Hello,

Sorry that my question is a little basic but like most new people im having trouble getting my head around the rules. Plus i have terrible baby brain at the moment!

After a long 6 years of repairing my credit history (which is now in the excellent category! ) I have just checked my equifax report, as i will shortly be needing to apply for a mortgage, to find out that I can still view old credit agreements including late payments and a default which stretch back past the 6 year limit. are equifax displaying this information on my credit checks and are they allowed to? should i be applying for them to remove it?

Also does the six year limit date from the last acknowledgement of payment, or the default notice? i.e. if the last payment in relation to a debt was paid in July, the first non payment in August and the Default to a DC in Nov, when would it become written off?

Email or call them and theyll update their records. If its been more than 6 years, then it will drop off. Sometimes the entires just need a little push. The 6 year timer starts from the moment the entry is listed on the report. No matter what happens, it gets removed on the 6 year mark and cannot be relisted.

Thanks renegadeimp,

After looking a bit more am i right in understanding the account information becomes invisible on credit checks 6 years after its last entry even if i can see it myself?

So technically accounts that were settled and ended in 06 but I can still see all payment history for since 2004 will become invisible in sept 2012?

And my larger worry...

The defaulted account....

1. last acknowledgement and payment made in July 06, thus this month am i right in thinking it becomes statute bared?

2. Default issued in Nov 06, so does this mean i have to wait until December 12 until it becomes invisible and i can apply for a mortgage or credit card (not that i want or need to use a credit card, just to help things on their way) even though i have a higher than average credit rating?

Nope. If its listed, then ANYONE can see it who is searching your file. When they drop off, they vanish. To everyone including yourself.

Remember, its from the date of default. If there are bad payment markers for more than 6 months before the 6 years are up, then you should really get in touch with the compliance manager or ICO, as a default needs to be recorded within 6 months of the incident that caused the non payments.

So in answer to your questions:

1. It will drop off your file this month and will become SB. Howeever, creditors can still chase the debt, but not enforce it through court. If this happens, simply send them the SB letter from the library on CAG, and that will be the end of that debt.

2. Yep.

In regards to you getting a mortgage, it is unlikely you will get one unless you get a guarantor or your partner has a good record. This is because the majority of lenders are now looking at 3-6 years of clear and good credit history now to even consider giving people a mortgage.

Your credit score is not a end all be all solution. It is simply a guide for lenders searching your file. Most lenders have their own comprehensive inhouse system in place. You could be denied for having a CCJ, default ( even though it expires this month), you could even be denied for having 1 late payment marker on your account. It is completely up to the lender how they score your file. The CRA's credit score is meant as a very relaxed guide.

So technically im debt free from the end of this month . But if i have to wait a couple more months to apply for stuff, then thats what ill do.

Stupidly i let an ex take advantage of my name when i was younger and have been clearing it up ever since, a very hard lesson to learn.

I will check back in september to ensure that the old settled accounts are beginning to drop off and then again in december to check that the default has gone, if not i will contact equifax to get it removed. Apart from that my credit history is lovely and shiny and has been since 2006.

Thanks ever so much for your kind advice!

If the debt that reaches its 6th birthday expires this month is your only one on the file, then yes. Just remember, on their 6th birthday they go, but sometimes the CRA's can be slow to update their records. Sometimes taking 2-4 weeks. Thats why i said, give them a week after the expiry then ask them to update.

Make sure you check all 3 agencies, just to make sure that all entries line up and there arent any entries that have been made with different dates or without your knowledge.

will do!

cheers!

The fact that a default entry is removed after 6 years may not

necessarily mean that the debt is statute barred you need to check

the dates of the last payment and or written acknowledgment of the

debt.

Remember also that until you inform the creditor in writting that the

debt IS statute barred and you will therefore not be paying they can

still press for payment, but cannot enforce the debt in court.

You will see historic entries on your files.

Credit scores are a day to day indication for You to see how yo may be considered

for credit.

Right, so historic entries even if they stretch back prior to the 6 years are still visible then and thus i and other people will always be able to see them?

