Hi

I can only suggest that you write a letter to the DCA's Head of compliance by recorded delivery and ask them to justify the process they have followed.

They have to be able to supply a copy of the default notice. I am no expert on this but I believe they should not note anything on the credit record about any default issue, if they have never issued any default notice.

In your letter, you should advise that unless the credit record entry is cleared, you will take this matter up with the information commisioners office, the OFT, as well as taking legal advice.

Hopefully Basa, Stubie or conmankiller will read this thread and they may add a more authoritive post.

Huckster

And an update ..

They have replied back, stating that as the debt was settled they dont have to send us a copy of the default notice. They also told us that the default notice was sent to an address that she hadnt lived at for over a year, and we actually have a copy of the letters that my wife sent out notifying people of change of address.

They sent back a letter stating that according to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 Subsection 1, they have to give us a copy of the credit agreement, but according to sub section 3, if its settled they dont have to oblige ..

Problem being we werent asking for a copy of the credit agreement .. we were asking for a copy of the default notice that they sent out to her ..

Am I right in thinking that the letter is pretty bogus and I have the right to demand the default notice that was sent out ?

Is there a specific subsection of the act (or any other) that specifies this ?

Ta :)

Great, thanks Huckster, I will use that gladly, and have a look at learnmoney site as well to see what they have there ..

Once again thanks .. I will of course let you know what happens

Beldin

This letter I found for a similar situation may help.Tailor to suit.

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After recently obtaining a copy of my credit file from Experian I was concerned to note that your company has placed a "Default" notice against a joint account in my and my wife's name.

Further to this neither I nor my wife have a recollection of ever receiving such a notice, and I therefore require you to substantiate this data at your earliest convenience.

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit). Your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number 1587 716732.

2. You must supply me with a signed true and certified copy of the original default notice

3. Any deed of assignment if the debt was sold on

I would request that this data is provided to myself within the next 28 days, if you are unable to provide this data then I must insist that it is removed from my files as unsubstantiated.

Yours faithfully

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There is a case on the learnmoney.co.uk credit file help page, with some helpful advice and letters.

Huckster

Beldin

I can only suggest that your wife phones Experian for advice on this matter.

The advice I suspect will be to write to the DCA involved and ask them to remove the default record. As you say, it is wrong for the default to be noted after the event, when there was no default record in the first place. I think the DCA would have to justify this by confirming that a default notice was issued at the time the CC was found to be in default. If they did not issue a default notice, they cannot note the credit record.

Hopefully the DCA will admit to their mistake and correct the credit record. But I would not bet on it and if they don't you might have to take this up with the OFT and ICO.

Huckster

The DCA were acting on behalf of the original creditor .. and its the original creditor who have put the default on her record, 6 months after the cheque cleared with the DCA ..

And one thing for sure .. we never received a letter of default in the period of contact with the DCA or after .. the first thing we knew of the default was an email update from Experian (we both subscribe after some ID theft a couple of years back), saying that there was a change in her record ..

Since 2005 she has moved house 4 times, but each time paid for postal redirection for at least 6 months, partly why she was extremely surprised to receive the default notice after 4 years ..

I personally told her to challenge the debt itself, as it was for a credit card she had had since 1992, and had done a balance transfer to a new card to close the old one out .. hence she thought it was cleared .. but she just didnt like the whole idea of the hassle, phone calls etc that the DCA had already started .. ie she succumbed to the bullyboy tactics in my opinion ..

I am going to scout on this site for some of the great template letters here and send one off to both the DCA and the original creditor ..

Its not clear whether the DCA were acting on behalf of the original creditor or they bought the outstanding debt.

In any event you should write to the DCA or OC explaining that firstly they should have issued a warning of intended default and then the default notice itself before advising the credit reference agencies. If that didn't happen the default is improper.

Secondly if the account didn't actually go onto default because you weren't aware of the outstanding debt and no one contacted you in the intervening time, you should challenge that also.

You should warn them that you may consider legal action if the incorrect defaults are not removed.

Hi

Seeing all the wonderful advice given on here :), I hoped someone might come up with some advice for my wife and I.

Essentially what has happened is this :

My Wife had a credit card she thought was settled in 2005 .. last year in October a DCA got in contact with her to say she still owed £186 .. she asked for proof and they were forthcoming, So she sent a cheque to them and got a letter back confirming full and final settlement.

Thus this was completed in December 2008 ..

June 2009 a default was put on her Experian Records, saying that a default was settled .. there having never been a default on her record prior to June this year ..

Last week she applied for a small loan and got turned down because of this default .. albeit settled ..

So where do we stand ? How can they put on a default, when the debt was settled 6 months before .. and they hadnt put a default on her record for the 4 years prior to that either ? And only once its settled they then default her ?

I dont dispute the fact of the debt, she thought it was settled, she is always one to pay promptly on time, never missed a beat in 15 years ... one of the most unblemished credit records I have ever seen .. she had an exemplary record .. and now this :( ..

And of course now she has that on her record for the next 6 years ?