I had a loan via satsuma loans (provident financial ltd) I started to find unaffordable. I did the right thing and rather than paying late I contacted them being honest and setup a payment agreement, which I have stuck to 100% and not missed a single payment since it was setup in may 2017. Despite this and the fact ive made major strides to improve my debt handling and credit record over the last 12 months its still had something dragging it down and ive just found out that its provident financial ltd. The record for them on my credit file is still showing as per the original loan agreement which I haven't been paying for almost 12 months now however this is no longer valid as the new payment agreement I had with them superseded this original agreement which explains why I haven't been making payments towards it. I have requested via experian and noodle that satsuma update this record to reflect the new agreement but they have refused to do so. My question is, is this legal? I dont see how when ive setup a payment agreement with a company's approval that the original payment agreement is still valid as surely you cannot have 2 payment agreements with 1 company for 1 loan.. ...the payment agreement I setup surely supersedes the original one? and I dont see how its fair that im being penalised for late payments on a loan agreement I no longer have any agreement to pay. this whole thing has utterly tanked my credit file despite the fact ive worked really hard over the last year to sort myself out and until I find someway to correct it it will keep on tanking my credit file. So just wondering what my options are here? Is there anyway I can force satsuma to update my file to show the new agreement rather then the out of date invalid one? Can I get some advice please?

Hi All New to forums, so please move if I have posted in the wrong place. Thank you in advance for any comments. Introduction My wife (38) and I (44) are currently in a joint ownership mortgaged property, in a debt management plan, with defaults on bank loans and credit cards. We both have good earning potential and hope to remortgage in approximately 2 years (after April 2019/20) to achieve full ownership. Current financial position Our current property is in my wife's name. It's a joint ownership (50%) 3 bed semi. Our 50% is valued at around £85k. We have £18k o/s on the mortgage and a further £6k charge on the property from Cabot re: an old CCJ that is no longer on the wife's credit history. Approximately £60k equity. Wife is in long term permanent employment earning £32k per annum. Husband is Director of own Ltd Company. Currently in year 1 with expected earnings of around £28k (£8k salary + £20 dividends). First year end is April 2018. Current debt position We currently have around £20k of debt under a debt management plan. Two years ago my wife was ill and I was made redundant. Rather than bury our heads in the sand, we tried to deal with our creditors, asking for payment holidays or help with interest payments. We tried to consolidate but none were helpful. Despite being pro-active, they all served us with defaults. Below are the debts showing as default on our credit check. The bottom two credit cards show as "up to date" but when you drill down it shows the payment with "DM" next to it for debt management. Type of debt Amount £ Default date 6 year date Bank o/d 742 28/08/2012 28/08/2018 Bank o/d 998 29/08/2012 29/08/2018 Bank Loan ,627 31/12/2012 31/12/2018 Credit Card 2,617 29/01/2013 29/01/2019 Credit Card 1,716 27/03/2013 27/03/2019 Credit Card 424 06/12/2013 06/12/2019 Credit Card 1,494 28/12/2016 28/12/2022 Credit Card 1,948 28/12/2016 28/12/2022 Bank o/d 325 22/02/2017 22/02/2023 Credit Card 1,819 up to date - DM Credit Card 4,013 up to date - DM 20,723 The default date is from our credit reports and I have added on 6 years as I believe/hope the debts will drop off our credit reports after this date (?). Plan A What we would like to do is buy a full ownership in approximately 2 years. My wife's earnings will be around £35k, and I expect my earnings to be around £45 (£8k salary + dividends). We hope to borrow in the region of £300k and use our equity to spend around £330k and pay off the rest of the debt. If my understanding is correct, debts older than 6 years won't show on our credit history, so we would spend the next two years paying off the more recent debts, so that our credit check is clear (ish). We would clear the old debts with the remortgage. Plan B Our current property is owned 50% and we could buy the other 50% at a good rate from the Housing Association. Because of the work we have done to the house, I hope we could buy the other 50% for around £75k and have full ownership of a house worth between £190 and £200k (at a cost to us of £160k). We would use this as a stepping stone to achieve PLAN A in roughly the same time frame. As the property is currently listed as 'affordable housing' I believe taking full ownership would allow us to potentially sell for more, and open up more options in terms of dealing with lenders, without the restrictions associated with joint ownership properties. Questions 1) Is the £6k debt to Cabot likely to affect future borrowing? It doesn't show on a credit check, but Cabot do have a charge against the property. 2) Husband is owner/Director of Ltd Company. Other than waiting for 2 year trading history and maximizing earnings from Company, is there anything else I should be doing over the next two years? 3) Will our defaults 'disappear' from our credit checks at 6 years old? Can they still affect our rating? 4) Is there any debts that should take priority over the others? 5) After April 2018, when I have been trading 1 year, would it be possible to buy the other 50% of our current property with the above credit history, equity and earnings? This could be an opportunity to clear off some of the debts to improve our position for the future. 6) Are their any considerations around 'help to buy' that we could take advantage of now and things we should/shouldn't do to jeopardize any opportunities? For example, I have never owned a house. Might this help me in getting 'help to buy'? 7) Do lenders ask for bank statements? Should we perhaps keep any unhealthy payments out of our main bank accounts? 8) Do we need to be concerned about our ages? 38 and 44? I would appreciate any thoughts, comments or suggestions. We are committed to paying off our debts and hopeful that we can achieve our goals. Thank you.

