Trapped in the sense that with a default - getting a rental house is unlikely - credit checks. Getting a car loan - nope! Finding another job - not guaranteed. I wonder if I would even be able to get a mobile phone? Maybe I was being overly dramatic - but, I don;t have a lot of options, with such a poor credit rating showing a default. I have heard that a settled default is not really any much better than a non-settled one? Yeah - I phoned Lowell once, didn't like their attitude, won;t be calling back. But, you say there is no legal requirement to notify before applying a default? I've heard/read that some people have been lucky getting default removed for small amounts by a gesture of good faith? And lastly - let me ask this, if I may. Three could remove the default, right? I mean it is within their technical and legal power, they just choose not to? Thanks for the response - only more 4 years to go . . . !!

Hi Everyone, I've got a particularly horrible problem on my hands . . . well two of them, but let's start with this. In July 2013 I left the UK to live in America. However, during the move I neglected to settle an accuont with Three for a SIM used in a 3G iPad. Sometime in the last few weeks, I checked my credit report and there is a default. I should not be surprised, but I am upset about it, my UK credit was largely OK, but now it's completely useless, which sort of traps me here in another country. I can't rent or get a mortgage, or probably even get a phone. Ok - I approached Three and asked nicely. I will pay £49.08 if you completely remove the default. They refused. I asked for the original credit agreement, default notice (which i never saw) and the deed of assignment as it ended up with Lowell Portfolio. They responded that a SIM is not governed by the consumer credit act. This seems bleak - the default was added in 2014, I have a VISA until 2018. This is really not good!!!! at all. I have requested the same information - credit agreement, default notice and deed of assignment as a SAR under the DPA. I am still prepared to pay this money, as long as they remove the default - a settled default is no better than an unsettled one, as I understand it. My idea is this - I think for a default to be enforceable, I needed to have seen it? Which I did not. There is one other piece of weirdness in all of this. I use my Mum's address for all my correspondence, however I totally forgot about this Three SIM, so I did not update my address. However, when I spoke to Lowell Portfolio - they had my Mum's address and lo and behold just last week whilst this all blew up - my Mum received a letter from them! - they claim to have contacted me, maybe they did - I don;t know I was in America. Yet, my Mum is very fastidious at opening my mail and emailing me. they had her address but did not send anything prior to the default? How did they get her address? And is this relevant to their claim that 'they tried' Can anyone offer any advice, any suggestions - any argument, or mechanism I could attempt? I'm not even looking to dodge this; I made a mistake and should pay it. But, I feel that a 6 year penalty on an otherwise clean credit report for such a small sum is just unfair. I have made a SAR under the DPA - I'm hoping with this extra information something might arise in my favour? but, i really don;t feel confident. Being trapped in another country - sure isn't as much fun as it sounds. Really hoping someone has some advice, or an idea - or any suggestion that I could try! I have money available, and I have time; I just need to somehow get this default cleared. Thanks a lot in advance.