Credit Ref Query.....

evie71evie71 Posts: 1,372
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Long story short.......

Several months ago I made an on-line purchase from very.co.uk, I took out their Take 3 payment option, which is spread the cost over 3 months and pay no interest. Anyway, I paid off the balance in full over the 3 months and cleared my account..........or so I thought.
On my statement after my last payment I noticed they had charged me 90p interest, I queried it with them and they promised to remove it. Thought nothing more about it until my next statement stating that the 90p was now £2.09:confused: So called them agian, they apologised said they had made a mistake and promised to take it off. Today I have another statement stating that I now owe £5.89 and that my details have been sent to a credit ref agency for default on payment:o

I have spent most of this afternoon on the phone trying to sort this mess out. Very agreed (again) that I don't owe the money and it's an admin error but said I would have to wait up to another month for my account to be cleared!! After a rant they relented and cleared my account to 0. However, they informed me they could not stop my 'default' being registered with the credit agency, although they do not exchange info with them until the 21st Feb. Very's advised that the default would still go ahead on the 21st but then they would inform the CRA to clear it from my account which could take a few weeks.

To say I'm furious is an understatement. For the sake of a couple of quid which I never owed and Very accepted from the start,I never owed, I could now have a black mark against my credit history!! Apart from a complaint to their CEO. Any advice on what else I can do? I really don't want to let this drop and am astounded that a company can get away with such behaviour.

Thanks for reading and any advice.

Comments

  • TeganRhanTeganRhan Posts: 2,947
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    One thing I would suggest you do is look up that money supermarket website , I think that's the one by Martin Laurence ?
    If you ask there you should get advice from people who work with these agency's and the like.
    You might get help here, but I'd ask there too.
    It might be a case of complain to the company's overseers .
    (Can't think of the word, People like Ofgem and that).
  • seacamseacam Posts: 21,364
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    I had something very similar to yours, I think it was with Burton, it was a small amount and I thought I had closed the account fully paid off within 2 months of opening it.

    I found it on my Experian Credit report, which at that time I ordered every 6 months.

    Having found it I spoke to Experian, ( and the way they do business leaves a lot to be desired IMO ), but in fairness I got some good advise and spoke to Burton. They admitted their error but failed to put it right having said they would do so on a few occasions.

    As far as I recall I thought they said they updated every Thursday but that might have be the last Thursday in every month.

    I got quite narked about it and it was only the empty threat of suing for slander that got them to inform Experian to remove the bad mark.

    I don't think it did any harm to me personally, I don't ever remember it doing so.

    Keep at it, they are at fault and there should be no trace of their bad administration once put right and if it harms you, you may have a case.

    What really got to me more was the constant broken assurances.
  • evie71evie71 Posts: 1,372
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    Thank you both for replies. I will have a gander at the MSE site and see what comes up there. I have done a google on Very.co.uk and to say I'm not the first is putting it mildly. :oYes seacam, my frustration actually comes from the fact i was assured several times that the error would be rectified but was instead left in limbo.

    Anyway, I'm not letting it go. no company should be allowed to behave so irresponsibly and someone vulnerable could end up paying them a fortune in monies they don't even owe>:(
  • Jellied EelJellied Eel Posts: 33,091
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    evie71 wrote: »
    Thank you both for replies. I will have a gander at the MSE site and see what comes up there. I have done a google on Very.co.uk and to say I'm not the first is putting it mildly. :oYes seacam, my frustration actually comes from the fact i was assured several times that the error would be rectified but was instead left in limbo.

    Check out this site-

    https://ico.org.uk/

    If there's no debt, and therefore no default then there is no reason for any default being registered with any agency. Doing so would seem to be a clear breach of the DPA and Data Processors obligation to ensure accuracy. Tell them if they don't stop the default notice you'll report them to the ICO. Their lousy system design shouldn't affect you, and it's the kind of issue the ICO likes to jump on.
  • TeganRhanTeganRhan Posts: 2,947
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    evie71 wrote: »
    Thank you both for replies. I will have a gander at the MSE site and see what comes up there. I have done a google on Very.co.uk and to say I'm not the first is putting it mildly. :oYes seacam, my frustration actually comes from the fact i was assured several times that the error would be rectified but was instead left in limbo.