I am certain of the July date for it becoming statue barred as it was the last date that anyone acknowledged it by payment or in writing, i have checked. I made sure of this a few years back when i found out what had happened and they were in fact chasing me and not the **** bag whose debt it actually was (i was such i naive child when i was younger, hence the awful mess i let myself get into). Anyway i found my way here, and thank god I did because the advice and support i received not to mention the wonderful resources the kind people have supplied for others to use helped me successfully halt the DCAs from bothering me again by issuing them with a CCA and then an account in dispute letter. If they try coming after me now i will get the statute bared letter off to them so fast it will make their heads spin.

Ive done my time now, and ive been good and learnt my lesson. i have learnt to save, dont rely on credit (only having the bare minimum to repair and keep my credit rating ticking over) and never buy when i cant afford it. I want to be able to get on with my life now and build a safe home for myself and my new family, hence the fact i am trying to plan the exact time when i can apply for a mortgage so i am not hindering our chances of being successful.

So to recap then....

the defaulted account will be statute barred from the end of July, the default will expire at the end of November, and I can apply for a mortgage in December without the fear of the default appearing on my now otherwise spotless for 6 years credit history? Should i or should i not be able to see the default after the beginning of December so i know whether to get onto the CRAs to remove it?

Other people cant see them once theyve fallen off.

If they coulld there would be little point with the 6 year removal rule.

excellent

They are there for your gudance and can useful if ''old''

matters suddenly show up again, as they often do.

I have a very similar case to indigo_child.

The default was recorded as of October 2006 and after 6 months the debt was transferd to a collection agency. Under the threat of getting a CCJ, I agreed to make payments to clear the outstanding amount of £100 a month. As the rest of my history is now virtualy perfect, I have still been making the payments so as not to damage my credit history again.

By reading your replies on this thread, would I be correct in assuming that I need no longer to make payments after November 2012, by simply sending a SB letter?

NO if you have been making payment the debt IS NOT STATUTE BARRED.

Definition OF STATUTE BARRED IS:- NO payments to the account to any creditor for 6 clear years and or NO written acknowledgment of liability.

Just because a defaulted debt is removed from CRA files DOES NOT MEAN IT IS STATUTE BARRED all defaults are removed after 6 years PAID OR NOT>

Many thanks for that.

Is there a legal minimum amount that has to be paid to these agencies?

As the outstanding amount is intrest free and although I have made offers to them in the past to clear the balance (which have been refused), I have no real problems in making them wait for their money.

Pay what you can realistically afford. DOnt just pay the bare minimum if you can afford more, especially if your creditors start asking for I&E forms or budget summaries.

Ok

Advice taken on board.

Many thanks to all.

Just note DCAs/Creditors can request I&E BUT they do not have the right to denand it, it is your money you decide what you can reasonably afford to pay!

I have the same issue - I contacted Checkmyfile about this & they told me that the entries do not fall off after 6 years; the account (& all entries) show up until 6 years after the account is closed! Is this true? It means that for me bad debt is going to show for a lot longer than 6 years after it happened - eg late payments in 2006, but did not close the accounts until 2009. Can I do anything about this? I have contacted Equifax and have had no response. Thanks!

ALL DEFAULTED ACCOUNT are removed on the 6th aniversary of the default date, if an account is NOT Defaulted it will remain for 6 years after the date of settlement or closure..

Was that account defaulted or not????

No, not defaulted. So I guess this means that they stay for 6 years after closure then - ie it would have been better to default than to try to keep up payments after I got into arrears...brilliant.

Thanks for your help.

I'm afraid so yes!

First time on the forum but hoping someone can clarify info for me please. Ive looked recently at my credit file and there are a couple of defaults dating back to 2007, obviously I now know they will be removed after 6 years but I am paying a DCA every month towards these debts as they were sold on to them from the original creditor. Financially things still arent good but what rights do they have to take me to court if I can no longer continue to repay them seems as they are not my original creditor. I am getting to my wits end trying to maintain payments and every day bills......... Id aprpeciate some advice, thank you.

The entries will be removed on the 6th anniversary of the default as you say.

Have you had any statements from the DCA, do you know how much is still owed?

yes, a substantial amount of money, from what I can afford to pay them it will never get paid off in my lifetime on one and slightly less on the other one. They are managed by two diffeerent companies the larger debt is from a company who are pretty easy to deal with when it comes to DCA the other one are more persistant if you are a day late you get 20 phone calls.