Unfair bad credit?

Question

I had a Barclaycard 2 years ago, I ended up having problems with them when they changed my address without my permission - by the time I realised what was going on I was late in payments & with a DCA (bad me), did not help that I was the sole earner in a family of 3.

I had all my bills and a new card sent to the wrong address, an address I did not give them, but they refused to let me change my address because I could not pass security – their questions were based on my address & previous bills!! – So I just paid the whole lot off.

Now I have bad credit as a result, doing my best to get better credit (all my bills paid via DD on time – card, two mobiles, nothing else because this has left me in a place where I have little spare cash & I have had to move back with my abusive mother with little chance of escape with this over my head) but this is the major problem on my credit report.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of that bad spot?
How long does it stay with me for?

Answer 1

If you cannot get it removed, you have the right to include an explanation in your credit report explaining the circumstances behind the incident.

Answer 2

First thing you should do is to get copies of your credit reference files from the agencies.

You can do this online - fees vary, or you can write to them and only pay the statutory £3.00. Details below.

This will then give you an idea of how the period in question is represented.

You need to check, particularly with Equifax that the settlement of the default is correctly shown.

Then make sure that Barclaycard have shown the status of the account as "settled" and not still in default. This information will stay on your file for 6 years from the date of the default and you cannot force its removal.

There are various things that affect your credit rating depending on institution. In particular, having lots of addresses in the past 3 to 6 years and having applied for lots of credit but not showing any additional operational accounts.

It is important that you maintain your good payment record with any accounts you now have. Apart from that you'll just have to be patient.

What concerns me more is that your mother is abusive etc. You might want to seek help from your local housing authority, CAB or women's refuge.

Answer 3

Bad credit is one of the worst problems to have... however there exists a solution.

I will hereby talk from my personal experience.

I did debt consolidation a couple of years ago, however If I had to do it again I would pay to some minor details,
if someone wants to get out of debt today it is pretty easy with a debt consolidation plan, however it may get a bit tricky at times, I suggest you get as much information as possible online on this first,

a good place to start in my humble opinion is astraight to the point ebook with question and answer I found :

http://umgarticles.atspace.com/debt-consolidation.htm

if it helps kindly remember me in your voting!.. cheers!

Answer 4

Write to the credit rating company stating everything you have wrote.They may include it on your credit rating.When you get in the position to rent or buy a property tell them about your unfortunate experience with Barclaycard they might understand.Good Luck in the future

Answer 5

Seems like you were the victim of card fraud. Phone barclaycards fraud number. Ask for a copy of the letter which they claim you sent them changing your address. Contact CAB ask them to involve Cifas. Someone is using your identity at a false address and you need to give this urgent attention. 2 years is a long time to wait.

Answer 6

You can always dispute it. Write a letter to the big 3 credit reporting agencies and tell them you dispute this rating. give them the facts, as they actually are and that may help. I believe once something is disputed that it cannot reflect negatively. Check the web sites of the credit reporting companies for more info.

Answer 7

The only thing you can do is write in to customer relations and ask for your credit file to be amended. If you write to experian etc they'll advise you to do this as it can only be amended by your creditor.

on a separate note, it will never show as settled on your credit file unless you negotiated a reduced payment to close the account (eg 80%)