EGG winning and losing

[Hanziepan]

Hi,

 

This is my first post, so hello people.

 

I had an Egg loan in 2004 (at age 21 - why i was given this in hindsight goodness only knows!) and missed a couple of payments when i lowered my working hours and returned to university. Despite attempting to talk to them about reducing my monthly payments, they defaulted the loan and it was taken over by a different company. I never missed a payment again and settled it a couple of years ago.

 

Last year i successfully won paid back the personal loan protection money that had been added on to the cost of the loan unlawfully, amounting to nearly £500, for which I was happy to receive.

However, I have now come to realise that the registered default amount is incorrect (containing the unlawful protection insurance) - and am thinking of applying to Egg to remove the default from my credit file in this basis.

 

My question - has anyone else successfully challenged a default for this reason? I know Egg are notoriously difficult, but have read that this type of technicality can work. Does anyone have ANY advice?

 

Many thanks!

[Mistermind]

Despite your youth and limited earnings then, you honoured your obligations with admirable good faith. I would say you were deserving of your loan.

 

What is the £ exaggeration in the published defaulted number? I am not sure why you are miffed by the wrong figure. Once the DN gets onto the credit register it stays there for 6 years. Other institutions which use Experian as credit check without exception do it thru automated IT where blackmarks are digested in blackbox fashion then summed as a credit score number. It cannot make a particle of difference if the DN showed £2K or £2.5K.

 

As for pushing Egg to retrospectively amending the already-published DN figure at the time it was registered, shared public experience this would be like climbing a mountain -- Mt Everest not the local hill. See

 

" Egg DNs successfully rolled back "

 

If you succeed and publicize your story, others will want Egg to do the same. Egg will fight like their lives depend on it. It is hard too see the OFT or FOS wanting to take up cudgels for your very marginal case.

 

However whereas you mentioned successful PPI reclaim, did you also suffer any unlawful Late Payment penalty charges, unlawful for being excessive? If you did, see below to claim your consolation prize:

 

V-E Day: Victory over Egg (5)

[Hanziepan]

Thanks for the reply and the links - most interesting.

 

I sensing from your reply that the actual amount that the loan was worth is insignificant, and once the default has been added to the credit report the damage is done.

My thought was maybe, because Egg conceded (after one letter) and paid back the PPI amount, I would have grounds for the default to be removed (on the technical detail of the amount being incorrect). But i can see now it is not that straight forward..

 

I believe that there was late payment penalties added but will have to do some digging to check. My aim was to attempt to have the default removed, but maybe I'll have to wait it out, i don't think it's too much longer.

 

Thanks again.

[Mistermind]

DN reports events as seen at the time, not for a murder trial, not as pronunciation of debt accurate to the penny, but on credit registers passing an approximate signal between lenders with a common interest to sidestop dodgy borrowers. The burden to be precise is therefore modest. It serves practicality, not a battle royal over a question of principle. it seems to me unlikely that regulators or judges will get steamed up about a number seen retrospectively to be overstated, by a little.

 

However after you have found the evidence of itemised penalty charges to reclaim, if you tot up the total. You have the option to reclaim the entirety plus 8% pa interestst as compensation -- Egg will make as if to fight this, but they will not, and you will make it clear you know they know you know the score.

 

Egg like other credit cards is very very hard up for cash now, trying to flog themselves off to the highest bidder. Where the big stick for sure will not work the carrot at this time may. If you offer to forego reclaim of £X amount charges, in exchange for Egg quietly removing the DN. To make it easier for them to say yes and benefit themselves, you could point out how conscientiosly and responsibly you have handled you indebtedness, paying off in full in record time once your earnings made it possible.

 

Just a speculative idea, but one which worked (quietly) in another case as described on the thread. What is cash worth to Egg compared to intransigence? What is cash refund worth to you versus waiting out another few years?

 

All best wishes whichever way you go.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Mistermind