Default recieved for not paying charges that were applied in error!

[skyap]

i have posted on this topic here, but I thought I would start this new thread as it seemed more appropriate.

 

Long story short, I left Telewest, thus ending my contract early, but I moved to an NTL region and so signed up with them to avoid any end-of-contract charges. Telewest charged me £229 and asked for the money. I cancelled my direct debit and never paid them but phoned on numerous occasions to have the charges removed. I got them removed and thought everything was fine.

 

Later this year, I applied for my first mortgage. It was declined. I put it down to other factors, like the fact I had recently changed jobs and moved house. A few months later, I applied for a personal loan in an attempt to sort out my creditcard debt, it was also declined.

 

It turns out on my credit file there is an entry against Telewest staing £229 that has settled on x date but it was still flagged as a default (it had a red 8 on the experian online report).

 

I found a thread here explaining how to get a default removed, but my default should never have been applied in the first place. Can I use this same letter to get it removed? I want the entry deleted in its entirety as it should never have been there in the first place. At the same time I would like some compensation as being declined for life changing events has been stressful and has taken a while to discover it was all due to an error on their part.

 

Any advice? Can I claim compensation and is the letter in the sticky thread suitable for my situation? I feel my situation is different as I should never have had the debt, let alone the default, against me.

 

TIA

[dayglo]

good morning.

 

I think I'm right in saying that telewest/ntl (as utilities suppliers) are not covered by the consumer credit act. This means any inaccurate or unfair default notices must be challenged via the data protection act.

 

Things to do:-

 

1) find out what these charges were for and wether they are legitimate

2) Can you get NTL/telewest to agree that this information is inaccurate by polite means?

3) if not, can you prove the information is 'inaccurate' ? if you can then you issue a notice under section 14 DPA

4) if the information is accurate (to any reasonable degree) then a notice under section 10 - the right to prevent data processing likely to cause damage or distress is for you.

 

The default removal world is far from straightforward and every case is differenct.

 

In your case, it depends on what NTL/Telewest think about this data which will determine your most likely route for success

[skyap]

Hi Dayglo, thanks for the reply.

 

 

In answer to your points:

1) As far as I can remember there were two charges applied, both were for ending my contract with Telewest early. I can double check this later. As I opened a new account with NTL, these charges should have been waived.

 

2) I haven't had anything in writing (despite asking them to do so) to say the charges were in error but I have had them removed from the account so the account is now settled. This was done via telephone conversations although I did send a letter, the Royal Mail don't have proof of delivery (it was sent Recorded)

 

3) How do I prove the info was inaccurate?

 

The default removal world is far from straightforward and every case is different.

 

Is there somewhere I should go for one on one advice? Could Citizen's Advice help?

 

Thanks for your help so far.