Credit reference and GE Capital

[Runk]

Im not sure which forum this should be in so if its in the wrong one please forgive me and feel free to move it.

 

Background.

I had a Burtons account card which was my wifes although it was in my name. My wife used to use it but I never did, and after my wife passed away some years ago, it was paid off to a zero balance and disposed of.

Despite asking for the account to be closed on numerous occasions I still got monthly statements of a zero balance from GE Capital, so I just binned them over the years.

 

Last year there was a payment of £20 made to a company Id never heard of, and when I rang them to find out what it was, I was simply given the brush off and told to ring the other company and given a number.

I did and found out that they were an insurance company and it was a payment for a card and key protection policy.

 

Well id never heard of it, and didnt want it, so I asked for the money to be refunded, but I was told I had to speak to GE Capital.

 

So after letters back and forth, and phone calls back and forth, both companies blamed the other, neither were prepared to refund the money and then GE Capital started to put interest on it.

 

AFter a very frustrating three months of letters, which culminated in them harrassing me by phoning me roughly twice a day asking me for the money, I eventually managed to speak to a senior customer services manager who admitted that it was thier mistake, the account clearly hadnt been used for years and refunded the money into the account, and then closed the account.

 

At last someone with some sense.

Or not.

 

The account cant be closed, because with the refund, its now £4 in credit. And They arent prepared to send it to me as a cheque and close the account, so there it sits, although I dont get monthly statements any longer.

 

I had a credit check done on me a week ago and was turned down, so I got a copy of my credit reference on line. And its all good apart from all the non satisfied payments on the GE Capital account.

So now its affecting me in an adverse way in that I cant get any credit.

 

Im not really sure what I need to do to sort this out, and Im really cross that its now going to cost me time and money to resolve this issue.

Am I even able to get this removed from the credit reference agencies? Or am I entitled to claim back the costs Ive encountered because of it?

 

In my opinion its a [problem] and most people justd pay, because with retrospect, the expense, the stress and the harrasment they have given me, it would have been cheaper to roll over and pay it.

Im really very cross about the situation I find myself in and the way Ive been treated.

[Mortious]

I was able to get missed payment notes taken off my credit file for GE Capital. I had an outstanding balance of £47 and this affected my credit score.

One simple phone call and this was all removed and the card shut down. Take a look at the link...if you are not bothered about the £4 then tell then to keep it. Techincally there would also be a missed payemnt charge during your months of non payment too, so you could argue that the £4 could go towards paying you off....

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/32392-ge-capital-advise-needed.html

[Runk]

Thanks for the reply/

I dont give a damn about the £4, as far as I can tell its not even mine anyway. For the life of me I cant work out how I got from a zero balance, to the debit, then getting an apologetic refund that puts me £4 in credit.

Theres some skewed maths there somewhere.

 

Ive tried phoning them, but its like hitting your head against a wall unless you are lucky enough to get a/ someone in this country and b/ someone who has the authority to actually do something. Ive had three promised return calls by managers, but not a single call actually returned.

I am currently drafting a letter with some help to get this resolved.

 

It would be very very satisfying to resolve it by going to the GE Capital HQ with a large chainsaw and... No, best not go there.

[alibobsy]

I would put it all in writing as a complaint, preferably to a manager (someone on here may be able to supply the name of someone high up at GE) and state you expect the account to be immediately closed and all entries to your credit file immediately removed I would never speak to any of these companies via phone any more as they either get it wrong misadvise you or just plain do nothing. If you write recorded delivery you have proof of the letter being rec by them and they tend to take more notice of a written complaint rather than someone on the phone they can fob off.

good luck

ali x

[Mortious]

putting it in writing is the best way to go forward. Giving them a certain amount of time to get back to you before you take it to the next step like trading standards....

WHen i phoned them i did actually get a person in India and when i could not get an answer i asked to speak to some1 in the UK and higher up. I stayed on the phone as i never ever accept a call back...otherwise its a wasted call. Wait for some1 to be transfered to you. When i did this a guy in the UK got it sorted straight away. Brilliant lad too and almost changed my minds on the company....