The Consumer Action Group Guide to understanding how the Credit Reference Agencies work. The guide to help you understand what Credit Reference Agencies are and how they impact on your lifestyle financial decisions and the information that is shared with Financial Institutions . Credit Reference Agencies.pdf

The Consumer Action Group Guide to understanding how the Credit Reference Agencies work. The guide to help you understand what Credit Reference Agencies are and how they impact on your lifestyle financial decisions and the information that is shared with Financial Institutions . Credit Reference Agencies.pdf

Morning All, I have been battling with Lowell for a few days now I am looking for a bit of advice. I'm not at all clued up on legal jargon so I'm not sure what to do next. In a nutshell, I'm a teacher just starting to think about buying a house. I've always paid off any contracts that I have and cancelled them under the 30 day grace period respectfully. Upon looking at my credit rating I noticed that it was horrendously low (503) I checked through Noddle why this was the case and Lowell have been defaulting two supposed debts... I have emailed Lowell asking what the debts are for the email states: Account Number Original Client Original Client Reference Current Balance Initial Contact Date 25* Three Mobile 9* £20.08 29th April 2013 15* Orange 7* £65.11 30th December 2013 The former Three Mobile account was opened on the 2nd April 2008. The client last receive payment for this on the 1st April 2011 for £20.08. The number associated with this is 0* the tariff was Broadband 5Gb (18/24 months). The balance is made up entirely of airtime debt. The former Orange account was opened on the 28th April 2009. The client last receive payment for this on the 7th March 2012 for £31.96. The balance is made up entirely of airtime debt. As you can see from the dates I have cancelled the contracts well over the 24months (I held them both for almost 3 years!) So when I cancelled I rung up and told them. I'm assuming they continued to bill me for an extra month. I asked for evidence of the Notice of Assignment. He has just forwarded two letters, not letter headed I might add with some glaring mistakes... This is the Orange letter: Dear Mr McGirr We hereby give notice of the assignment of the debt due to us (trading as "Orange") from you in respect of the balance of £65.11 outstanding on your account. On «ClientClRegdate» your account was sold to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd. It is essential that all future payments, correspondence or queries regarding this account be directed to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd quoting reference 1*. Contact Address: Enterprise House 1 Apex View Leeds LS11 9BH You'll notice the "On > as part of the letter... The second letter that was linked to the three account had the wrong address, four doors down. What are my next steps? I want this removed for my credit rating ASAP. it's 2008 !!! Thanks in advance, S

Hi all, After many long years, I am finally free from most of my problem debts and had expected my rating to improve dramatically. However despite this, it is still showing very poor on Noddle, Checkmyfile et al. I spoken with Checkmyfile for their view and think i know what the issue is. I lived in flat from Dec 2007 to April 2012 where most of my issues racked up - lost job, British Gas meant i stopped paying certain things to keep them off my back - stupid i know, but when backed into a corner not knowing the way out, i just acted. i finally moved from that address, provided a forwarding address and settled final bills. Fast forward to now, and i have found the following: - British Gas are still reporting two accounts at my old address with a late payment marker - These have been reported as late payment since 2012 - no default - According to the CRA, they are reported like active accounts - The gas account was settled at the time. These are two electricity accounts! - The late payment markers are the main reason for my very poor rating - all other accounts are in good shape! I've tried to contact BG four times in the past week with no joy. Only once did i speak with someone who said the accounts were so old, they didn't store any information on them. They did however show two electricity accounts that were in arrears to the tune of £243 and £262!! I was adamant that i had paid to which he said, there is no record of this and i would need to prove it. I've changed banks twice since 2012!! They have never called, emailed or sent a bill out to either the old address (which incidentally i still own but rent out, and has been leased since i left. The new tenant even changed to E-On) or the forwarding address i provided (my in-laws). I am confused by the fact that they have never added a default notice to my file or made contact. What is most worrying however is that I paid and settled the accounts but they have no record! BG made my life a misery and despite being away from them for years, they are still affecting me. My wife and I have tried to remortgage only to be refused - this is the reason!! The remortgage is critical as she is now on maternity leave with no income - I am supporting all three of us and the mortgage payments will go up from January. It gets better - I have a role in financial services and have worked hard to get into a senior position - a poor rating is not compatible with this role and means that my job is in jeopardy! We're now sick with worry at the worst possible time of year... Actions taken so far are: - I have sent a Section 10 DPA notice telling them they cannot share my personal information. Don't know if this will stop further damage. I have noted in this letter that their actions are unwarranted and are affecting not only myself but my wife, who was never linked to that address or these accounts. - Have also sent a complaint letter by email and post demanding they close accounts, clear balances and remove adverse credit file information. Has anyone else come across something like this themselves? Any advice as to how i can finally rid myself of these HELP! Thanks, Matt

Hi everyone After years of struggle and bad choices whilst being young, all of the defaults and old accounts have dropped off of my file. I was happy about this but I have just checked on clearscore and my score is still extremely low 313 ... can anyone tell me why? I haven't taken out any credit until a recent £500 PayPal credit. Please see screenshots attached (with private info cropped) What can I do to improve it? Many thanks

