Can you default twice

Can this really be done though? What sometimes happens in these cases is that the original creditor defaults your account and passes the debt on to a debt collection agency, and if you fail to meet the criteria set out for you by the debt collection agency, they might default your account as well.

So the short answer again — yes, you can have the same debt defaulted twice. Some debts can even get defaulted 3 or 4 times, or sometimes even more times than that.

There are a few things you can do though. They each create and keep hold of all your credit reports, gathering information about your credit history in order to create a credit report and score for you.

If your debt has been defaulted twice, you should take it up with the CRA who represents you, as well as with the original creditor. The original creditor should then cancel the first default as it is no longer valid. The CRA would be able to offer advice and guidance as to what to do and how you can sort out the double default.

Another method for rectifying this defaulting issue is to begin a Data Protection Act action against the debt collection agency who have issued the second default on your account. Sometimes the CRAs need more details from you before they can send you the information held on your file. For example, they may need proof of your name and address from a utility bill or bank statement.

This is important to make sure that no one else gets your information by mistake or to check that no one else has fraudulently applied for your credit reference file.

The CRAs do not have to send you your file until they get this information. As there is no requirement under data protection law for lenders to report such data to all the CRAs , it is up to the lender to decide which CRA they wish to use, if any. While we appreciate it is frustrating you may have to obtain three copies of your credit reference file. You could ask your lenders which CRAs they use to help narrow this down.

You may find that they all use one, or even all of, the CRAs. While all three CRAs offer products which allow an individual instant access to their credit report via a monthly subscription service, there is no obligation on anyone to have to sign up to any of these products in order to get a copy of the information about their financial standing on their credit file.

They can use it without consent if they have a valid reason and as long as you have been told what is going to happen to your data. If you have taken out a loan or credit card you will probably find details of this in the original terms and conditions that you signed. As well as credit referencing, CRAs also operate other activities such as direct marketing and lead generating functions. If your credit file is inaccurate, you can raise your concerns with the relevant CRA you obtained your file from.

However, the problem may lie with the original lender or organisation that supplied the CRA with the information so you will need to contact them instead. If you have contacted the CRA and the original lender and there is an obvious inaccuracy which they are unwilling to correct then you may wish to make a complaint to the ICO. Please note that it's not our role to decide on financial disputes.

It is easy to see why people assume the CRAs are responsible for all the information that appears on their credit file. However, in reality, the lenders and telecoms and utility companies who passed the information to the CRA in the first place also have responsibilities for the information that appears on your credit file.

The CRAs cannot amend this data without the permission of that company. Having said this, we still expect the CRAs to take reasonable measures to ensure the information that is reported by lenders via their credit files is accurate. The information that is generated by the CRAs and for which they are responsible, includes financial links, linked addresses and alias information. They can. Each of the CRAs provides lenders with the facilities to make their own changes to the information you see on your credit file.

So if your bank needs to make an urgent update they can do this without requesting that the CRA makes the changes for them. If you have taken out a loan or credit card you will probably find this in the original terms and conditions that you signed. In most cases, the answer is likely to be yes, provided that the default recorded is an accurate reflection of events and that when you opened the account you were told probably in the terms and conditions of the credit agreement that this may happen.

Therefore, while it may be a requirement of the Consumer Credit Act to issue a default notice, there is no data protection obligation on a lender to issue a default notice to individuals before marking an account as being in default on their credit file. Further information on filing defaults with the CRAs can be found in the Principles for the reporting of arrears, arrangements and defaults at credit reference agencies.

The principles in this document have been drawn up by the credit industry in collaboration with the ICO. Once you have been discharged you will have to notify each of the lenders whose accounts were included in this bankruptcy as they will not automatically be told. You should send them the evidence of this and ask them to amend their entry on your credit file to reflect this.

The specifics of how it will look vary depending on the CRA but the entries should be marked in such a way that any lender searching your credit file can clearly see that this debt is no longer outstanding and you are not being pursued for it. If any of the lenders respond refusing to amend their entry or fail to amend their entry within one month of receiving your proof of discharge you may wish to make a complaint to the ICO.

Please note, in this instance it is the lender who is the subject of any complaint you raise with us, not the CRA. When you take out any type of credit for another person, if that credit agreement is in your name unfortunately the default will appear on your file.

This is why you have to be very careful about taking out credit for other people and always bear in mind that this may reflect badly on your credit status, not theirs, if they fail to make the agreed payments.

In most cases this will simply be a mix up as most of these cases are caused by people with the same name living at the same address, but it could also be a case of identity fraud. The first thing you should do is notify the CRA you obtained your credit file from of this error. They should be able to carry out further checks to understand what has gone wrong and take action to put it right.

In some cases they may need you to provide evidence of your correct address, and should ask you to provide any information they need. If they respond refusing to amend this information you may wish to make a complaint to us. Searches on your credit file should not have a negative impact on your credit history. Lots of searches in a short space of time however can imply that you are having problems getting credit which, in itself, can impact an organisations decision about whether it will give you credit or not.

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud you should report it to the relevant fraud departments of the organisations involved. As fraud is a crime, you should consider reporting this issue to the police if they are not already aware. You may wish to report the suspected fraud to Action Fraud as well. However, if a lender has acknowledged that an entry on your credit file relates to a fraudulently operated account, but refused to remove the entry we may be able to look into a complaint about the fairness and relevance of this entry remaining.

If you are able to provide us with evidence from the lender s concerned demonstrating that they have acknowledged the account was operated fraudulently but have failed or refused to remove the corresponding entries from your credit file you may wish to make a complaint to us.

Each of the CRAs also has their own Victim of Fraud Teams who work together to help resolve issues which relate to fraudulent activity. All this means is that you've been paying less than the agreed minimum monthly payment to your debts. Just continue with your plan payments as normal. If a debt is passed to a collection agency, they'll get in touch with you to let you know that they're now looking after the debt.

Let your DMP or TPP provider know the debt's now being looked after by a debt collection agency, and they'll make sure that your monthly plan payment is distributed correctly. They'll be able to talk you through what to do next. You should get free and impartial debt help before your creditors take any further action. Take two minutes to answer a few simple questions and find out if debt advice is right for your situation.

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