Credit Default

[KelvinC]

In 2009 I moved home  It appears that the tenant in the property did not forward my mail to my new address therefore I idnot received any correspondence relating to my final outstanding bill. At the time I believed I closed my account with Vodafone and that there was no outstanding payment due which is why I did not change my address with you.

I am most unhappy that Vodafone made little effort to contact me and have taken the steps to mark my account as in debt for such a small amount after many years of loyal custom and now my credit rating has been affected because of this. I have never failed to pay a debt in my life and I have contacted your company to pay the outstanding balance of £37.12 in 2011. 

The defauft after 6 years is still on my credit file and should have been removed. After contacting Vodafone I still cannot resolve this issue.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @KelvinC

I know what im about to say is in hindsight but when a person is discussing to end a contract then we always suggest to not cancel the direct debit until the final monies have been taken , any relevant refunds given and a Sorry your Leaving letter and a £0 bill has arrived which confirms all is settled. 

If Vodafone cannot collect payment then after they believe all reasonable steps have been taken to make contact have failed then they can and will either pass this to a Debt Collection Company and are permitted to add a Default to a persons Credit File without having to give prior notice to the person. 

If warranted yes this will last 6 years from the default date but if a customer pays the debt it would then change status on the Credit File from Outstanding to Settled which does look better on the file. 

Once the 6 years has elapsed it should drop off. I'd suggest to speak with one of the Credit Houses. Perhaps experian. 

Other than that please let the Vodafone Social Media Support Team here catch up with your post as they maybe able to help too. 

To Add if a person has spoken to a member of the Credit File Support Team and they have agreed to remove the default then this is usually actioned straightaway. The file will update when the database that Vodafone share with the credit file agencies update.

This normally takes up to 30 working days but can happen quicker.

Unfortunately there is no way to hasten the process up as Vodafone do not have control over the database that is accessed by the credit file agencies.

[Tash]

@KelvinC Our Credit File team can help with this.

So they can contact you to discuss this further, please follow the details provided in the private message I've sent to you.