help!! Lloyds default on arrears that we didn't know of!!

[Carla91]

Hi everyone!
Just wondered if anyone can help us!
Me and my partner are looking to buy our first house. Everything going good unthouse! had to do a credit report to fond a big fat default on my partners loan that he knew nothing about!

In 2010 Lloyds defaulted my partner on the arrears of his loan. He was supposed to pay £195 per month but circumstances changed so the agreement changed to £100 per month. Everything was fine. Payments were taken and pretty much every month since had been paid. What they failed to tell my partner is that as he is paying less than the first agreement that he could get defaulted on it!

We have contacted the bank and they are fully satisfied that they done everything by the book although my partner had no default notice and no solicitors letter that was supposed to have been sent by royal mail. They are also refusing to send us copies of the original letters, saying that they are not on the file anymore.
They also have on the computer that my partner had made a phonecall to them 2 days after they supposedly sent this letter, with no records of what the phonetically was about they ASSUME that the call was about the default notice that we never got!

We have tried doing this over the phone but as they do they just fobb us off to contact the ombudsmen.
Is there anything else we can do before going down the letter route as we don't have time on our side as we have found our perfect house.

Please help!!

[PAWS]

Re: help!! Lloyds default on arrears that we didn't know of!!

Hello Carla
One of the clever legal beagles will be along soon to give you constructive advice.
In the meantime;
Forget phone calls. Get everything in writing and when writing to these gits sent it recorded delivery. It costs a bit more but at least you can prove they got it.
This issue of defaulting people when they have an agreed reduced payment plan reared its head in orfosters fight with Lloyds. (See LegalBeagle Wins Bank Charge Case). I myself have had account defaults added to my credit file when I was on an agreed reduced payment programme.
Let’s see what the clever chaps say and in the meantime try not to let this get you down; you have come to the right place.

[Kafka]

Re: help!! Lloyds default on arrears that we didn't know of!!

Just to be clear - the dispute here is only over a default registered with the credit reference agencies is it?
You mention a solicitor's letter, but that isn't needed for a default. They just need to have complied with the rules by sending a valid Default Notice that allowed you 14 days to remedy the breach.

[nymeria]

Re: help!! Lloyds default on arrears that we didn't know of!!

So was the term of the loan extended at the time or was this just an agreement for him to pay less because of other reasons? There should definitely be some paperwork about all this. Have you submitted an official complaint with Lloyds? You have to do this before approaching the ombudsman. It might be also worthwhile to contact the credit agency directly and explain what happened. Are you in any position to clear the debt?