@sp_energypeople Scottish Power default - help needed

[animalmother90]

Hi

trying to deal with getting a default removed

 

 

. I sent a letter to Scottish Power

 

 

after weeks of corresponding they sent me a template letter, unsigned with the incorrect spelling of my name on.

 

 

I am then able to request the default to be removed?

 

 

If so, is there a template letter which I can send back to them to get them to make it so?

 

Thanks all - this is a great forum btw!

 

James

[animalmother90]

Hi all

 

I was recently in the process of buying a house.

 

 

Had a mortgage preapproved, offer accepted then it went through to the underwriter of the mortgage

who rejected it on the basis of a default which I had no idea was there.

 

 

After a lot of sweating and calls it turned out Scottish Power had issued a default against me back in 2011 which I didn't know about,

as it never showed up on my Credit Expert account as it was for a date after I'd vacated a property.

Suffice to say I lost the mortgage and the house.

 

I decided to fight the default notice as my report is otherwise faultless.

 

 

After a lot of searching I found the CCA template letter and sent it off.

After repeated correspondence and a bit of back and forth they sent me two 'copies' of the default letter which were issued in 2011 after I'd moved out.

 

 

The critical point is though that these letters are clearly NOT signed copies of original letters but templates newly issued.

Also, they spelt my name incorrectly in the letters. and obviously I never received them nor had any knowledge of the debt.

 

Can anyone assist me with a template to write back to them requesting removal of the default notice of the above basis and if I do actually have a chance here?

 

thanks all

[Peterbard]

This is a veryy old thread and nowledge of the proceedure and case law has moved on a grea deal since 2007.

 

The situation is that registering a default on your file and issuing a default notice under section 87 of the consumer credit act are two different things entirely.

 

A default notice issued under the CCA 87 is a warning of intended litigation nothing more, and has no relationship with recording a D on your credit file.

THe refernce on your file refers to the breakdown of the relationship between debtor and creditor and this may have happened some time before they decided to take you to court.

 

There is no requirement to issue a section 87 notice before recording a default on your credit file.

 

The ICO does recommend that the notice should be placed within 6 months of the actual default(ie failure of payment and termination of account_) but this is guidance only.

[animalmother90]

Thanks Dodgeball - so even if the copies of the defaults which I never received, aren't signed and true copies and the fact that they spelt my name wrongly on them doesn't mean I have force them to remove the default?

[Peterbard]

Thanks Dodgeball - so even if the copies of the defaults which I never received, aren't signed and true copies and the fact that they spelt my name wrongly on them doesn't mean I have force them to remove the default?

 

They are under no compunction to provide copies of defaults in any case certainly not under section 78. Default notices a merely notices, not agreements, they do not even have to retain copies themselves.

[dx100uk]

theres no requirement for a default notice

 

 

and ofcourse no such thing as a CCA for a utils bill.

 

 

did you have an outstanding bill that you did not pay when you vacated the property?

 

 

and how long after the issuance of the last bill was the default registered?

 

 

dx

[dx100uk]

random posts on old thread merged to your thread here

 

 

dx

[animalmother90]

Hi dx100uk

 

Yeah it was an old bill, which I had no recollection of even having. The default was issued months after I'd left the property and I never received the letters of notice. What I'm trying to ascertain is, is there any way I can get them to remove this default?

 

Thanks

 

James

[Peterbard]

Oops yes sorry missed that, as SX says no requirement for a DN iin this case.

[dx100uk]

we need dates then please

[nottslad]

If the default was issued correctly then they won't remove it

[animalmother90]

Okay well I moved out of the property in Feb 2011. The notice copies they sent me were dated 20/05/2011 and 30/06/2011.

 

I didn't know anything about the bill and never received the notices. Is there anything I can possibly do to rectify this as it's preventing me form buying a house.

 

Thanks

[nottslad]

Did you inform them when you moved out and provide them with a forwarding address?

 

If you did and they failed to carry out actions on their part then this would be a failure on their part

[animalmother90]

I did inform them, however I don't have any proof of that fact beyond the fact that my letting agent at the time required forwarding address for all utilities and council tax to enable return of deposit (as most do) so I wouldn't have even been able to get away with it.

[nottslad]

Might be an idea then to request a SAR to see the notes on the account from around the time you moved out, there should be a note of a call being received - that would be a way in to make a complaint about their lack of action leading to a deafult, if that's what happened

[animalmother90]

Thanks Nottslad, I've just requested this to see what is on there. The strange thing is the collection company which is mentioned in the letters appears to have gone, so I'm not even sure who my 'debt' would be held with in I wanted to pay it off and get it marked as settled.

[nottslad]

I'd pay the supplier direct - if the default is showing on your file as issued by them then they haven't sold it on, they're just farming it out to DCAs - generally if one DCA can't get any success they'll pass it to another and so on. If a DCA had bought the debt then it would show on your file as being owned by the DCA and money owing to them, rather than the supplier

[animalmother90]

Do you think it's possible to get them to accept a lesser amount so I can just get it written off and settled? Does that happen at all I wonder?

[nottslad]

It does happen but if they've farmed it out to an agency you'll probably have to agree that with them

 

Also, your credit file would show it was settled rather than satisfied/paid in full... either way unless you can prove they messed up then it's pretty likely the default will remain on your file for the full 6 years... personally i think 6 years is excessive - my finances are nothing like they were 6 years ago but because i had a bad patch it's still haunting me

[animalmother90]

Cheers nottslad. I take it settled is 'worse' for my credit report than satisfied.

 

I just don't know what the best route is. I refuse the pay the whole amount for something I don't even acknowledge was my debt.

 

I agree - 6 years ago is a very long time in terms of finances.

[dx100uk]

matters not what you do or how they mark it

the default is the killer

and that's there for 6yrs paid or not

then the whole debt record vanishes

doesn't mean its not owed mind

 

 

dx

[animalmother90]

Thanks dx100uk. I understand that, but my mortgage advisor said that having it marked as settled/satisfied will mean that I will still be able to get a mortgage (albeit a slightly worse rate). I'm just trying to figure out how best to approach them to agree a lesser amount to close it off

[nottslad]

Agree with DX - little difference between satisfied and settled... have you spoken with a mortgage broker or just the advisor at your estate agents, have found a broker to be a lot more helpful in the past

 

I'd start the negotiations on it at 25% if I were you, you never know they may bite your hand off - start low and negotiate up... it's been a while since I worked in a collections area, but in my experience at EON we'd sometimes settle at 50% - obviously each company is different though

[dx100uk]

be careful of brokers they'll stitch you up.

is this a main stream mortgage provider like a bank?

most banks now allow one default etc with no penalty.

 

 

dx

[ScottishPower Company Rep]

Hi James, I'm sorry that the response you have received has not resolved any of the issues raised. Without reviewing your account details I can't specifically comment on your case but if you can send a PM with details of the address that the Default relates to I can forward this onto the appropriate department for further investigation. Kind Regards, RC