No advice from anybody?

Sure. I don't have a default, my main aim to to get the arrears markers removed from my file (1 - 4 months in arrears) as it is damaging my credit profile. These late markers are from late payments to a HP agreement of £98 a month, but then I was charged £25 per letter and £10 per telephone call made to me from RFS. The cash aspect I'm not too bothered about, although it would be a bonus if I got it.

Thanks for the help guys, I have already drafted off a SAR and will be sent tomorrow morning. Is there any other avenue I can take regarding disputing the default notice?

I received this from NatWest: Some advice would be appreciated: This is for a student account overdraft that was closed by them citing account inactivity. At the time I was still a student and therefore asked to pay by instalments to which they agreed. However, they also defaulted my account but I did not receive any notice of this. Any advice appreciated.

I have justed ordered another Equifax report only a couple of weeks after the last one and the Natwest default has been put back on. Can they do that?

I have previously sent a couple of letters to Renault Financial Services Limited and now I have received this as a reply, I then sent a reply to this letter but have heard nothing since. I am now contemplating sending a LBA next and already I have a draft letter set up but I wanted some opinions of those with more experience first on how to proceed; here goes: In reply to this I sent photocopies of the statements I received from the former RFS Limited detailing letter and telephone charges of £25 and £10 respectively making up charges of over £600. I also asked to remove late charges on my credit file (numerous 1-4 month arrears markers). How would you guys proceed?

Wow.. I just signed up! Thanks for the head up!

I have just checked my Callcredit report as well... the NatWest default is not on there either!! Woohoo.. fingers crossed it's off forever!

I have just started a dispute with Natwest regarding a default placed on my student overdraft account. I wrote letters and they wrote back with the usual s.77 clauses does not require this and that (blah, blah...) and also that the account is settled and therefore no longer needs to adhere to the CCA as well as the fact, combined with the above they also write: This appears to be the normal fob-off that most people receive and I was expecting to mount a replay playing the Data Protections card, but upon checking my credit file today from Equifax - I find no mention of the Natwest default anywhere?! All records of Natwest and the default have disappeared it seems and my credit score has increased by 3 points (wow! ) So my question is - is this a clerical error? Have Equifax forgot to include it? Or can these things only disappear if NatWest tells them to remove it? Meaning that the default is free from my file forever? (Hooray!) And now with this report it doesn't show it, can they put it back on again in my next report? I'm confused as to why it is gone because the NatWest letter sent to me didn't say anything about removing the default and appears as a standard reply. Any help much appreciated!

Does that mean no one ever has to pay a student loan back if no payment is made within 6 years? That doesn't sound right?

I'm not too sure on the legalities of this situation but I do know that the change of accounts from 'Student' to 'Standard' is normal. You don't get a 'new' account, your current account just changes 'type'. I think it's usually accepted (not 100% sure if it's in the T&C's though) that you can only get student accounts if you are still a student and once you leave, you get transferred to a normal account (usually automatically after 3 years). I had a similar problem with you. I was on a 4 year masters course and skipped a year therefore was technically a student for 5 years. HSBC wanted to change my account from a student account to a standard account at the end of year 3 but I went to the my bank (HSBC) and asked them to extend the status (i.e. keep the overdraft interest free) until I actually graduate. They required me to provide proof I was still a student (a stamped letter from my university) before they would extend it. When it eventually did change into a normal account, the account number stays the same.

I am really confused... I have recently obtained my credit rating from Equifax and it appears in the last year I have 'only' increased my rating by 4 points from 298 to 302 taking my rating from 'very poor' to 'poor'! Despite trying to follow all the 'advice' and 'guides' I read and research about it doesn't appear to be helping. I am not in debt, not now and never was. I am a HSBC Premier customer with 2 current accounts and associated free overdraft facilities but yet I still can not obtain credit... the only one I have is a Capital One card which I have been using for the past year to rebuild credit worthiness - paying in full and on time of course - but that does not seem to have helped so I have applied again to other forms of credit with the only one accepting me being Vanquis (not even Barclaycard Initial accepted me). The problem is I 'appear' to have had bad credit in the past relating to a CCJ of £400 and a default of £1300, but both of these are not what they appear and certainly was not the result of me getting into money trouble. The CCJ (settled) was for home internet. I paid for internet services for the family home prior to going to university, and when I moved out I didn't change names because the bills would be paid by parents per invoice, what I hadn't realised was that my brother proceeded in install a faster second line and didn't cancel or ask me to cancel the existing line. Thus the final yearly bill came and just sat there at home not being paid whilst I was a university. When I eventually came home at some point and realised I have a due amount, I paid in full ASAP not realising the full extent of what a CCJ meant at that time(it was also after the 1 month period). Now this stays on my credit file and looks like I didn't pay up when in fact I didn't actually know I had to. The default is for a NatWest student account where I was creative with money and used the interest free overdraft to my advantage, consequently NatWest closed the account because it was 'inactive'. I tried to explain to it wasn't inactive, I didn't go over my limit - NatWest appeared to have closed it down because they didn't like the way I was using it? Now me being me I told them I was a student and wouldn't be able to pay off £1300 in one go so I asked if I could pay via instalments. They agreed and I have paid it off. What I didn't know what that they defaulted me too? What for I don't know, I didn't go over my limit, I wasn't in money trouble, they just didn't like how I wasn't using the account day in day out. Now sorry for the looonnng post, but what I fail to understand is how come my credit rating is not improving, the only bad marks I see are these two.. I make all payments on time, for all credit cards I have and mobile phone bills etc and there is nothing else on my file that is adverse. Does that mean I have to wait a full 6 years before I am considered 'debt free' even though I have never been in debt before???