Hello All, Hoping this is in the correct forum. I am stuck in limbo with Lowell and 3 Networks with a default on a Pay as Go direct debit, which should not have been there. I called into the 3 Networks Store and asked for my direct debit to be cancelled, I also left £40 credit in that account. It was agreed into store that no money would be owed, I unfortunately do not have anything to back this up in writing I went to apply for a Mortgage last year and was told by the broker to check my credit rating, I checked my credit rating and seen 3 years of defaults for Lowell. I called Lowell up last may and they told me this was a 3 networks debt, I explained my case and Lowell told me to pay the £25 and all would be ok, that this debt would be cleared from my credit rating, it would take up to 50 days. I called Experian to see why this was not cleared as a default on my account, they said I would have to talk to 3 Networks as the default came from them. I spoke with 3 Networks, they understood the issue and want a letter from Lowell to say the debt has been cleared and that there has been a miss understanding, Lowell said they dont do that, however a lovely lady in customer service said she would try her best to talk to 3 Networks. Both Parties just need contact but either one will contact each other, is there a way to make them speak to each other and clear my default which should not have been there? This is the only default on my credit profile, will this affect my credit rating going for a Mortgage? Thanks for any help on this

After some research on here I now know the true horror of what Vodafone have done to me. To cut a very long story short my Vodafone account was closed early and paid up by me in June (so I thought) PAC code transfered all done. Goodbye Vodafone - hurrah! Get a letter in September saying I still owe £90odd . I have contacted them on many occasions saying please can I have an invoice so I can see why you think I owe this? Athough promised each time nothing received, next I get mail from debt collection and then black mark on my (previously perfect) credit history - Just as I'm apply for a mortgage! Thanks Vodafone!! they can say I owe them something , not produce an invoice to back this up and then ruin my chances of getting a mortgage with absolute and complete impunity! On the advice of my mortgage broker I paid the o/s amount to minimize the damage. When I did this I was told i could speak to the team that placed the marker against me as I wanted to explain it was paid late because vodafone did not supply me with the information required to resolve the dispute and therefore please remove it. After the amount was paid I was put through to sales! When I called back to try once again the line was dropped after 50 minutes . I just dont have to time to spend many more hours on the phone to receive empty promises. So even after paying an amount that im not sure I owe I still have got nowhere in clearing my name . Its shocking and I cant think of any other industry where people could behave like this and get away with it.

WRT135 [#10827333] This message is intended for Lee Vodafone Company rep as I require urgent help with an error made by Vodafone. Vodafone repeatedly and admittedly miscalculated my bill by failing to apply a Vodafone Ireland Plus Bolt on to my existing £20 all calls all texts 30 day rolling plan. Each month I would receive bills close to and above £400 which would be taken out of my account and only acknowledged and resolved upon my notification to them of the problem. This occurred for three months in a row. I resolved the issue, cancelled the contract and was emigrating to New Zealand. However, they made the same mistake again, I was not there to notify them of their mistake which they were already informed of repeatedly. They then attempted to charged me £435 for an invoice, sent a debt collector to pursue this whilst I was away and obtained a bad credit rating against me for the same miscalculated bill they had admitted, apologised for and rectified for the three months previous. I now need this resolved as soon as possible and as I cannot now get my graduate loan to do my masters this September until this unfair and unacceptable problem of my credit rating is resolved. I need this resolved immediately, I've contacted Quality Assurance but they take days to respond and my graduate loan deadline is the 14th of July 2015 for this to be resolved. Please help I need this resolved immediately. I am requesting the same assistance you have provided to so many others on this website to restore my credit rating and resolve this issue admittedly created by your company. Hi Lee I have an extremely urgent problem as a result of Vodafone's service that I would like you to help me resolve. I purchased a 30 day rolling contract in May 2014 at £20 per month for all calls and texts to Landlines and Mobiles in the UK. I then also purchased a £5 Vodafone Ireland Plus bolt on, to use those calls and texts to any number in the Republic of Ireland, whilst in Belfast or in Dublin. However the Bolt on was not applied correctly to my account, as whilst getting charged for all calls and texts in the UK, and to Ireland with the Ireland bolt on, I was being charged for each and every call and text made to the Republic of Ireland at an international rate. My bill was over £400 pounds when it should have been £30. Vodafone took this money out of my account, money which was set aside to pay rent and electricity bills. I notified them of their mistake. They recalculated and apologised profusely for their mistake. They then proceeded to make the same mistake in May, June, July and August. Each time they would take an inordinate amount of money out of my account, I would notify them of the problem, they would apologise for their failure to apply the Bolt on correctly and their resulting miscalculated bill. They would rectify it each month after my notification by way of a 2 to 3 hour phone call each month. However, last August, having cancelled the rolling 30 day contract in July I went to live in New Zealand. Your company had been aware of the problem of the misapplied Ireland Bolt on since may. I instructed them to resolve this problem and to cancel my account. I had left ample money in my UK account to pay for my final bill in June, and I had received £30 goodwill voucher as a result of my extremely difficult and expensive experience with your company. However and somewhat unbelievably, they yet again failed to apply the bolt on and sent a massively miscalculated bill in August and September, for the forth and fifth month in a row. The bill was for all the same problems they inadvertently created as before, charging me for each call and text made to Dublin, whilst charging me for a bolt on that was paid for to prevent any further fee for any such call or text. The bill came to £435. I was unaware of this issue as I had left to spend a year in New Zealand with my Girlfriend. I was however made aware of this issue late in August and early September and I was absolutely shocked and disappointed that such an error could occur again. I could not contact Vodafone constantly to remind them yet again of their repeated monthly mistake. After my attempts to contact them I expected as with the previous 3 months this would be resolved. But due to me being in the Southern Hemisphere at the time, I could not make constant calls to ensure they would do what they promised. I was then shocked even further to find that they had instructed a debt collection agency to obtain this massive, incorrect amount of money from me, resulting from their miscalculated bill, which they had miscalculated and apologised for for the past three months previous. I emailed to resolved the matter and expected Vodafone to resolve it also. I changed emails for work, and left notification to contact me if any other matters arose. However, now that I have returned to Belfast to complete a masters in Law, for which I have just been authorised a Graduate Loan from the bank, I have discovered that instead of resolving the matter, they have put a bad credit rating against me. This to me after admitting their mistake for months previous, to then make the same mistake again and try to force someone to pay for it, to then instruct a debt collection agency against that person and to then obtain a bad credit rating against them is an absolute disgrace. It is extremely unfair and I cannot not obtain my graduate loan until my bad credit rating is resolved. The deadline for obtaining my loan is next Tuesday the 14th of July and I cannot stress how much I need this resolved before then. It is important for my future and it is the reason I have returned home. Can you please help rectify this, by looking at my account, seeing their repeated mistakes and rectification of those mistakes and by examining the two miscalculated invoices to see the same mistake has been made and to rectify that. I need this resolved, and I need this credit rating restored immediately. The staff at Vodafone in Billing and elsewhere where shocked at my experience and have tried to resolve this by getting me to contact the Quality assurance team, but that takes days and I fear it will be too late. Can you please resolve this immediately or as soon as you possibly can. I will provide you with any details you need. My name is Fiachra. I can provide my date of birth, account and mobile number out of action at present) and all other personal details privately to you. If you could please get back to me as soon as possible I would really appreciate it. Yours sincerely, Fiachra

