thanks, just called them but they cannot find any details for the previous property, as such they are saying they cannot do anything unless i find a reference number, what a joke!

hey guys, bit of a weird one, now i might be slightly naive to think this but one would assume a utilities company cannot issue defaults against your credit report, as fundamentally they are not in receipt of a contract as such, i.e. no proof of ID is needed when calling them to arrange management of your utility bills, no contract is signed etc. So imagine my dismay when i recently applied for a mortgage (believing my credit report to be somewhat good) and a default appears from BG. can someone explain to me how this is possible? as they are not a DCA, nor a lender in any sense of the word. The most annoying thing is that the default they have put on my account is basically from when i moved home, i told BG that i would be moving on 1st April 2011, and would like them to be my utilities provider at my new home, to which they were overjoyed about (of course), however they were still billing me for the old property, 6 months after i moved out, at no stage did they call me, or try and contact me at all using my new address, following this they even passed my details onto a DCA who have now tried contacted me also, i called BG and they agreed that it was a mistake and explained they are taking the debt back from the DCA, and quashing the bills that were raised for a property i wasn't even living in!!! the sick thing about all of this is that they knew my new address but at no point thought of contacting me to ask what was happening. i suppose at the end of this rant (forgive me), is a question to you fellow caggers: Am i in a legal position to demand they remove the default from my credit report and if so, what do i need to do in order to get the wheels in motion? also i'd like to know if BG can sort out the default from the DCA they instructed to "track me down" (even though they knew my new address!) it's making me slightly sick that anyone in this country could lie to a utilities company about their name and screw up someone else's credit report (no id, signature, contract required etc) and get away with it. any advice would be much appreciated! thanks in advance guys!! Az

legends! thanks for confirming, i thought as much!

damn, no replies, have i made this sound more complicated than it needed to be? i just need to know whether DCA's can add defaults onto an original debt thus increasing the time until it gets removed from someones credit report? thanks!

Hey all, been a while since my last post, i hope you're all still kicking DCA's butts out there? Got a question, that i'm sure has been asked before, but for the life of me, i can't find one! My question is a relatively simple one, i'm hoping someone can enlighten me?! Can DCA's add defaults to someones credit score as many times as they like? the scenario is thus: my partner has a debt on her credit report, which was defaulted in March 2006, now i know that this is going to be Statute Barred in March 2012, however, can the DCA add an additional default on to her credit score? as they have just taken on the debt? OR is the rule, that as soon as the original default has surpassed the 6 year period, nothing can be amended with that debt? i.e. the DCA putting their own defaults on it or something? the confusion comes when DCA's sell on and on and on etc, i'm just not sure if when it moves to a new DCA, can they extend the time it takes to come off your report? might sound like a stupid question, but some clarification would be very much appreciated! thanks CAGGERS!

oh, forgot to say, i have actually contacted experian, they have told me that i need to send them a copy of the letter from the DCA in question (Lowell) - and they will ask Lowell for permission to remove the default... as if they are going to agree to this without a massive fight... not sure how i can get out of this, it's holding me back from creating a good life for my partner and child.

I’ve been having a nightmare the past year with DCA’s putting constant defaults on my account every month! Even though the alleged debt(s) are un-enforceable, either by way of SB or an un-acceptable contract being provided. The thing is that myself and my partner have a baby and have been looking into getting a mortgage, but with my credit record the way it is, from the pounding DCA’s have given it, putting defaults on monthly , there is no way this is every going to happen. I suppose my ranting is really aiming towards some much needed advice, as to how I can get these defaults removed and keep them off my record. Any help/advice is much appreciated guys! Az

i think they charge them about £10 per month... for unlimited tracing, which is cheap when you think how many tracks they must do per month. shocking.

i know it's not Lowell, i was saying that it's a company that lowell have been using to trace people....

Fellow Caggers, It seems that Lowell / Hamptons / Red have employed a new tactic in tracing people, a friend of mine has received a letter from a company called 1st Locate based in Leeds, they have attempted to contact him using personal information. Anyone else had anything like this? He has moved addresses since receiving a letter from Lowell stating they cannot provide him with a valid response to his CCA request, so feels there should be no need for correspondence with the Leeds Losers. Fair play if you ask me, it’s just amazing the lengths these people are prepared to go to, in order to track someone down. Az

yeah, i thought as much mate, thanks for the feedback though, i've put all the info into a letter now, will send off and see what they say - i was like whoa, Cerberus is a bit keen! haha

here is a copy of the CCA... lowell Littlewoods Flex AC CCA Return.pdf

thanks mate, nice one.

ok mate, thanks for the advice... i might just write something like, you state an amount was paid on xx date, however i do not believe this to be the case, unless sufficient proof is provided then no attempts to collect should be made... what do you think?

haha, fair one, but would be nice to have something more structured