Background: I was a student and as such opened a student current account with NatWest (NW) back in 2000. In November 2004, I found out quite by accident that NW had closed my account, I remember not a single warning via letter that this was going to happen. When I spoke to them they said it was closed because my account appeared inactive. Even when I explained to them it was still in use, they said they couldn't do anything and I had to repay them the sum of £1,329.91 of overdraft. I wasn't in financial difficulty but as a student with limited income, I asked if I could pay in instalments. They agreed and I was contacted by First Credit Management Ltd (FCM) and began making monthly payments of £20 to them. I duly paid as agreed each month and when I left university and started working I settled the account in full with a lump sum payment of £780 in November 2006. I asked FCM for confirmation of all amounts paid (similar to a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) I guess) and confirmation that the total balance of £1,329.91 was settled in full with my final payment and that was duly sent. No hassles I thought... I was wrong! Today: With recent checks to my credit file I have found that NW has defaulted my overdraft account dated November 2004. But the problem was that no matter how much I rack my brains to remember if that word was even mentioned in any correspondence with NW, I can't. I talked to Equifax who were utterly useless; I asked them to query this default with NW, and the reply I got from Equifax was that the default stands because NW told them it was valid! - it appears that no evidential data was ever produced it substantiate the default was ever asked for or shown to Equifax. Firstly, I assume that this default is incorrect because I never received a signed default notice from NW? And to see if NW has one I wrote this letter to them and sent it today via recorded delivery. I used a standard template. Even though this forum is a great help, I'm unsure on some specifics though. 1. As this is an overdraft, I understand this differs from a proper credit agreement - but how would this affect my default claim? 2. I have already repaid the full amount - will this show I acknowledge the debt/default status at that time? (even though I wasn't aware of it). 3. Irrespective of whether there exists a CCA or not, if a signed default notice can not be produced, do I still have grounds for having it removed from the credit file? and finally 4. Did NW originally have ground grounds for defaulting me when I technically didn't default on credit? They closed my account themselves saying they thought the account was inactive not because I wasn't paying them what I owed etc? Thanks for looking and I'll reply back with a NW replay. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as well.

I am browsing the forums for some help on on overdraft defaults and am surprised to see this as it is exactly what has happened to me.. to the letter! I was a student with a student account at Natwest in which they unexpectedly (to me) cancelled my account citing inactivity as a reason. I wasn't in financial difficulty but still as a student, I agreed to pay them back over a set term... which I have and is settled... early as well. It wasn't until recently, after looking at my credit status that I found out Natwest had issued a default on my account. No notice of the default was given or even mentioned at all before! I would be interested in finding out how you are getting on with this.

Thanks for you help and replies guys. I admit that I needed to pay the amount, and I was happy to pay it in full as soon as found out about it. The problem was, I didn't actually see any documentation until after 6 months of the deadline because it was sitting in a different address to where I was living at the time. If I had received it where I could see it, I would've paid it off within a month, which qualifies for its full removal from the credit records if I am not mistaken?

