Unknown defaults, unhelpful DCAs.

[nobbyblobby]

Hi guys, I have been attempting to deal with this but getting nowhere fast! I'm sure that these DCAs drag their feet deliberately, hoping people will pay up to clean their records up.

 

There are two issues here but I figured they're so similar that I may as well keep them in one thread.

 

Since I got my credit files for the first time ever in May, there has been a default registered in my name by Cabot Financial at a previous address. The account was opened after I left the address and it's for around £250 for a JD Williams group debt. I've sent address history proof back in May and have brought this up with Equifax and Experian more than once (Cabot just come back and say it's correct). I've written several letters, getting nowhere. They've written to me this week asking for my address history so they can complete their investigation (AGAIN). They've also moved the default from my previous address to my current address. I know for a fact that they have no CCA as I never signed one (obvs).

 

- Are they allowed to move the default to my current address?

- What are the implications of them doing so?

- What next steps would folk advise?

- Does anyone have experience of reaching a satisfactory resolution in a similar instance?

 

Secondly, three weeks ago, another default appeared on my credit files for the first time. Its for £300 to Littlewoods and is held by Arrow Global. This is in a slightly different name to mine and has a different date of birth. Weirdly, the address is a uni hall of residence that I lived in in 2005/2006 and the date is 2008! I've sent a copy of my driving licence and proof that I lived elsewhere in 2008 but they're dragging their feet too!

 

- Any advice on this one?

- Surely they're breaking some law by reporting this as mine?

 

I've sent off a CCA request to both of these this week, and have demanded the removal of both accounts. I'm not hopeful though. Any thoughts?

[filrobbo]

Ye don't pay any money until the debts are proven.

[nobbyblobby]

There was never a question of me paying. My concern is the presence of the two defaults. There's no way it would stand up in court, so they won't be pushing for a CCJ but I assume they're hoping i'll pay so the defaults are marked as Satisfied. Obviously I want the defaults gone though.

[unclebulgaria67]

This issue has been gone over many times. As long as you incurred the debt and defaulted on repayments, it is correct for the defaults to be showing on your credit record. They will stay on the record for 6 years.

 

So you cannot do much about the defaults, unless you can prove the debts are not your. Sometimes the dates showing are incorrect, so it is worth checking with the original creditors when the account went into default. If the dates are wrong, then ask the DCA's to correct the information on your credit record.

 

It is better for you to have satisfied defaults showing, rather than defaults which have not been settled. So if they are not statute barred debts, then if you can afford to do so, you should seek to settle them.

[nobbyblobby]

Hold on!

 

Perhaps I haven't been clear...

 

These debts are not mine! I never opened the accounts, I never received goods, I never made payment towards them, I never signed anything. These accounts were both opened after I left the addresses. I suspect the first is fraud, I suspect the second is mistaken identity (similar name, DOB out by 3-4 years, address used by hundreds of people each year).

 

To sum up - didn't incur debt, didn't default on payments, defaults are incorrect.

[nobbyblobby]

Yeah, I did say they were opened after I left the addresses in my opening post.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hold on!

 

Perhaps I haven't been clear...

 

These debts are not mine! I never opened the accounts, I never received goods, I never made payment towards them, I never signed anything. These accounts were both opened after I left the addresses. I suspect the first is fraud, I suspect the second is mistaken identity (similar name, DOB out by 3-4 years, address used by hundreds of people each year).

 

To sum up - didn't incur debt, didn't default on payments, defaults are incorrect.

 

Ok, I did not pick that up when reading quickly.

 

The way to resolve this then is via the original creditors, as DCA's won't look into it. If you contact the catalogue companies and ask to speak to someone about possible fraud on an account with them, they should put you through to complaints or a dept that deals with this. If you provide your name and the address the account is supposed to have been registered against they should be able to find the account. It is then a question of them looking at the information supplied to open the accounts and working with you to find out what has happened.

 

Once you have resolved with the catalogue company, it is up to them to contact the current debt owner to take the debt back and to remove defaults on your credit record.

 

This may take a few weeeks before you get a resolution, but it is the way forward.

[nobbyblobby]

OK, cheers. I'll try that. What action, if any, can I take in the short term to sort out the DCAs?

[nobbyblobby]

ie: Get them to remove defaults etc.

[unclebulgaria67]

OK, cheers. I'll try that. What action, if any, can I take in the short term to sort out the DCAs?

 

Tell them that you suspect fraud, so have contacted the catalogue companies to ask them to investigate.

 

You could also make a log with Action Fraud about this, just in case the catalogue or DCA's ask you whether you have made a report.

 

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

[nobbyblobby]

Roger that. Will send this all out in writing - don't trust the buggers on the phone.

[nobbyblobby]

Many thanks! How rude of me.

[nobbyblobby]

Quick update, the Arrow Global account has been removed by the CRAs (hooray), but the other account is still being a right pain. They're just saying on the balance of probability its right - despite the fact they have no agreement. What can I do now they're refusing to accept its not my account.