@o2 o2 credit default with FOS **WON DEFAULT REMOVED + COMPO**

[chip247]

I know this subject has been discussed a hundred times

but I am seeking advice on the best course of action

regarding a default that o2 added to my credit file over the paltry sum of £29.82.

 

The first thing to say is the outstanding balance has never been paid

as I was unaware that I had an outstanding balance,

 

with that in mind it is curious that in feb 2013 the credit file was marked as settled.

 

my bank have confirmed there was never any payment to o2 for this amount from my bank account.

 

My contract was setup with a monthly direct debit & had ended in august 2012,

 

we never got round to cancelling the dd mandate until the feb of 2013 which my bank have confirmed,

 

why would an outstanding balance have been present with an active dd still there?

 

During the whole of this period & to this day

my address, email & telephone contact details are unchanged

they could have easily contacted me with reference to any outstanding amounts

which obviously they claim to have done!

but I have simply never had any contact.

 

The credit referral team have simply refused my request to have the default removed

because there records show the late/default payments from sep 2012 to feb 2013,

so what is my best course of action?

 

I think I can demonstrate from the other evidence on my credit file that I was capable of making such a payment.

 

I believe this default is responsible for my being refused credit on several occasions

& I am getting ever more concerned with a looming remortgage on the horizon.

 

 

chip

[citizenB]

It is indeed very worrying that small sums such as this are causing people so much grief with their credit files.

 

I wonder if a formal complaint to their Head office, explain pretty much how you have above.

 

DD was in place, why did they simply not ask for the money ?

They did not send a Default Notice or any other notice advising there was an outstanding balance ?

Your address/telephone number remain unchanged, so there was no reason that prevented them from contacting you.

 

You believe the marker on your file has been placed unfairly and if they cannot see their way to removing it, then you will be making a complaint to the Information Commissioner.

 

Do you know if the balance has been assigned to a DCA - you say the account is marked as settled on your credit file - it is usually an indicator they have offloaded it for collection to someone like Lowells !!

[fkofilee]

It does seem a little odd they didnt request the payment etc,

Honestly, im not quite sure what to make of this one, unless there is more to it that O2 Arent telling you.

 

Try an email to the CEO (CEOEmail Website)

Could hold the key here, but also as well, the ICO is the right next step

[chip247]

Thanks for the replies,

 

 

If they have passed onto a DCA i have never heard anything from them which seems odd as my address hasn't changed in the past (nearly) 9 years.

 

 

I have appealed to there complaints department but am not holding my breath having read the numerous examples of bad practise documented on the good old web so i guess i will have to try the ICO route in due course.

 

 

This is all extremely distressing over such a paltry sum, it genuinely baffles me that companies can exert such a negative effect on your credit file over such trivial disputes.

[dx100uk]

I would expect the account from o2 is shown as settled because they sold it on.

 

if they have, then you should have received a notice of assignment from the debt buyer.

 

however, as you indicate, its such a small figure

that even the likes of lowells wont bother buying the debt

so thus the addition entry under the buyer name

with the 'correct' defaulted balance is not showing.

 

before the contract ended, did you actually cancel the contract with o2

or did it rollover and get renewed, as sadly, their T&C's will cover this.

 

it's a very big issue that a 'gadget' debt can ruin a future mortgage etc etc

 

something must be done about this scenario

 

dx

[citizenB]

I would expect the account from o2 is shown as settled because they sold it on.

 

if they have, then you should have received a notice of assignment from the debt buyer.

 

however, as you indicate, its such a small figure

that even the likes of lowells wont bother buying the debt

so thus the addition entry under the buyer name

with the 'correct' defaulted balance is not showing.

 

before the contract ended, did you actually cancel the contract with o2

or did it rollover and get renewed, as sadly, their T&C's will cover this.

it's a very big issue that a 'gadget' debt can ruin a future mortgage etc etc

 

something must be done about this scenario

 

dx

 

I absolutely agree with you on this - especially as it usually appears that it is poor administration on the part of the phone company where cancellation by phone has not been recorded.

[chip247]

Yes I most certainly did cancel the contract because I was disputing with them the cost of renewal

against changing provider which was half the price.

 

I had until that point been perfectly happy with the service I had received from o2

but was not prepared to pay such a high premium for that service!

 

sadly however the cancellation was done over the phone not in writing,

that said if cancellation was an issue I would have had considerably greater outstanding balance than the £29.82 so I cant see them trying that one?