Hi, thanks for looking in. I have 2 problems on my credit file as shown by Equifax. I have one CCJ for the sum of £421 - this was settled approximately 6 months after I received the notice and the reason this was paid 6 months after was because I didn't receive the notice at my then current residence (I lived in London) but my parents address (who don't open my mail). I also have a default from Natwest bank for about £1027 - settled as well. I'm not even sure if the Natwest default is a 'proper' default as they decided to close my account because they said it hadn't moved in 6-12 months and I in my interest-free student overdraft (not over limit) - I used this account as my yearly deposit account for student loans and rent/university fees payable - hence it didn't move a lot anyway. Apparently they sent a default notice to my parents address but I have never seen one and I contacted Equifax to check this out but they just got back to me saying that this default stands because Natwest told them so (no physical evidence). Because of this I took out a Cap1 card and have had it for 12 months now with a £400 limit, I use it every month and pay it in full every month to try and increase my credit limit. Currently my score stands at 310 - Poor, this is after a year and I have no late payments on any account anywhere... Can someone please explain how I am suppose to improve my credit rating? I even applied for a Vanquis card and it seems I've been referred? My questions really are - can I get the CCj set aside because it was sent to my non-current address and I paid it off in full as soon as I realised I had one? And secondly, does Natwest closing my account constitute a default? Technically, I haven't breached any agreement, I wasn't over my OD limit and I was still using the account (but not as much as they would like), they just decided to close it? Thanks in advance.

Not sure what to suggest here but one advice I always heed myself is to never even entertain anybody who calls your mobile number asking if you want an upgrade! They are never from Orange directly (I've had the same account with them since 1999) but always third party resellers offering loads of deals... these people I find are not trustworthy and are cold calling just to make a sale. Obviously the final contract may be with Orange themselves, but you didn't actually buy it direct from Orange. (p.s. not being too rude but the use of paragraphs do help if you want people help and to read after the first few lines or so without falling out of their chairs with head pain! )

If you haven't paid yet, why don't you try talking to them and telling them (not asking) that you will pay the outstanding amount immediately (remind them of the pros) if they take the default off your account (tell them it will have no effect on them, but your failure to pay the outstanding amount will). Get them to send out confirmation in writing and then do as you agreed and pay them. Obviously, you have to convince them to agree but there is no harm in trying is there?

I recently found out I had defaulted on an old Orange account so I decided to use Equifax to sort it out. They gave me the same response as many have already heard on these forums; that mobile phone contracts do not fall under the CCA and therefore they do not need to abide by these regulations. I even tried calling directly but the operator at the end of the phone was obviously not qualified (or senior) enough to make any changes and churned the same spiel they were obviously trained to say. I then took the 'it wouldn't hurt' approach after exhausting other options and tried just to ask them to remove it. This is what I wrote: I sent it, recorded of course, and forgot about it. Well today I received a letter from Orange, and this is what it said: It worked for me, so maybe it can also work for you too?

Although I don't regularly post (there is so much information here that I felt it was unnecessary to ask when I can search) I use this forum a lot. But now I have come to a situation where I can not seem to find a definite answer too. The background: I had an Orange contract which I held for many years and paid on time every bill each month. I decided to cancel the contract about a year ago and did so normally, but I was unaware of an outstanding amount of £18 was still on the account. I didn't realise this until 6 months later and immediately paid it off. I now have a default registered on my credit file, although I do not remember ever receiving a default notice. So I got Equifax to look into it for me and this is the reply I received from Orange. Is this true? More specifically, does the default on my account still stand even though they are not under the CCA and I never received a default notice? Any help is appreciated.

Thank you for your reply; now I know that it can be done I will carry on with the claim. Are there any successful RFS Ltd claimants here? I also want to clarify; is it still possible to claim when I settled my account in full a year ago (October 2005)? Is it too late?

Hi everyone, I just chanced upon this site very recently and am excited at what I read on these forums. I was in debt after finishing university but nothing I couldn't handle. I am now 100% debt free but worse off for wear in that I now have a low, low credit score (Equifax: 283). Nothing that time and a bit of financial sense can't cure. One of the major headaches during my period of financial difficulty was for a loan of amount £3,000 (over 3 years) for my car. Like I said, I fell on difficult times during the last year of university and thus couldn't keep up with payments in a regular fashion. I regularly couldn't/ pay for 1, 2 or 3 months at a time but would then pay of the outstanding amount; this cycle continued for just over a year. But although I was relatively upfront with my financial status, RFS Ltd (the company that I used) still would call me and send me letters, in which they charged me £25 each time! I eventually settled the whole outstanding amount of ~£1,100. Now, I have a set of statements and upon reading around this site decided to total up the amount of charges that RFS Ltd charged me.. the total comes up to ~£650. £650 is over half of my outstanding amount.. no wonder I couldn't keep up with payments! What I would like to know is how would my claim differ from in this case than for requesting the charges be refunded from a bank? Does the OFT ruling apply to charges applied from companies such as RFS Ltd and is the procedure and regulations the same? Any help would be appreciated.