I have been an HSBC customer in three countries and I've never seen anything like this. Everything we do with HSBC UK seems to have a negative affect on our credit rating. I've never defaulted on a payment, and was planning to buy our place in a few months time. It's way beyond illogical, it's just plain ridiculous. I opened an HSBC Advance package a few months ago, as I was told that getting a credit card would help my credit rating, and help me secure a mortgage. I was offered a credit card limit for a few thousand pounds, but as I was not planning on using this that much, I opted to limit this to £1k. Recently, after checking my credit report, I noted that this "lower" limit is hindering my credit rating, so I tried to increase this, but now HSBC won't do it, as it's not yet passed 6 months since they did the credit check. I was never told that this lower limit would affect my credit score initially, so now I have to wait a few months to raise this. P.S. I was only told this after calling 3 times, and trying to do this twice on Internet Banking. my wife arrived in the UK (from being a loyal HSBC customer in Malta) in January. Upon arriving she opened a basic bank account with HSBC UK. Having waited the full 6 months to get upgraded to a standard bank account, she was told that she's not good enough to merit this. This is a professional earning over £30k per year (for the past 5 months), having a good credit history elsewhere within HSBC. This might be because as we got married a couple of months ago, she changed her surname earlier in the day (with the same person), thereby erasing any history HSBC had of her, and told her to wait for another... (wait for it) ...6 months. These people are beyond simply ridiculous. In the meantime, we were discussing how much of a mortgage we would be able to take. So obviously they told her that they wouldn't give her anything, even though we have over a 15% deposit, thus limiting severely our options. Furthermore, it seems that every HSBC person we speak to gives us advice which actually hinders our credit score and chance of getting a mortgage. Apart from that, we have been waiting for over a month for this bloody appointment, as they're always too busy... Please note that every time we speak with them, they do credit checks on us, affecting negatively our credit score, and any way I try to improve this score, I'm blocked off by my bank. This is a bank, I worked with in the UK (even though I wasn't here all the time) for almost 8 years, and who to this day treat me like I never existed and have to introduce myself like a new client every time I speak with them. They don't recognize my holdings elsewhere (including another HSBC Home Loan - yep, another mortgage, that's right...). Furthermore, my wife is in a position that she can't build a credit history with them, even though she already has one which they clearly trust elsewhere... My impression is clearly that these people won't help us buy a place, but actually hinder us in the process , by lowering our rating through useless checks which they do not proceed upon, even though we'd be very good clients (we're a couple of professionals, with over £60k of proven annual income). For that reason, we have no option but to look elsewhere where to bank. Clearly, we're not good enough as we're neither Mexican drug lords nor tax dodgers for HSBC Switzerland!