 

I have sent an email to the complaints dept asking for a satisfactory response as this has been ongoing since last may,

failing that I guess the ico or small claims are my only options.

[chip247]

Just thought I would provide an update on my complaint to o2.

 

I have now contacted the complaints review service at o2 again asking them for a satisfactory response

to my earlier complaint which was made in may 2013,

 

as of today I have had no reply (7 days) & I thought I would also email the ceo to see if his office could give some urgency to the whole affair?

 

 

In the meantime I have asked my bank for written confirmation the dd mandate was active until feb 2013 ( a full 6 months after the phone contract ended)

& that the outstanding balance of £29.82 was never collected even though it is marked on o2 records as physical payment with £0 balance on 15 feb 2013.

 

 

Obviously the most important thing for us is to have credit file corrected

but would it would be worth trying to pursue compensation for the wasted time

in trying to sort this also the unfavourable rate at which we have had to borrow our personal loan at?

 

not to mention the several failed attempts to obtain credit over the past 18 months.

Edited March 8, 2014 by chip247

[chip247]

Hello again,

I hope that someone can suggest the best course of action for my dispute?

 

I have had recent communications with a gentleman in the executive relations dept at O2 &

I don't feel my complaint is being dealt with fairly at all now.

In spite of having proof that my dd mandate was still in place some 6 months after my contract ended

they are resolutely denying fault in the final payment not being collected.

Here is a transcript of the relevant parts of the email I have just received.

 

"We can only remove an entry from your credit file if we have clear proof that we’re at fault.

In this case we produced a bill and tried to take the payment 14 days later,

this wasn’t paid and so it was passed to a Debt Collection Agency.

 

You’ve asked for proof of the letters that were sent, this isn’t something we have on record.

You’d advised again that no payment was made, if this was the case, it would still be outstanding and would still show on your credit file.

 

I understand that you may still be unhappy but this is our final position.

If you’d like to take it further you’ll need to seek advice outside of O2."

 

As you can see they are digging there heels in, but at least after 18 months i now confirmation that the debt was passed onto a debt collection agency!

In my reply i was going to insist under the terms of the data protection act that they provide all information they hold on myself

including all correspondence they claim to have sent,

as i have not had a single letter regarding this £29 outstanding balance from O2 or the the debt collection agency.

 

I really am at a loss what to do next?

[dx100uk]

time for an sar they need to PROVE they tried to take the payment

 

if they cant then gameover.

 

as they've put it in B&W now that they did try they MUST prove it or remove the default

dx

[chip247]

Yes thanks for your reply, I have made a sar request, what I find remarkable is they state to not have any of the letters they've sent me on record!! surely if that were the case they cannot prove they were sent at all?

 

 

Ironically I had a call from O2 sales a few days ago wondering if I'd be interested in becoming a customer!!! you can imagine my response.

[chip247]

Just an update on my case, after 2 years in which O2 still have not budged from there position I have finally heard from the FOS & they have found in my favour. Before I accept the FOS decision I wanted to see if you guys think I am right to push for more compensation though because the FOS have suggested £75 which as far as I am concerned is laughable.

Here is the contents of an email I have just fired off to O2 before commencing small claims action, What do you think?

 

 

 

Thank you once again for the absolute professionalism with which your company have dealt with my complaint. I thought perhaps i should advise you that the FOS have not been so vehement in there support of your decision, in fact they are in agreement with my position & it is now clear that not only did you give the debt recovery company the wrong account information, you were you sending emails to the wrong person regarding this debt!

 

 

Now that I have the FOS decision in my favour perhaps you would like to reconsider your position before i instigate court proceedings to recover compensation for the stress, hassle & financial hardship your company has caused me during the last two years, i would like you to take into consideration these factors.

 

 

 

 

1. I have spent aprox 20 hours dealing with this case during the past 2 years, writing emails & making telephone calls to O2 & visiting my bank branch on several occasions. This has been an extremely arduous task due to the belligerent way that O2 have behaved over a paltry £29, it has caused me sleepless nights & a great deal of stress whilst i tried to persuade them they were mistaken. Even to this day they have accepted not one word of what i have said to be the truth.
   
2. This case has caused me & my family a great deal of stress due to the effect on our credit file as well as ongoing financial difficulties.
   
