Smallish Amex default; how to handle

[ritesaidfred]

I was out of the country and the situation was as follows:

1) I got locked out of my online banking due to roaming on Three for too long

2) Someone took a direct debit that I wasn't expecting from my current account in December 2021, so my direct debit to Amex bounced (bill was £261, but increased to £360 before being frozen).

3) I noticed a couple of months later and offered to pay the £261. However, i didn't actually get around to doing this.

4) Amex passed to Zinc, who emailed me various settlement offers over the last year and a half such as half price (£180). In July 2022 the account was put in default.

I also have an O2 default for £28 from July 2018 (now under the name of Lowell Portfolio).

I'm not sure if I can get my Amex card back, or what the best way to deal with the situation is ?

Does paying off the money either in full or part make any difference to my credit record? 

[dx100uk]

you cant remove a default its there for 6yrs regardless to paying or not or paid or not.

the whole account will vanish from you file on the defaults 6th b'day never to return. doesnt mean a debt is not still owed mind, thats down to statute barring. 

so Amex wont issue you with a new card till the debt is cleared is that what you are asking?

also have you moved since the 02 account?

dx

 

[ritesaidfred]

I'm not quite sure what my status is with Amex,  they are still showing as having £12k credit limit on the record but if I login to my Amex account it shows as 'Amex Platinum cashback card -123456 - cancelled'

But the Amex account shows available credit £11,539 so I'm not sure if I can get the same card reinstated or not. If not, then if it's just a default that will stay there for six years then there doesn't seem a lot of point in attempting to pay it off.

Regarding the O2, the O2 and Amex are both at the same address, I'm moving back to the UK (next week), and will have a different address.

[dx100uk]

why do you need so much credit? go get a diff card.

so you are not in the uk even, 

once you ensure you are settled you must up date the debt owners with your new address else backdoor CCJ time i

[ritesaidfred]

I will be back next week as mentioned.... So not very long. 

I don't need that much credit, they just steadily increased it over time in the past (like 15 years ago)

I could definitely try to get a different card but I suppose:

1. my credit score seems like it is bad so I probably wouldn't get any useful cards with good features (such as cashback)

2. I quite like the Amex cashback card and some of their other products.

3. obviously if I'm not going to be eligible for any good credit cards then I can just use my Tesco card for the next five years

4. at some point I might want to get a mortgage or something so if there's something I should do then I can consider that.

Edited September 3, 2023 by ritesaidfred

[dx100uk]

once the 6yrs is reached from the defaulted date it vanishes, lenders cant see old stuff. they dont see what you do!