    Anyway, I'm not letting it go. no company should be allowed to behave so irresponsibly and someone vulnerable could end up paying them a fortune in monies they don't even owe>:(

    You're damn right they shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. Big company's and banks make huge losses and get bailed out, we have a black mark and we're screwed!
  • evie71evie71 Posts: 1,372
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    Check out this site-

    https://ico.org.uk/

    If there's no debt, and therefore no default then there is no reason for any default being registered with any agency. Doing so would seem to be a clear breach of the DPA and Data Processors obligation to ensure accuracy. Tell them if they don't stop the default notice you'll report them to the ICO. Their lousy system design shouldn't affect you, and it's the kind of issue the ICO likes to jump on.

    Thank you. I will have a look at the link. I'm baffled as to why they can't just stop the default notice going ahead on the 21st:confused: My account is now showing 0, they've admitted the money was never owing in the first place, yet still want to blacken my credit rating for a couple of weeks and then mess about getting it removed. Bizare.
  • TeganRhanTeganRhan Posts: 2,947
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    evie71 wrote: »
    Thank you. I will have a look at the link. I'm baffled as to why they can't just stop the default notice going ahead on the 21st:confused: My account is now showing 0, they've admitted the money was never owing in the first place, yet still want to blacken my credit rating for a couple of weeks and then mess about getting it removed. Bizare.

    I'm site they can, it's just gonna involve "work" . Not having a go at customer services as they usually have 0 power on "policy and procedure" which is what there line manager would have told them it is.
    It just needs escalating because it's NOT RIGHT, had you been bbc doing a documentary do you think this would be the outcome? No.
  • Jellied EelJellied Eel Posts: 33,091
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    evie71 wrote: »
    Thank you. I will have a look at the link. I'm baffled as to why they can't just stop the default notice going ahead on the 21st:confused: My account is now showing 0, they've admitted the money was never owing in the first place, yet still want to blacken my credit rating for a couple of weeks and then mess about getting it removed. Bizare.

    Computer says No. Or as Tegan says, it's too much hassle/something the 1st line customer rep can't fix. Often businesses outsource this stuff to 3rd party call centres. If they're not allowed to do this kind of correction, or it's not in their scripts, it needs to get kicked up the tree to someone who can. If there is no default and the company accepts this, then what they're doing is basically illegal. They have to be able to stop a default notice if there's no default.
  • TeganRhanTeganRhan Posts: 2,947
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    ::bb boom pow high fives Jellied:: agreed!
  • PuckyPucky Posts: 4,509
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    Contact one of the credit reference agencies and get them to issue a Notice of Correction on your account. This will add a note to the default (if it appears) and allows you to explain the reasons why the default is there. You could always sign up to the Credit Expert free trial - they'll help you with the NOC and ensure it gets applied to an account. Having one of these means that any decisions on credit are usually looked at by a human being, not a computer and may mean you're accepted rather than declined.
  • evie71evie71 Posts: 1,372
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    Thanks again for all the fantastic advice.

    I spoke to Very's debt department again this morning and they are still refusing to budge. My account is 0 yet they state it's impossible for them to stop the 'default' being exchanged with the CRA on the 21st Feb but could not really give a reason as to why. I ranted all the obvious DPA, ICO, etc but they really couldn't give a damn. Just said mistakes happen and it's out of their hands as it's already in the system. >:(
  • Jellied EelJellied Eel Posts: 33,091
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    Oh dear. Computer says 'No' despite the persons decision potentially landing Very with a very large fine.

    See-

    https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-6-rights/damage-or-distress/

    Example

    A bank files a default with a credit reference agency because Customer A has failed to repay a personal loan. Due to an administrative error, the default is filed against Customer B, who has a similar name to Customer A but has no liability in respect of the personal loan. If the record of the default causes Customer B to be refused credit when he would otherwise have been granted credit, the bank’s incorrect processing of his personal data has clearly caused damage.


    Your example seems even clearer.

    What you need to do now is send (email and letter) a personalised version of this letter-

    http://www.getoutofdebtfree.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=60845

    So basically an s.10 Data Protection Act 1998 formal notice. Don't use the straight template as they may ignore it & pm me if you need a hand. It's a formal & legal request instructing them not to send any default notice until your dispute is resolved. They have to respond within 21 days and failing to respond would make any subsequent court case or ICO complaint easier for you.

    Also it sounds like it's time to get stuff in writing from Very, ie email or letter explaining there is no debt and their systems are useless.. Are you certain they're going to mention a default to their CRAs? What they send should just be information that you took out a loan with them and repaid it, not any default if that didn't happen.

    Otherwise you'll have to jump through the hoops Pucky mentioned, which you shouldn't need to do as it's not your mistake.
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