court action between now and when the 6 years has expired.

    Regarding your credit rating the whole account should drop off your credit report after the 6 years. You can find more information about disputing debts and credit references at https://www.adviceguide.org.uk
    Hope this is of assistance
    Official CAB Representative
    I am an official representative of CAB. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to questions on the CAB Board. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. If you believe I’ve broken any rules please report my post to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com as usual"
  • Vodafone
    Vodafone Posts: 4,297 Organisation Representative
    22visual wrote: »
    I was told that my insurance didn't cover this and my account would be frozen until paid. I sorted out another mobile phone and tried to resolve this dispute with letters back and forth etc. I assumed this dispute was ended after a few years as I had heard nothing back and accepted this would mark my credit rating. It wasn't until last year when I learned that they had sold the debt to Hamptons that this has become a problem.

    The advice I was given was simply to try to resolve with Vodafone which I did but nothing came of it.

    I just wanted advice on whether they can actually change my credit rating to 8 missed payments as this is untrue. I never missed any payments, just disputed the £1200 charges. I also want to know if they can legally apply to make me bankrupt or use my property to claim the debt. I also want to know if this will still be removed 6 years after default or if I now have to wait another 5 years as Hamptons have recently falsely updated my credit file.

    Look forward to your responses.

    Hi 22visual,

    If you'd like me to get this looked into for you could you email me with your details via the link in our profile here?

    All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it will take you to the Contact us form on our website.

    To ensure that it reaches me could you also quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line and once our automated reply arrives update the thread with your email reference number and I'll get back to you as soon as possible?

    Kind regards,

    Lee

    Web Relations Team

    Vodafone UK
    Official Company Representative
    I am the official company representative of Vodafone. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
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