Worth fully settling?

[jmcp1459]

Hi,

 

I had an account a number of years ago with Halifax. It was a 'cash card' account with Visa Electron. Originally this was my main account but then I got a standard current account also from Halifax.

 

I moved to France for a year and when i was away the Electron account went overdrawn by approx £80. there was no interest or charges associated with this and I left it with the intention of returning the account to 0 and closing it. By time I moved back to the UK and went into the Branch to close the account I was informed that it had been closed. The assistant in the branch told me the debt was written off.

 

As I was a 21yo student i did not understand the implications of this, but now i am encountering problems. The Halifax account appeared on my credit file in June 2011, and in July 2011 was closed showing as 3 months in arrears and partially settled.

 

I would like to fully settle this account as it is the only blemish on my credit history, but as this is 4 years ago and I know that it will be removed in 2 years I am unsure of whether to do so.

 

If I fully settle now will the account still be removed from my credit file in 2 years or will it 'reset' the 6 year 'life cycle?'

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[renegadeimp]

If its marked as defaulted then it will make no difference if you pay it or leave it. It will still be there unless as part of the settlement they fully agree to remove all markers from your file.

[jmcp1459]

Thanks for the reply.

 

On my credit file, the status is marked as Settled, although this is then detailed below as partially settled. I could be wrong due to my lack of knowledge but would the fact that it is marked as 3 months in arrears add to the issue? The 3 months in arrears is quite annoying as there was not a monthly payment required, and I have never missed a payment on any account.

 

I am aiming to apply for a mortgage before the end of the year but as my file sits at the minute I believe it would be extremely unlikely I will pass until July 2017 when this removes.

 

Again, thanks

 

EDIT: On credit file the sections for date last delinquent and default date is blank so I am assuming it is not defaulted?

Edited February 3, 2015 by jmcp1459
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