Experian credit myths

[chiefmegawatty]

Found this today:

 

http://www.experian.co.uk/experianhome2/?sc=701676&bcd=Top10creditmythsxxxx

 

Myth 6 states:

Friends and family living in your home affect your credit rating

 

Unless you share a financial connection with any of them — for example, a joint mortgage — friends and family have no direct impact on your credit rating. Just living with someone doesn't create a financial connection.

 

 

I have proof from action taken against me by my water supplier that the above is total tosh. Utility debts can be placed in the name of anyone living in the property despite their name not being registered as the utility account holder. I therefore wonder how much other advice from Experian is total tosh.

[renegadeimp]

Nope. The utility bill cannot be placed like that at all. It should be in the name of the householder only. Not a random person living there. It sounds very much like your utility company has made a huge balls up.

 

Remember, experian only report the info they are given. They do not check up on it until you file a complaint or a notice of disassociation.

[veganite]

are you living near Liverpool by any chance?

 

the reason I ask is that a tenant who was responsible for paying their water bill did not pay. neither did they pay me rent, or other bills...

 

as they did not pay, the water company (united utilities) then sent their bill for about 20 months of water to me. so it does seem that utility companies in an effort to get their money will transfer the debt onto another person.

 

in regards to the experian advice, i think it is correct. whilst utility companies (in the case of you and myself) place an account debt into someone elses name, this should not have any detriment to your credit score since i believe that credit score is based upon your name and not other people residing at same address.

 

concerning your utility company placing account in someone elses name, i managed to get them to see sense and take my name out of the debt of the tenant.

 

hope that helps you.

[chiefmegawatty]

Nope, the water account was in my wife's name only and she let it run into arrears without my knowledge.

Being unable to recover the debt from my wife, the water company put the account in my name and took me to court.

During this period my wife had a full time job and I was unemployed and receiving no benefit due to my wife working full time. I have been advised elsewhere on this forum that utility debts can be placed in a person's name other than the account holder. Being unemployed with no benefits the water company then placed a charge order on my house.

Why they didn't take my wife to court and issue an attachment to her earnings I will never know.

I asked the water company that question and they replied saying that they were not willing to discuss this with me.

[chiefmegawatty]

Thanks veganite for your posting. The debt was run up in my wife's name only. However, due to the water company placing the debt in my name, my credit score has been completely destroyed, not my wife's.

Therefore the Experian advice is tosh.

The Experian advice should state "this only applies to debts that come under the Consumer Credit Act".

[renegadeimp]

So they took you to court for a debt that wasnt yours? Did you contest it?

[veganite]

Thanks veganite for your posting. The debt was run up in my wife's name only. However, due to the water company placing the debt in my name, my credit score has been completely destroyed, not my wife's.

Therefore the Experian advice is tosh.

The Experian advice should state "this only applies to debts that come under the Consumer Credit Act".

 

hi,

i understand your reasoning, but i see it slightly different from your understanding.

 

the experian advice isn't tosh because they state that: "friends and family have no direct impact on your credit rating" which i see to be correct. the only reason why this has had an impact on your credit rating is because the water company then placed your wifes debt account from your wifes name into your own name which then caused your credit rating to suffer.

 

i do understand what you are saying, but also see it differently - experian advice is right. it is only the water company who has caused you to have an impact in your credit rating since they transferred a debt into your name.

 

imo, the water company should not have done this.

 

i could be wrong - but that is the my understanding of it.

[chiefmegawatty]

I didn't know I had a ccj until eight months after it was issued. I assume the wife was intercepting and hiding my post to cover up her wrong doings. Four months later my wife disappeared leaving a note saying "Bye....Sorry".

I haven't seen her since. That was 2 years and 8 months ago. The water company now send me threats saying they are going to take further enforcement action to recover the outstanding debt. Having a charge order on my house they are threatening an order for sale. I also have paperwork here from my water supplier that states clearly that I am not allowed to sell my house. Amazing how innocent people get clobbered by the courts and the guilty get off scott free.

Typical British justice I guess.

[renegadeimp]

I would seriously challenge this, as the debt was NOT yours, but the water company decided to make you liable anyway. it has nothing to do with justice or innocence. It has everything to do with a judgement by default and you not challenging it.

[veganite]

im confused about the charging order you have. it is unusual for a charging order to proceed to forced sale of property, more unusual since your water company says that you can not sell your own home yet they are threatening you with this!

 

i am not sure if you can set aside the ccj or charging order, - hopefully someone will advise you about this.

 

renegadeimp above seems to know about this since he/she asked if you contested it. hopefully they or someone else can advise you..., i wrongly thought you could simply get the water company to take the debt back from your name, like i did.

 

sorry i cant be more help

[chiefmegawatty]

I would seriously challenge this, as the debt was NOT yours, but the water company decided to make you liable anyway. it has nothing to do with justice or innocence. It has everything to do with a judgement by default and you not challenging it.

 

Realising that my wife had intercepted and hidden my post I couldn't challenge it.

If the incompetent courts had applied the same principle to CCJ's as they do to a Magistrates Court summons the problem would never have happened.

Satautary demands and CCJ court action notices should be sent by recorded delivery that can ONLY be signed by the person to which it applies to.

I therefore blame shoddy legal practices for this miscarriage of justice.

[ims21]

Just for info as regards who is liable for a water bill.....

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_water_supply_e/consumer_paying_your_water_bill_e/who_is_responsible_for_paying_a_water_bill.htm

[veganite]

ims, thank you for that link.

 

chief, sorry, reading the link above shows that most of my thoughts above are wrong. only other input i have is concerning statutory demand, i thought that this had to be served directly in person

[chiefmegawatty]

ims, thank you for that link.

 

chief, sorry, reading the link above shows that most of my thoughts above are wrong. only other input i have is concerning statutory demand, i thought that this had to be served directly in person

 

Hi veganite, no problem you were kindly trying to help me to the best of your knowledge and thank you for doing so.

Sadly county court issues are never sent by recorded delivery so the legal system can continue to make deliberate miscarriages of justice and punish the innocent. 40 years ago my dad said the law is an ass. I think he has been proved right. Alternatively perhaps it's not deliberate but due to incompetence.