T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

[paulx2]

Hi,

I am in the process of taking a small claim to court against T-Mobile. I took out an 18 month contract with them and my final bill included a bogus amount as a final settlement cost (an additional £32.00 on top of my monthly plan).

I contacted them and explained I would stop my direct debit until they sent me out the correct bill. They agreed but later I was referred to a debt collection agency and T Mobile refused to discuss the account as it was no longer their debt. I paid the amount in full and the made a small claim against T Mobile for falsely adding the amount plus some compenstation. They settled the claim in full including compensation. I assumed that was the end of the matter.

Unfortunately, I applied for a mortgage earlier this year which was turned down on the basis of the default on my credit report very kindly put there by T-Mobile. I contacted them and demanded that they take this off. They wrote and agreed to deal with the matter as a point of urgency and the phone conversation was positive. Alas the default has not been corrected and I had to get my mortgage at a poorer rate with a different lender costing me around £2000 more. This is the amount I am claiming.

Since then T Mobile were asked to pay me the full amount as they had not adhered to the terms and conditions of the court (ironic really) and their paperwork was not submitted in time. I was instructed by the court to apply for the funds as they had not filed a defence with the court. I did that and now T Mobile want their defence reinstating at a preliminary hearing called for the 20th of Feb and are refusing to pay.

My questions are 2 fold:
1. Can they get this defence reinstated? It was my understanding that if a deadline had passed then the judgement was made in the favour of the claimant as I have been advised by the court. What possible reason can there be for allowing them to reinstate their defence and what can my counter argument be?

2. Can I win? I have very little on paper as the original clashes took place 3 years ago. I have a record of their cheque being paid into my account (original small claim), I have my credit history (perfect except for their default), I have the letter saying they would fix the issue asap, I have emails stating why my mortgage application was turned down from my mortgage advisor and I have asked them for all correspondences sent to me since 2009.

Their defence seems to hinge on the fact that by cancelling my direct debit I broke the terms and conditions of my contract. My argument is that it cannot be expected for a consumer to pay any bill for any amount calculated in error presented regardless of whether they were in a contract or not. I was happy to pay the true bill but not happy to pay the additional charges wrongly levied to my account.

Sorry for long post! It's my first time!! And any help would be very gratefully received!

[labman]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

I think this is a question for Celestine to answer. She specialises in exactly this type of issue.

[thaitoon]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

check out these cases they may bring some hope to you


Kpohraror-v- Woolwich Building Society[1996] 4 All ER 119 10 Jan 1996


Durkin v DSG and HFC

[thaitoon]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

minimum of £5 k small claims there however if you were mindful of a long hard fight as Durkin has been doing for a long time you may well be awarded much more substantial damages as you have actually suffered as a result of the rogue default marker, the damage has been done and you had to accept a mortgage at a less than favourable rate.

i suggest an SAR to T Mobile(no wonder they settled as they knew they were wrong!) get all your paperwork together including everything regarding the settlement and go through it with a fine toothcomb

all t mobile statements and electronic/paper records
all court /small claims docs and letters
any correspondence with t mobile
full copies of your credit files from the main 3 Credit agencies covering before and after the default marker was placed on the CRA records
your original mortgage offer and the subsequent higher rate

It seems you may have been the victim of the phone companies shoddy handling of your private information and they black marked you without good reason, then failed to remove it when they should have.

I would hazard a guess that a good solicitor firm would have your hand off for a case like this (based on them keeping costs awarded)


It must be noted that this is only how i would go about the matter based purely on my experience i am not a lawyer or legally qualified if in doubt seek the services of a professional

[thaitoon]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

I dont think you reneged your contract you refused to pay what you didnt owe them and prevented them from stealing it from your account furthermore they have admitted liability (and thus wrongdoing) in their first settlement and then bodged up on their legal responsibilities to remove the rogue default marker

In My Opinion they got off lightly at your first claim

if it was me i would be screaming for a very very large compensation settlement together with not agreeing a 'silence' clause so i could let the world know how these corrupt companies are so reckless with their privileged access to the Credit Reference Agencies.

Your basic human right to privacy has been interfered with as Tmobile have wrongly defaulted your credit records without a proper and full investigation into the circumstances and then recklessly sold or referred and shared your private information to debt collectors who have then gone on to harass you

as a result of this you have suffered embarrasment at the mortgage company, you have suffered a financial burden, you have been wrongly placed into a category of a 'risk borrower' there are a whole host of other real and potential effects of a rogue default (bad) marker on your credit reference files including problems gaining some employment

[thaitoon]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

I will follow this thread with interest as i have a vested interest. the phone companies think they are a law unto themselves.

I am about to sue a different communications company for doing exactly this scenario, they have failed to respond to my SAR despite cashing the cheque in october.

i got the marker removed after dealing with the customer services via email but i never had an apology and now they have messed me about with the SAR they are having it both barrels

i was going to let it lie but it has eaten away at me for months -

'Poor treatment and management of customers private information, abusing the privilege of CRA access, setting the debt collectors on me who were calling me and threatening all kinds of court action lol

i had a few other legal battles which i won last year so now its the turn of the company in question - my letter of complaint is going in tomorrow

my evidence is currently into 16 full pages of cold hard facts (and growing)

they just shrug their responsibilities relying on the ignorance and apathy of consumers, then settle out of court if challenged

[thaitoon]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

dont want to hijack your thread but to give you an idea of how ruthless i am being regarding my complaint - i am asking them directly for compensation of £50k during my letter of complaint/letter before action, a bit cheeky i know but they will NEVER want a judgement, a stated case or an upheld appeal awarded against them in this kind of scenario as it sets a legal precedent.

Again this is MY way of dealing with it as a litigant in person. and my own opinion.

if in doubt seek a pro

[Kafka]

Re: T MObile ruinedmy credit rating

Noone has yet mentioned the threat of going to the press about this. This is really a very trivial issue, but it has created profound problems that they should be held to account for. It often helps to mention that unless you get satisfaction you will take the story to the press to expose their incompetence and the problems they have created for you.