barclaycard credit card account not closed after request, now have a default five years later..

[Ollie1001]

Hi all,

 

In my uni days (seems like an eternity has passed since) i had a barclaycard credit card. In my last year of uni i payed off the balance in full and requested the account be closed as i didn't want the temptation there in my wallet to spend more than i could afford when those lovely student loan cheques stopped coming in.

 

fast forward 8 years and i am having trouble obtaining credit, so i sign up for the usual free month trial at experian and equifax.

experian have no info on barclaycard under my name, but equifax have a nice big red default and delinquent balance registered next to my barclaycard in 2009, some five years after i thought the account had been closed.

 

Shortly after i closed the account i moved house, and have since moved 3 more times in the interim, I never updated my address details with barclaycard as i had no reason to think i would need to.

 

what now? Do i stand a chance of getting this removed? it seems so grossly unfair that my finances should be affected potentially 11 years from the original error.

 

I have long ago destroyed any statements/correspondence from barclays regarding the account.

 

I want to write to barclaycard as a starting point but I'm not sure whether to take the hard line approach that this is their error (I have absolutely NO evidence of my request to close the account) or to plead with them that the default is a disproportionate punishment for what was a simple error made nearly a decade ago...

 

please help...

[citizenB]

Sorry, if the account balance was paid off - why would they have added a default ?

 

I would say an initial complaint to B/shark asking why there is a default on an account that was fully paid up on such and such a date?

 

bullet point your letter - it makes it easier for the sequence of events

 

It should be clearly headed OFFICIAL COMPLAINT - they are obliged to respond to these within 8 weeks, after which time if you are not satisfied you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

 

Send it to their Registered/head office and do send it at the very least by Recorded Delivery !!

 

I would suggest making a Subject Access request - but they will say they can only provide information back dated for 6 years - I guess it could be worth the attempt and the fee of £10.00 JIC something does show up as to why.

[citizenB]

If you had left even the tiniest of balances on the card, they would have added charges to the account so you could almost certainly argue those were disproportionate.

 

However, they can only add default markers for up to 6 years after the first missed payment (if there was a balance left which needed to be cleared).

[Ollie1001]

exactly?

 

to my knowledge there were no annual fees, or any other means for a balance to grow on the card over the years in my absence even if the account wasn't closed.

the delinquent balance/default is for over £1700:!:

 

I'll fire off a letter and see what sort of response I get....

[citizenB]

If you need any further help, please let us know. Please also let us know what type of response you receive

[Ollie1001]

Yep, i'll post up the process and outcome. I'm guessing this is going to take months to resolve though....

 

Thanks.

[citizenB]

Hopefully they will resolve the situation within the mandatory 8 weeks allowed them - if you then need to go to the FOS, then THAT almost certainly will take months to resolve!!