3. My credit file is apart from the O2 default in very good standing, therefore the difficulties i have experienced during these past two years are almost certainly due entirely to O2’s erroneous default. I would be more than happy for yourselves or any third party to verify this.
   
4. I have been refused credit on two occasions for credit cards during this period causing me a great deal of embarrassment & no doubt further damaging my credit score, I have had to accept a loan for a car at 14.1% as opposed to the industry best buy at the time of 5.9% for a loan of £15000 over 4 years, which alone has cost me an additional £3000 in interest. I have also been unable to remortgage during this period due to the unfair credit default, again costing me a great deal of money & stress.
   

 

 

I should point out if i am forced to seek redress through the small claims court i shall seek the maximum compensation allowed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any comments gratefully received.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Just an update on my case, after 2 years in which O2 still have not budged from there position I have finally heard from the FOS & they have found in my favour. Before I accept the FOS decision I wanted to see if you guys think I am right to push for more compensation though because the FOS have suggested £75 which as far as I am concerned is laughable.

Here is the contents of an email I have just fired off to O2 before commencing small claims action, What do you think?

 

 

 

Thank you once again for the absolute professionalism with which your company have dealt with my complaint. I thought perhaps i should advise you that the FOS have not been so vehement in there support of your decision, in fact they are in agreement with my position & it is now clear that not only did you give the debt recovery company the wrong account information, you were you sending emails to the wrong person regarding this debt!

 

 

Now that I have the FOS decision in my favour perhaps you would like to reconsider your position before i instigate court proceedings to recover compensation for the stress, hassle & financial hardship your company has caused me during the last two years, i would like you to take into consideration these factors.

 

 

 

 

 

1. I have spent aprox 20 hours dealing with this case during the past 2 years, writing emails & making telephone calls to O2 & visiting my bank branch on several occasions. This has been an extremely arduous task due to the belligerent way that O2 have behaved over a paltry £29, it has caused me sleepless nights & a great deal of stress whilst i tried to persuade them they were mistaken. Even to this day they have accepted not one word of what i have said to be the truth.
   
2. This case has caused me & my family a great deal of stress due to the effect on our credit file as well as ongoing financial difficulties.
   
3. My credit file is apart from the O2 default in very good standing, therefore the difficulties i have experienced during these past two years are almost certainly due entirely to O2’s erroneous default. I would be more than happy for yourselves or any third party to verify this.
   
4. I have been refused credit on two occasions for credit cards during this period causing me a great deal of embarrassment & no doubt further damaging my credit score, I have had to accept a loan for a car at 14.1% as opposed to the industry best buy at the time of 5.9% for a loan of £15000 over 4 years, which alone has cost me an additional £3000 in interest. I have also been unable to remortgage during this period due to the unfair credit default, again costing me a great deal of money & stress.
   

 

 

 

I should point out if i am forced to seek redress through the small claims court i shall seek the maximum compensation allowed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any comments gratefully received.

 

 

It's worth putting the provable financial losses in an Letter Before Action.

 

 

Listing the losses with provable financial loss, amount etc.

 

 

List what you require from O2 to redress the loss and what you require for the stress/anxiety/ time and costs in dealing with this.

[chip247]

Just thought I would provide a final update upon my case being concluded.

 

The financial ombudsmen found in my favour against O2

but rejected my appeal for additional losses due to the default on my credit file.

 

 

I reluctantly accepted the ombudsman's offer as I am fast approaching house sale/mortgage application scenario.

 

 

the ombudsman gave O2 28 days in which to action their recommendations,

namely default removed & £75 compensation,

 

 

the 28 days came & went & still no action on the default

 

 

the cheque arrived on the 28th day but it was apparently for a refund due to my account being in credit on closing!!!

 

I once again had to contact the ombudsman regarding the default

& was advised O2 would be given a further 14 days to comply with the recommendation before further action was taken,

 

 

the default was finally removed a few days ago & my credit score changed immediately from 452 (fair) to 999 (excellent)

which should now allow me access to the best credit options available.

 

So a full 27 months later I have won my battle with O2,

 

 

I cant help feeling its a bitter sweet victory as companies such as these are not going to be deterred from these reckless actions

by a paltry £75 loss so they will continue to mistreat their customers until such time as the ombudsman

take meaningful action against them.

 

 

I know they have to pay the ombudsman for the investigation also

 

 

but they should be punished sufficiently to make them think twice before placing defaults recklessly on peoples lives.