Orange or Equifax to blame??

[smel24]

This is weird....

I first wrote to Orange requesting my Copy of Default Notice and £1 to receive a letter back saying:
"I wish to confirm that we have not recorded a default status as you have suggested".

So excitedly I telephone Equifax to ask about how I can have a mistake changed on my credit being that I had it in writing from Orange. The woman on the phone explained to me that although it says 'default' on the account it actually means 'delinquent' account i.e. I missed 4 or more payments on a row and that this cannot be removed.

Now I'm confused as it clearly says default in black and white on my file so how can it mean another?? Was the Equifax woman just trying to get me off the phone??

The second confusion is that at the end of Orange's letter it contradicts itself by saying:
"The account will remain on your credit file for six years from the date of the default".

I want to reply to Orange and ask plainly did they apply a default or not but I wonder if Equifax are correct in telling me that they don't it's just interpretted that way from the account not being paid.

What do I do??

I'm sure this affects everyone else if what the Equifax woman says is true.

[LondonPam]

It is important to understand that being in default and having a default notice served on you are two entirely different things. Does Equifax state you are in default or a default notice has been served ? As the person from Equifax says, being in default is simply not being up to date with payments (delinquent), a default notice is a legal statement and will have been sent to you from Orange.

[smel24]

Now that I understand, thank you LondonPam!

Well at least myself and my boyfriend have less default notices than we originally thought

Equifax did say it was a defaulted account and NOT a default notice. However, I read my credit file as it was a default so will companies do the same?

[buzby]

Unfortunately, the term default has further opportunities for confusion as will be found when there are payment issues with contracts are not CCA regulated. A mobile firm can text to say your account is delinquent and they are treading your contract as being in Default... which legally means nothing - but the CRAs note it in the same way as if you received a formal CCA Default Notice, which would have to have been in a letter formally sent to your with notice of how to remedy it. Either way, it is the consumer who suffers.

[smel24]

Thanks for this useful information Busby, I didn't realise quite how confused the CRA's system is regarding credit not under the CCA.

So what option does this leave for consumers? Obviously I have no default with Orange but it shows as I do.
Is my only option to add a note to this part of my credit file to state that it was deliquent at this time and not an official default?

Cheers!

[buzby]

You can do this, but the only person who will read this Notice of Clarification is you, or a creditor doing a manual search (hardly any do). These searches are automated and these manual Notes are not seen. To be fair, delinquent/default are terms that are used interchangeably and in the scale of things, on its own won't mean much.