Hi everyone,
I'm just new to this and have never been able to talk about what I've been struggling with
so want to start by writing it all down and getting it out of my system.
I know it's a long story but support is really all I'm after right now (and any experienced advice!)
. I'm 19 years old, Male, A student and I work part time.
I've previously worked full time and had good paying jobs and didn't have a worry in the world until I turned 18
and had my first "offer" letter from a credit card company.
I applied, and was rejected.
Then I got deep into the internet and discovered what a credit score was so immediately sent away for a copy of my own.
To my horror, weeks after my 18th birthday, I had a credit score lower than 250
and 3 defaulted accounts listed under my name at an address I had lived at in my early teens.
But I had just turned 18 how could this be?
Exactly my thoughts...
The accounts were all in my name
but had a date of birth that had been reversed (1979 instead of 97).
The accounts were active from 2009 to 2012 when I would have been aged 12-15.
I immediately raised this with Equifax and 2 of the accounts were quickly removed from my file after I provided proof of ID.
However, there was an account from Studio 24 that still had not been removed.
I contacted Studio (Express Gifts) in July 2015 both by letter and email.
I provided proof of ID and Address and copies of my credit report which showed the defaulted accounts.
I was passed from pillar to post until March 2016 when they informed the account was now closed
and the notice removed from my credit report.
All seemed well with the world and I had no need for credit at the time
so chose to push the whole fiasco to the back of my mind
and enjoy my last summer before University.
Cut to July 2016 and I receive a letter from Cabot Financial informing me that my debt of £845.87 had been sold to them by Express Gifts. The initial default amount was £120.94. I called Cabot and they rectified the situation in around 2 months, Express Gifts sent me a cheque for £85 as a "goodwill gesture."
During the whole ordeal, I also had contact with the police who believed I had been a victim of ID theft
(we moved out of the property in question in 2008).
However, nothing came to light of it and I have since moved away from my home town
and don't believe anything will ever come of it.
As a result of this right royal muck up by a business years before I could even get credit,
my score has always remained at the lowest tier
(as far as I am aware, removing default notices will not up your score but will simply change your report).
I have never been able to obtain credit and couldn't even get an overdraft facility or a student credit card.
I still can't get the latter but have managed to obtain a £500 overdraft on my student account with RBS
which has been excellent help.
On top of this,
I have now fallen into the trap of payday loans
and have probably had in excess of 10 since I moved away from my hometown,
became estranged from my family
(I had a fallout with my parents as I believed my mother was the one who used my information to obtain credit),
and started out myself.
I now only owe £250 to wageday advance but this is after 1 deferral payment last month.
On top of that,
I have an Aqua credit card with a £100 facility that I had for emergencies
- which of course sods law I had to get my washing machine repaired right before payday so used that.
My plan is to be debt free by August,
I wan't to have everything paid off and not have a single line of credit
bar my interest free student overdraft and £100 Aqua card which I may shut down
as my score has lowered even more since getting it.
I just really wanted to write everything down and see if anyone else has ever been through the same thing as me,
I'm miles away from home and have no one to talk to about it.
They told me life'd be hard, but I never thought it would be as bad as this.