Good afternoon all, I was wondering if anyone could help. Last week my employer contacted me to say that they had received an Attachment of Earnings Order from the London Collection & Compliance Centre, relating to unpaid fines. I had no idea what this related to but after phoning them it transpired that the DVLA never received the change of address for my car when I moved in April 2014. As a result, I never received a car tax reminder in October and so only taxed my car at the end of December when it got clamped. However, unbeknown to me, the DVLA had already fined me twice but all correspondence had gone to my old address, as did the court summons for the unpaid fines. I have this morning been to Highbury Magistrates Court and had the convictions reopened and dismissed as I settled with the DVLA. I now have to wait 10-14 days and should get a refund on the amount that will be taken from my salary this week. My big concern is around my credit rating. Will the attachment of earnings affect this despite the fact that the convictions have now been dismissed. If so, is there anything I can do about it? Also, will these convictions show up on a CRB/DBS check or anything like that? Any help would be much appreciated

Hi All, I was hoping to get some advice on the best way to handle a dispute I have with Virgin Media, which is probably something I should have done a long time ago. About a year and a half ago I switched from Virgin to Sky and informed them in writing (as is their policy) but it they deny receiving this letter. I wrote to the most local office to me and addressed it to Customer Services. Two or three months went by and I noticed that Virgin were still charging me by Direct Debit. I canceled it through my bank and called Virgin up, informing them of the situation. This is when they told me they'd not received my letter and considered my cancellation date to be from that time. Their policy is to be informed a month in advance so they told me they're going to charge me for another month. I told them I wasn't going to pay that, we had a little to and fro in writing and over the phone - I told them if they felt they had a case to take me to court. I heard nothing from them since. Over the last few days I have looked into my credit status using Experian (who have been great) and it turns out that this has really damaged my credit rating. Currently it is ranked as "poor" and I can't seem to get credit from anyone. Experian tell me that this is one of the main reasons but there are a few other very old things that they are disputing on my behalf. I made my point clear to Virgin at the time that I didn't feel this was owed and if they felt otherwise, to forward me some kind of legal case. It turns out that they just decided to hurt my credit rating and never contact me again. Am I in the wrong here? I don't want to call Virgin up at this time because I will only be making the same points again and as far as my credit rating goes, seems like they have all the power. There's nothing new I can say to them aside from please stop hurting me. Will I have to bite the bullet on this and make a repayment offer. It's only over £88 but money's a really serious issue for me right now. What do you think? Am I going to have to pay them to improve my credit rating? Any input would really be appreciated.

Hi all, I have a query relating to my overall score on Noddle. I understand that score can be all but ignored because it has no relevance to financial institutions, but still I wondered if anyone could offer any insight on why my score is what it is: 4/5. Here's an overview of my situation: I have a monthly after-tax income in excess of £2000. I have two credit cards, one with the BoS that isn't used, ever. The other is with Tesco Bank and is used infrequently for modest amounts and always paid off in full each month. I have a loan with Tesco Bank for circa £160/month. I have a mobile phone contract for circa £25/month. From my, admittedly layman's, perspective, it seems to me like I ought to represent a prime candidate for credit-worthiness, yet Noddle assess me as being only 4/5. My thoughts on why that might be are that having two credit cards means I have a large amount of credit available that I could theoretically get myself into trouble with (but never have). Do you suppose getting rid of the credit card I never use would have a positive effect?

Hi All Wondering if I could get some advice from people who have possibly be successful with a query with Tesco affecting their credit file? The long and short of it - plus from what I can remember it was a while ago! I had a mobile phone contract with Tesco in 2012 and cancelled during the 30 day period, I returned the phone to store (where I had taken the phone out) as it was freezing a lot and I wasn't getting on with it. I had to pay the first month upfront so when I returned it the guy in the store the guy helped me transfer numbers across and said 'that's it - nothing more for you to do'. As it was over the Christmas period I forgot about the money owed back to me and rang up to Tesco, they told me it would be with me within 30 days normally and I didn't think twice about it until a few weeks later I hadn't heard anything and rang up to query where the money was. I spoke to C/Services who told me I actually owed them money! I explained that I was advised I could cancel within the 30 day period with no commitments however was told by this person on the phone I owed them for internet usage and wasn't going to be getting the money back either!! I hadn't had any letters up until this point. Over the next few weeks I had several heated discussions with the customer services team and the in store staff but no-one helped. In the end, I lost my rag decided to speak to a manager who agreed that if I paid the money, they would issue it back to me as a refund immediately because of the wrong information given to me and that they had listened to some calls of mine and their call centres. I have now gone to apply for a new mortgage in line with moving home and have now been advised that I have a poor credit rating so cannot benefit from a good rate - checking Equifax it appears Tesco have put me down a 'serious default' - I am so angry as this is the only thing on my credit record affecting it and is has caused me to go from a 10% mortgage to a 20% which is 18k! Any help much appreciated on the next steps to try and challenge this! Thanks K

Hi, I recently switched a bank account that I'd had for about 14 years because another bank was offering 100 quid to switch. Prior to this I had a 5/5 credit rating (although not sure what the score was). It had been like this for about 8 years. The month after I switched my credit rating went down to 4/5. I assumed this was normal and it will improve however, the next month it changed to 3/5 It has been a long time since I missed a payment, at least 10 years. I've had loads of mobile phone contracts over the years and also have three credit cards and another current account with a bank that I've been with for 20 years and never missed a payment on their overdraft. I have a reasonable amount of credit card credit available to me but at the moment I have no debt whatsoever and it's been a long time since I even had a thousand pounds of debt. Sadly though I started claiming ESA recently and notified both banks of this. Might this be why they've done this? I'm so annoyed. I'm hoping (health permitting) to buy a house in the next couple of years and now that seems to be totally out of my reach although I'm obviously hopeful things will improve in about two years. What do you think is going on? Oh also, the account which I closed I missed about 6 payments in a row in 2004 because I withdrew money from an overdraft and put it in a savings account and didn't realise the overdraft was on my credit file. I'm told that when you close an account, missed payments can stay on your file for 6 years but I thought that applies to payments made in the last six years? Rather than any missed payments that were on the account?

