Barclaycard predicament

[HelenaTroy]

Hi, hope I've posted this in correct forum.
I'd be grateful for some advice with the following:

My Barclaycard account was opened in 1996.

I haven't made any contractual repayments since December 2000 when the outstanding balance was over £2.5k.

Since January 2001 I have been making token payments of £5 per month, which Barclaycard review every year or so, but nothing changes as my circumstances have never changed.

I did cca them around six years ago, and surprisingly they produced a valid agreement.

However, they have never Defaulted me BUT my credit file continually shows six years of AP, which hasn't bothered me until now.

I now have the funds to repay this debt in full.
Before paying this debt in full, is there anything I can do to get Barclays to remove all the APs from my credit file, or perhaps even get them to Default me retrospectively back to 2001?

Would hate to pay this debt in full and my credit file is unchanged for another six years or so because of the APs.

Wheras if I'd been Defaulted back in 2001 when contractual payments ceased then (paid or not) the Barclaycard entry on my credit file would have dropped off around six years ago.

Thanks in advance.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Barclaycard predicament

Did you ever get a default notice? I know it's been a long time but I'd be inclined to contact the CRAs asking them to remove the incorrect entries in the first instance, showing this was defaulted 12 years ago! Your credit files should show accurate data regardless of whether you pay this debt or not.

If it was me, I'd try that avenue first, before offering to repay the debt. You should have been defaulted in 2001 and that's what matters.

You say they produced a 'valid agreement'. Out of interest, could you scan or take a picture of it and post it up here? hoto: Do remove all personal details or cover them up before scanning or photographing. :typing:

[HelenaTroy]

Re: Barclaycard predicament

Thanks for your reply FlamingParrot.

Yes, definitely never been defaulted for this.
I'll try and scan the agreement this evening.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Barclaycard predicament

You may want to refer to the ICO technical guidance notes for filing defaults with the CRAs: http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/docume...%20%20doc.ashx

The definition of a default

9. A ‘default’ can be said to occur as soon as a borrower fails to meet the terms of their credit arrangement. However, adopting this definition for credit referencing purposes would create difficulties since it is accepted that not all these defaults should be reported, for example, where weekly payments are late but are quickly remedied.
The term ‘default’, when recorded on a credit reference file should be used to refer to a situation when “the lender in a standard business relationship with the individual decides the relationship has broken down”

Note how making token payments is an exception to a 'genuine and agreed variation in payment schedule', meaning a default should have been filed when you started paying tokens:

17 Lenders should not file a default where there is a genuine and agreed variation in the payment schedule. (The only exception to this is where a debt management programme is put in place where the level of repayment represents only a token sum which is only accepted by the lender because the customer cannot afford to pay more. The reporting of debt management plans is discussed at paragraphs 22-26.) Customers should not be led to believe that they have agreed a change to the arrangement to repay a loan, when the lender considers that the customer has defaulted.

Note how an 'arrangement to pay' is meant to last up to six months:

Arrangements to pay
21 An ‘arrangement to pay’
This involves a temporary, short-term (up to six months) arrangement where the lender agrees to accept reduced payments.

The original payment terms will still be shown on the credit reference file and arrears will accrue which will be shown on the monthly status record.

...and again, when the payment levels represent only a token, a default should be recorded:

24 Low repayment levels
If the payment set out in the DMP is at a level that represents only a token sum in repayment, because that is all the customer can afford, the account should be recorded as a default.

The criteria for filing a default would have become effective some time in 2000/2001 as per notes below:

The date of default
31 The date of default recorded on the file should be the date on which a decision to file a default becomes effective according to the criteria discussed in paragraphs 9 to 16. If a notice of intention to file a default is served (see paragraphs 32 to 37), the default date should be the date the notice becomes effective. When a default is filed after a genuine and agreed variation in payment schedule has broken down, it should record the date of that breakdown subject to the conditions described in paragraph 21

As you have seen, making payments and/or sticking to payment arrangements can be detrimental to your credit file (contrary to common belief and common sense), and it's usually better to stop paying so as to get defaulted as soon as possible, the sooner the better. :grin: Even if you do decide to make reduced payments or enter into a DMP afterwards, once a default has been filed, it will only stay on file for 6 years.

I realise the above suggestion is 12 or 13 years too late for you :sad: but I'm posting it here for the benefit of others who may be reading these posts. With regards to your situation, you should be able to make a point based on the references quoted above, that a default should have been recorded in 2000/2001 and it should now be a distant memory and your credit file should have been clean for the past 6 years! :thumb:

[HelenaTroy]

Re: Barclaycard predicament

Thanks Flaming Parrot, that info may yet come in very handy, hopefully.

Here is the agreement that I signed with Barclaycard way back in 1996.
They also sent a couple of pages of terms and conditions, although I couldn't tell if they were the originals or not, it stated on them that the interest rate was 1.61% per month.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Barclaycard predicament

Unfortunately that image is very low resolution to be readable, I don't seem to be able to zoom in to read the text.

We'd really need a larger, more readable image to be able to read what it says.