Hi all I'm looking for advice on defaults / credit reports / scores as I'm getting totally confused. First a bit of history. Back in 2004 I got in a right mess with several different lenders totalling over 35K, all personal loans, CC's. I entered into a DMP with Payplan & although the first few years were a bit up & down, I finally finished that in May last year. During that time some of the debts were sold on to collection agencies, some were passed to other lenders when they were taken over, an Egg loan being one example. Because of the way the debts were handled, defaults were issued at different times, but the very last one has it's 6th birthday tomorrow. I have just done the free 30 day trial with Equifax & indeed only the one default shows, but they give me a credit score of 359. I read on here people with much more on their reports with higher scores, so I'm a little confused. CheckMyFile has my score with Equifax at 545. I am waiting for reports from Experian & Callcredit. Currently my report show's me up to date with Vodafone, Capital One CC, a new Capital One CC approved in the last couple of weeks, and no problems with my bank acc's, all this with no payments missed. It also shows one of my old debts with Northern Rock as 'arrangement to pay' but settled last year. Lastly it shows a settled loan with Co-Operative & a settled utility with BT. I am on the electoral register, havn't moved for 19 years so all good there. My red bits in Equifax score is the one default which reports an unpaid amount of £2200. This is all paid & done with & as of thursday no longer a part of my history, so should I expect to see a big improvement in my score? Many thanks in advance

Having stumbled across the LearnMoney link Im going to pursue this myself, but I was wondering if anyone could advise on a couple of issues first. Some of my debts have been sold to DCA's who have issued defaults against me according to my credit file. Now these debts were sold two years after I started a DMP with Payplan. Ive no doubt the original lender issued a default, but I fail to see how the DCA's have. I never owed them the money initially & I havn't missed a payment via Payplan either. Some advice before I proceed gratefully accepted. TIA

Hi all Long time since I posted here, although I do read a lot of the boards. Im posting now for a bit of info / advice, but first some background info.. In 2004 I entered a DMP with Payplan & despite a few bumps in the early day's, it's ticked along nicely. Ive now gone from owing 40k down to 5K & will finish payments towards the end of next year, maybe earlier if I have sufficient funds & creditors agree to a final payment. My circumstances from then to now have changed 100%. Whereas I was on small wages & owing a lot, I now earn very well with little outstanding debt and I now need to repair my credit rating. Im not looking to take out massive debts again, Ive learnt a hard lesson, but I want to be able to get accepted for medium sized loans from mainstream lenders. I have a very old car for instance that will need replacing soon. I signed up with Credit Expert for a while, but to be honest its not that much of a tool & after being bombarded with phone calls regarding loans & mortgages from some finance broker they in bed with, I asked them to shut my account. I paid for a credit score while on there, 797 which surprised me, but I doubt enough to be accepted for credit. Also all but one of my accounts that are handled through Payplan are shown as default, the one other showing as satisfactory & being in a DMP. I have this year successfully applied for a Capital One CC, which I only use to pay for petrol & I pay the balance in full by DD every month, so that shows as an active & properly maintained account. Are there anymore things I can be doing to get more creditworthy while I head towards the end of my DMP? TIA for any help.

Hi all Not updated this thread because theres nothing to add until today. NR did recieve the CCA request & replied saying it would be sent seperately, tho still hasnt arrived. Following vandermerwe's advice to write to them about the 'overdue payment' letters they were sending, I used the template in the library & today I recieved a letter saying they are willing to continue with reduced payments for a while.. Dunno if they playing silly buggers or what, but its a bit of a relief that they seem to have come round.. Keep up the good work all

Hi Yup I sent it recorded delivery, £1.04 exactly.. Royal Mail website just says:- Address it was sent to was the one NR put on their letter:- Northern Rock Personal Loans Northern Rock plc Selectapost 19 Rotherham S97 3DG

Hi all Small question.. I sent the CCA request last wednesday, recorded delivery, with a PO for £1. I been checking the Royal Mail website to track it, but still no details. Anyone else had any probs like this, or am I just bloody unlucky, & should I send it again? Cheers jga

Hi all Just a little question.. Ive got an 'overdue payment' letter from NR asking me to phone them with an explanation of how I intend to clear the arrears, which are the difference between the DMP payment & the correct monthly payment, for one month. Now I now know phoning is a no-no, so do I write to them? All a bit futile really as they know full well what the answer is, but I was wondering do I reply just to keep everything above board? Thanks

Hi Thanks for this post Van. Reading some of the replies after yours it seems theres not really much to choose between Payplan, CCCS & National Debtline. I will take your advice though & get in touch with them, just to see if theres anything they can come up with that Payplan hasnt, keep all avenues open and that.. Ive just updated my own thread with my latest news HERE

Hi all Well Ive sent off the CCA today, we'll wait & see what happens on that. Been in contact with the housing assoc & all they say is the mortgage company has 1st charge, them 2nd & any loan against the property comes after that. I think they are a bit confused so Ive dropped them another email explaining its an unsecured personal loan, that they are threatening to go for a charge with, wait & see what their reply to that is. Had an 'Overdue Payment' letter from NR today for the difference between what I pay through the DMP & what the monthly repayment should be. Just asks me to phone & advise on how I intend to clear the arrears.

lou, I know where your coming from with Payplan. Ive been with them just over 3 years & again my case officer has changed. I sometimes get the feeling that they are so overwhelmed with work that they cannot cope. I have one particular creditor that is refusing to accept reduced payments anymore, threatening legal action by way of seeking a charge on my property. Payplan's response to my emails on this are, 'well we spoke to them but if you cant afford to make the full payments theres nothing more we can do' All a bit worrying. But folks here are superb, have a good read up & take their advice, Ive learnt a lot from this site & with the guidance offered here Im sure we will all see some light.

I havnt yet gizmo, been one of those days, but its on my to-do list for tomorrow, I will definately call them.

OK, CCA request is going off tomorrow. Im going to give National Debtline a call tomorrow or email tomight, its just so frantic trying to fit it all in around work. But Ive finally had a reply from Payplan to the emails ive sent on this & this was their reply:- So thats it? Payplan wash their hands of it? I really dont know what to do now..

There was never a defined time frame on it. Did a financial statement, had to re-assess it after 2 years, been on the current level for 15 months. My situation has improved a bit & I have told Payplan a new financial statement will be with them for increased payments in September, will amount to apx 10% increase. I will try & get in touch with them tomorrow, but its a near impossible task getting through on the phone.

Thx for the replies guy's, I'll get straight onto this. One other question. As I mentioned I have a DMP with Payplan & tho they been ok is there anything or anyone better that I could deal with, maybe have more influence? Not for one minute suggesting Payplan are not up to the job, but sometimes I get the feeling they are overstretched & that I may be better off using someone else.

I have, but its complicated. I have a shared ownership property, I own 50%, the other 50% owned by a housing assoc. So its leasehold & the terms of the lease prohibit me from borrowing on the equity other than for emergency items such as a replacement central heating system.