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Has my wife received a wrongful default?

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  • Has my wife received a wrongful default?

    Hi,

    My apologies for not having introduced myself prior to my first post but i am trying to find out if my wife has recieved a wrongful default on her credit file?

    Neither of us have had to check our credit rating before but we recently decided to go for a mortgage and were advised prior to have a look at our credit reports just to satisfy ourselves that we would be okay.

    My credit report was rated as good and all the details looks exactly as i would have expected, however my wife was rated as fair with a default sitting on her report from a company called Sigma Red.

    Naturally she has contacted Sigma Red who stated that it was in respect of an unpaid T Mobile bill of £19.77.

    Obviously she then contacted T Mobile as she hasnt had a mobile with them since December 2007 and had never received any paperwork from them for any unpaid amount as her account was never in arrears and was closed correctly, this was confirmed with T Mobile who did however point out that there 'may' have been an unpaid amount due to charges that were levied after the account was closed, however they confirmed that they did not have any account details to support this.

    So going back to Sigma Red she informed them of what she had been told by T Mobile and she got a particularly curt reply about them not having a copy of the consumer credit agreement or anything either.

    Fearing the worst and needing to sort our mortgage application she then just paid the £19.77 but informed Sigma Red that she couldnt understand how she could have a default and that she would take this further but needed a letter stating that the default was settled in the meantime.

    After 12 days we still didnt get a letter and so she spoke to Sigma Red again, this time she was passed from pillar to post and told it wasnt policy to send letters etc and that a manager wasnt available to handle the complaint that was now going to be forthcoming. My wife was also told that they didnt need any credit agreement to put a default on her file as she could receive a default for a verbal agreement.

    Now up until this point whilst i was worried about how all this was going to affect our credit rating, i have pretty much taken a back seat and not really read up on the matter, but having had a read of a few of the posts around here i immediately got to wondering if this default is on her account illegally?

    For what its worth, having checked her credit file there is a settled account with T Mobile that was classed as satisfactory and settled on 09/12/07, and then she has a default registered by Sigma Red on 10/01/11 for £19 (which is now shown as settled).

    My question is, should the default even be on there and can it be taken off, if it can who do i speak to?

    My assumption is that this is obviously a breach of the data protection act and should be speaking to the office of fair trading?

    But can a debt collection agency put information on a credit file without having an account to register it against in the first place, particularly when T Mobile have an entry on her file showing her account as satisifed and closed without any arrears?

    Many thanks in advance.

    Mick
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Has my wife received a wrongful default?

    Mick

    You need to file a complaint with the ICO;

    http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints/handling

    While a credit agreement is not needed to record data, the data subject still has to receive a fair processing notice from the data controller. A verbal agreement/notification is pure bs.

    Also check that the data controller is licensed;

    http://www.ico.org.uk/what_we_cover/...ta_controllers

    If the data should not have been recorded and you cannot get a mortgage and this leads to financial loss/costs, then you can claim compensation but not through the ICO - that has to go to court.

    HTH
    LA

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Has my wife received a wrongful default?

      Originally posted by Mick753 View Post
      Hi,

      My apologies for not having introduced myself prior to my first post but i am trying to find out if my wife has recieved a wrongful default on her credit file?

      Neither of us have had to check our credit rating before but we recently decided to go for a mortgage and were advised prior to have a look at our credit reports just to satisfy ourselves that we would be okay.

      My credit report was rated as good and all the details looks exactly as i would have expected, however my wife was rated as fair with a default sitting on her report from a company called Sigma Red.

      Naturally she has contacted Sigma Red who stated that it was in respect of an unpaid T Mobile bill of £19.77.

      Obviously she then contacted T Mobile as she hasnt had a mobile with them since December 2007 and had never received any paperwork from them for any unpaid amount as her account was never in arrears and was closed correctly, this was confirmed with T Mobile who did however point out that there 'may' have been an unpaid amount due to charges that were levied after the account was closed, however they confirmed that they did not have any account details to support this.

      So going back to Sigma Red she informed them of what she had been told by T Mobile and she got a particularly curt reply about them not having a copy of the consumer credit agreement or anything either.

      Fearing the worst and needing to sort our mortgage application she then just paid the £19.77 but informed Sigma Red that she couldnt understand how she could have a default and that she would take this further but needed a letter stating that the default was settled in the meantime.

      After 12 days we still didnt get a letter and so she spoke to Sigma Red again, this time she was passed from pillar to post and told it wasnt policy to send letters etc and that a manager wasnt available to handle the complaint that was now going to be forthcoming. My wife was also told that they didnt need any credit agreement to put a default on her file as she could receive a default for a verbal agreement.

      Now up until this point whilst i was worried about how all this was going to affect our credit rating, i have pretty much taken a back seat and not really read up on the matter, but having had a read of a few of the posts around here i immediately got to wondering if this default is on her account illegally?

      For what its worth, having checked her credit file there is a settled account with T Mobile that was classed as satisfactory and settled on 09/12/07, and then she has a default registered by Sigma Red on 10/01/11 for £19 (which is now shown as settled).

      My question is, should the default even be on there and can it be taken off, if it can who do i speak to?

      My assumption is that this is obviously a breach of the data protection act and should be speaking to the office of fair trading?

      But can a debt collection agency put information on a credit file without having an account to register it against in the first place, particularly when T Mobile have an entry on her file showing her account as satisifed and closed without any arrears?

      Many thanks in advance.

      Mick
      I don't think that mobile phone contracts are captured by the Consumer Credit Act, as they are not 'credit', but a simple contract.
      If so, they don't require a Consumer Credit Licence.

      They may need to be registered with the ICO.
      CAVEAT LECTOR

      This is only my opinion - "Opinions are made to be changed --or how is truth to be got at?" (Byron)

      You and I do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.
      Cohen, Herb


      There is danger when a man throws his tongue into high gear before he
      gets his brain a-going.
      Phelps, C. C.


      "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!"
      The last words of John Sedgwick

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Has my wife received a wrongful default?

        They must be registered with the ICO to act as data controller - failing to notify the ICO is an offence at DPA s.17.

        Comment

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