Hi There, I've just received a County Court Claim in respect of sum of money owed to a previous employer for a lease car. I dont want to dispute it although i think there are a couple of things wrong with it and will look to pay it in full before the 14 day deadline. My question is will this show on my credit rating that a claim was issued against me? Many Thanks

Hi Not sure whether I'm in the right section here or not, but I would like to rebuild my credit rating with the aim of getting a mortgage. You can read about my debts and history at http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?432514-settling-a-old-CCJ-from-CL-finance-for-old-HSBC-card-debt/page2 I'm going to wait until my ccj falls off my credit rating next month, in fact probably be Dec before I can do anything as I assume it takes a month for the credit reports to refresh after that (ccj ends on 10th of Nov! Yay!), but what is the best thing to do to get this credit rating of 1/5 on noddle back up to a 5? I'm not sure where to start. I assume I'll have trouble getting credit with a 1 rating. Is is worth paying for noddle improve? I'm on electoral roll and my address history shows on there. The ccj is the only debt which displays now. Also need to improve husbands credit rating as we want a mortgage, but we'll start a seperate topic for that as his circumstances are different. Ideas and suggestions welcome

Hi all. Under the terms of my contract I can return my vehicle to close after x amount of payments. I've already reached this milestone so wondered what the effects of voluntary terminating my agreement would have on my credit report. See I want to change my vehicle for something much more fuel efficient but part ex amount is ridiculously low the only option I appear to have is to return the vehicle. Any advise appreciated.

My mate is getting a place of his own (lucky guy). But he is in overdraft of £1,500. He got a loan out of £2,000 last oct and feb of this year and is still struggling. But does that mean that he won't be able to get a place of his own when he gets a credit check? I said I will ask this form as I ain't got a clue myself lol. I mean surley if he pays it back fully won't that be enough? :/ thank u all

Bit of a long story but here goes: I moved house in 2012, called Vodafone to change my address and they said it had been processed - end of phone call. It became apparent some months later it had not been processed, I called again, advisor said it had been processed, end of phone call. Fast forward to January 2014, I wanted an upgrade but couldnt get the phone I wanted through Vodafone (wanted me to pay for that handset). Went via phones4u instead, got the phone I wanted, on a Vodafone contract, but new phone number. called Vodafone, made what I thought was my final payment (on the call I was told that was the final payment and no further payments required). Set up new phone and cancelled my old account (old number deactivated). And now we reach April 2014, I receive a letter from a debt collector. Thought it was a [problem] as I dont have debts, binned the letter. Received another letter, this time called the debt collection agency and was informed it was related to Vodafone. Called Vodafone immediately, and once I provided them with my old phone number it became apparent I had £32 left on that old number to pay, so I did immediately. I had never received a single letter from vodafone, no emails (my email address never changed) and they did not contact me on my new mobile number (after all I am still a Vodafone customer, I never left). Now I have a missed payment on my credit rating, appalled at this I spoke to someone on the customer relations team who was very apologetic and said they would remove the missed payment. I was happy with this resolution, until I got an email today from another person in the same team who now has decided I cant have the missed payment removed because they have no record of me contacting them to change my address, therefore it is apparently correct. What I want to know is where do I stand and what can I do? I dont remember the 2 phone calls I made to them (it was definitely one in 2012 and the other could have been any time after May 2012 and before January 2014). I cant exactly remember when I rang them to change my address, but I know I did and I'm furious that I now have this on my credit rating, especially when I want to purchase a house with my fiance in the next 18 months or so. It also infuriates me that they have no 'processes' in place to link an old account with a new account - my full name, email address and date of birth is the same on the previous account and the current account, why would it be so difficult to quickly check if I was still a customer so they could have obtained my new address (on my current account) and contact me to let me know about the missed payment? Does anyone know where I might be able to find the rules on how a lender (i.e. Vodafone) should act when a payment is missed? I've tried the OFT, Financial Ombudsman etc. I just cant believe that they would be allowed to pass on a debt and mark someone's credit rating without trying different avenues of contacting the customer, they had an active email address so why not use it? I have asked Vodafone for transcripts for the time period in question for each call I made to them (I have all my phone numbers that I have ever contacted Vodafone on) to prove that I never requested a change of address - I am hoping that if I push a bit harder I will eventually get them to accept their mistake. Its just so awful to be promised one thing by an advisor on the phone, and then to have it taken away again by another new person. And even worse knowing I changed my address at least twice yet they are claiming to have no record of this - I have never missed a payment for anything in my life and would not dream of being late on a payment. One thing is for sure - when mine and my partner's contracts are up we will leave Vodafone and never look back, this could well mean we wont get a mortgage for 6 years and that is a horrible horrible place to be all for the sake of £32 that I didnt even know about! Sorry for the essay and thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

My son has come to me today completely shattered, BCW have ruined his credit rating with a debt which was wiped out in 2010 from provident due to thier collections agent not making the payments given to her and taking out fraudulent loans in her customers names. How can I help him to get his credit file cleared I know what its like to try and deal with these , but he has always paid his way and I know he made all the payments on this loan and the balance of 300 odd pound was totally down to his payments not being credited to his account by the agent. I did write to BCW for him to explain what had happened but we had the standard response of we bought the debt in good faith and our client has confirmed the debt is correct, his credit file was excelent two months ago but now since BCW it has gone down to poor as they have updated the records on 23/03/14 showing a default date of 15/11/2009 how can they apply a default that old now without investigating it properly and dose the default stay 6 years from the later date or the date of the default this is all so unfair, but the credit ref agency and BCW work like thiefs together against people. and lastly how can they apply a default to an account which is clearly in dispute. Any and all help and advice would be most appreciated.

Hello all, This is my first post here, I have been reading through several threads and am delighted to see the overwhelming support and guidance this forum offers, I would be truly grateful if some of you would take the time to help me with my situation. I was a victim of identity theft in 2006, this is not disputed by either HSBC, the police or myself. I've never had a credit card, yet in 2006 someone was able to take one out in my name, with my own bank (HSBC). I was called by HSBC in 2006, they asked me to pay off the debt owed on "my" credit card, I told them I've never had a credit card, they said they think it is identity theft / fraud, the police gave a crime reference number and I was assured by HSBC that I would not have to pay a penny of the amount owed and that it would not effect my credit rating in anyway. All of this took place within a matter of days and all on the telephone. HSBC apologised for the situation and reassured me that I had nothing to worry about. I stupidly trusted them and thought nothing of it. Fast forward a few years - 2009. I was consistently being turned down for credit in every shape you could imagine. I couldn't get simple things like a mobile phone, laptop, car, tools for work, credit cards, any form of credit I was denied. I didn't understand, I'd never really borrowed money before (only student overdraft), my friends were able to get mobile phones and some of them didn't even have a job! I was working in a business development role at the time and could more than afford the credit I was requesting. I decided to contact HSBC in branch (2009) to ask if they knew why I apparently wasn't trustworthy enough for credit (HSBC deny this, they think that I haven't asked them about my credit rating in over 7 years, ridiculous). In branch the HSBC advisor literally put her arms up in the air and said something along the lines of, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, the fraud incident in 2006 has not been cleared from your name and has been negatively impacting your credit score, we will rectify this asap." I should have created a scene there and then but instead I agreed to allow them to correct it and not create a fuss. By this point I had put my credit facility needs in family members names and friends names, it put an immense amount of pressure on my family and friends and made basic life unnecessarily difficult. I probably should have gone straight to market and taken out a form of credit, just to check if they corrected it, but instead I stupidly accepted what they had to say. Looking back at this, at no point during these telephone calls or face to face meetings in branch did HSBC advise or even mention that I could complain (let alone tell me they existed) to the FOS or at least independently check my credit score at a later date using a credit agency. I was in my early 20s and had limited knowledge about financial services and banking regulations and at the end of the day, I stupidly thought I could trust the bank that I'd been with since I was 10 years old. Fast forward a few years again - 2013. I'm still getting turned down for credit. I'm confident that it is nothing to do with HSBC as they have on several occasions promised me the situation would be / had been sorted. I go to get a credit report and guess what, my credit file in November 2013 stated that I am currently and have been defaulting on a credit card with HSBC since 2006. I was stunned. I called HSBC again and immediately arranged to visit in branch. They first of all had the cheek to say that I must have misunderstood my credit report, I emailed them my credit report and they realised it was crystal clear that it was their mistake. The HSBC advisor in branch informed me about the FOS, for the first time. By December 2013 HSBC told me my credit score had been restored (this isn't the case, will explain later). I checked my credit score with Experian again and on the surface it did seem that they had rectified it. My credit score overnight jumped up by nearly 600 points to a new total score of around 900 points!! The difference between a poor credit score and a good credit score, the difference between being lent money and not being lent money. I contacted the FOS and they initiated a complaint against HSBC. HSBC wrote to me and admitted in black and white that it was their error and that I should quantify the damages so they could form a compensation package. I didn't know where to even start with this. I wrote them a letter explaining how unknowingly to me they have manipulated and negatively impacted my reputation, career, relationships, psyche, life at the same time as stripping me of any opportunities to engage in any form of borrowing / credit, which in our society, in my opinion, is pretty much paralysing someone. HSBC have stopped me from buying a property with my partner, she went ahead and got a flat on her own. They have stopped me from setting up my business, forcing me to take any work available. They have forced me into rented accommodation and at times made it very challenging to agree on contracts for rented accommodation and even on two occasions I was turned away for a flat in London because they carried out a credit report, the estate agent would not tell me specifics, just that they had run a credit check and it had shown bad results. I have also discovered that I had work / client proposals rejected whilst abroad because of them checking my trustworthiness through credit reports and again the report portraying me as untrustworthy. The list goes on and on and on, I'm overwhelmed, HSBC have silently turned my life inside out, unjustifiably punished me, all in error, and all after being asked to rectify the situation several times and all after assuring me there was nothing to worry about, several times. It's almost too much to mentally process. Related but a slight side note, whilst travelling in India and the Middle East, I accidentally went over my overdraft limit and without informing me HSBC suspended my account and blocked my online Internet banking access. Admittedly I was travelling (my transactions in india may have hinted at this?) but surely they could have used my registered email? The email registered to my Internet banking account perhaps? I tried to engage in credit facilities online to pay off the amount but of course , no one was prepared to give me credit, I wonder why? When I returned to the UK I cleared all the charges in full and restored my HSBC current account to a clean state. If I remember correctly I paid them nearly £1800 in charges, fines and monies owed, I had been out of the country for nearly 18 months. The joke is HSBC offered me £100 compensation for the "stress" caused. Last week Sainsbury's gave my partner and I £30 compensation because our online shopping didn't arrive on time, quite rightly so, and yes we will be using them again. I called the manager of resolutions at HSBC and spoke with him on the phone, after several phone calls they up'd their offer to £1000. In my eyes this is still a joke. What do you think? If you've got this far, thank you so much for reading. I have just received their final written response offering a grand and asking me to sign to show agreement. I don't know what to do and I was hoping you may be able to give me some kind of advice or suggest what my next move should be. I'm going to go back to the FOS with the written response but to be honest I feel like I should just be taking them to court? I need help quantifying the damages and I honestly can't afford to pay a lawyer or accountant to work for me. I'm 27 years old and earn about 16/17k annually as a freelancer, not enough to pay £200 +vat per hour for someone to listen to my story and then tell me that I need to pay more in order for them to do anything about it. I would truly be grateful for some pointers, don't know where to turn and it's really getting to me. I have recently checked my credit report, last week, on checkmyfile.com and my scores are still bad, it still implies that I am untrustworthy and clearly says that i have historically defaulted on credit card payments, indicated by a red number 4 (worst kind) next to the sole credit card with HSBC's name next to it. Surely the credit card shouldn't even be associated with my name, especially on information accessible by lenders, employers etc? Surely HSBC should also clear the one time I did default with my overdraft as they paralysed me from being able to pay it off through other means of credit? Any ideas? I've started building a documented case against HSBC, I am gathering all the information I can find, I have been contacting previous clients, who are now aware that I am trustworthy as I can prove to them my reputation was listed as bad in error, one client has already offered to write a statement and stand as a witness if required. Again, thanks for reading. Look forward to hopefully hearing from you. All the best

Hi everyone I'm new to Consumer Action Group and found this website after searching for details regarding RLP. I have read many threads on here and so far have found them very helpful I have a question or two for anyone willing to answer them, but it's probably best that I explain why I'm in the current mess that comes with being in the scope of RLP. A few days ago me and my partner were in Boots where I brought some comdons. Whilst she was looking at make up, I got bored and ended up pocketing another packet of 3 condoms and some lube. Although nervous when doing it, I left the store with my partner who was completely oblivious to my crime. Further up the street, I was stopped by security and asked to come back into the store. I apologised to my partner and the store, the police were called, I was in Boots for about 5 minutes before I was handcuffed and put in the back of a police van (my parner in the front of it). The police were actually very nice people and seemed to take kindly to the fact that me and my partner are graduates and that we are both well-mannered and polite etc. I was then told that we would both be interviewed after we were put in cells. I asked if it would be the same cell, which prompted roars of laughter given what I had tried to steal, and was told that I was bound to get "ribbed" for all of this (get it, RIBBED!? ) We then waited around 3 hours each in a cell before being interviewed where I confessed to what I had done and that I was truly sorry (which I am, I will never shoplift again). We were then told that my partner was offered a NFA (No Further Action) notice, and I was offered an £80 penalty, which I accepted (because I believe that receiving a penalty is better than receiving a caution? Could I have this confirmed if possible?). I have paid the notice, and as far as I know, it is all settled as far as the law is concerned. I received a letter from Boots telling me that I was banned from their store (which is fair enough), it also asked for a signature but seeing as they did not send a return envelope and they have banned me, I have chosen to ignore this. I also got a letter from RLP telling me that they were going to demand money (this looked suspect straight away when I read that they would take into account hours security put into detaining me etc. , it's their job and surely a part of an hourly-based salary!) Being completely broke, I do not wish to pay RLP (invoice speculators who recently lost in court), and from what I have read, I am not going to. The one question I really want clarification on is: If RLP go to a DCA to try and get my money and I still refuse to pay, will this affect my credit rating? As I have only just paid off a phone debt from 3 years ago in order to try a nd sort out my credit rating a bit, and don't want to be back to square 1 again. Thank you so much for reading, apologies for this lengthy post, and any help or suggestions whatsoever will be hugely appreciated. Kindest regards Journeyism

Hi My first post here so be nice please. Also may be a bit vague as I haven't all my credit report to hand as I am writing this from laptop in work. Mods - please move if in wrong section or forum. Im 26 years old now and looking to get a mortgage in the next couple of years and currently saving for a deposit. I have two CCJ's against my name and a number of defaults leaving my credit score absolutely terrible. First off HSBC bank for about £90 - I somehow went £7 overdrawn when I had no agreed overdraft and they put 3 £30 charges on. Being a young and naive 20 year old that was then being paid cash in hand and financially unstable I ignored it until they closed the account and i received a CCJ. I can settle this - thats no problem. Secondly WELCOME FINANCE! I took out a loan of £1500 with them when I was 18 (credit available - young free man no kids - very silly mistake!) Anyway long story short was that I paid back £2300 before being made redundant. I asked them for a the remaining balance and they told me I still owed them £2800!!! I told them where to go and didnt pay them a penny ever again. This also resulted in a CCJ too. However I have since heard that Welcome have faced hard times (tough luck!) What is the best way to go about settling this debt and getting my credit score back on the mend? I currently have another bank account with santander and have been working in another trade for over 5 years etc. Any ideas on where I go from here? Thanks in advance. Tony.