Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

[matty1243]

Hi Guys i wonder if anybody can help me... Back in 2009 i was diagnosed with Bipolar mental health condition and due to the condition i had run up about £70,000 of debt with various creditors, before i was diagnosed i was taken under the care of my local mental health team due to a severe breakdown, i had lost my family and had many other problems, at the time i was given some free government help and i had a debt councilor who work hard for me, and passed my medical details on to the various creditors, they all accepted the info given and decided to default my accounts, the best of the bunch was Santander who told me a default would be recorded for 6 years but they added the default in Jan 2010 which it shows on my credit file as both accounts defaulted.
Now what was harder was dealing with Barclaycard through a company called Mercers Debt Collections after so much correspondence i finally received 2 letters on the 1st March 2010 saying

Having reviewed the information you have provided, we can confirm that we will not currently pursue your client for the repayment of the outstanding balance at this time, we do however reserve the right to seek payment of your clients account in the event of a change in circumstances, arrears will continue to accrue on the account which will be reflected on the information passed to the credit reference agencies, once registered a default notice may affect your clients ability to obtain credit in the future...

Now the problem i have is on my credit file Barclaycard show 2 accounts but all the time and for the last 4 years it just says 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6, 6 payments late??? but why will they not default this account like the others have done ie from the 1st March 2010, i have called them a few times and each time they say yes we have written this debt off due to sickness and will not come after me but why is my account not showing a default is there anything i can do?? it feels to me like oh well you didnt pay us back so we are going to stitch you up forever?? is there any rules regarding this? can i get them to issue a default? i was so hoping that in 2016 my slate would be finally clean but not with the 66666 showing on my credit file for both Barclaycard accounts.

Please can you help me thanks.

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

Hi Matty and welcome to AAD
This is quite common for Barclaycard. I have an old one myself, unpaid for 5 years and it's still showing a 6.
I take it that you're not paying anything towards these accounts? Have they stopped charging interest?

If that's the case then if it was me I would just keep a low profile until the debts become Statute Barred (6 years after last missed payment or formal acknowledgement).
No calling them! Don't write to them or do anything that acknowledges the debts.
Once your 6 years is up and they are time barred from pursuing the debts in court, if the accounts don't drop off your file then you can look to having them removed.

[matty1243]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

HI Elsa, thanks so much for the response to my message, oh i wish i had found you guys earlier yesterday i phoned Barclaycard asking them why they had not defaulted the account back in March 2010, and the guy said he would check it out and get back to me... ok so what you are saying even if Barclaycard do not close this account down, after 6 years of missed payments it will come off my credit file?? the account still shows as open with no default listed unlike Santander where i have a black D ok so on my Barclaycard for 2009 i have OK OK OK OK OK OK 1 AR AR AR 2 3 AND IN 2010 4 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 each figure being one month, so as you can see the first 6 was recorded in March 2010, so what you are saying by law this will be removed from my credit file in March 2016 as then 6 years will have passed by? so basically i have another 2 years 2 months before it will come off my account, hence me calling them yesterday trying to get a default registered in march 2010 i should just keep quiet?
Thanks so much xx

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

Definitely keep quiet and keep your head down Matty. Changing it from a 6 to a default now won't make any difference. As far as being Statute Barred is concerned the date of default on the credit file is irrelevant too. What matters is last payment date or written acknowledgement. After that time you're home and dry as they can't enforce the debt.

I'll ask our CRA expert/Forum administrator Niddy (Never-in-Doubt) to look in, he'll let you know the best way to get the entries removed once you pass the 6 year mark, if they don't drop off automatically.

Elsa x

[Riz]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

As long as 6's are being reported, the account will never come off your credit file. Barclays do this to screw you over.

Many people have complained about this, andquite a few have got backdated defaults put in place and the 6s taken off. Sometimes needing to take it to the FOS. Meaning the accounts are removed 6 years from the default date.

As said, if you are waiting for this to be statute barred then you may want to wait before making a formal complaint about the 666666666......

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

^^^^ agreed. If playing the SB game then you need to ignore the incorrect entries and argue them later. The ICO guide clearly states a default should be applied within 6 months of the first missed payment, ie default.

This is not the same as a formal default under s.87/88 CCA1974 - they're different things hence the ICO created a guide as to default reporting.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

Now the problem i have is on my credit file Barclaycard show 2 accounts but all the time and for the last 4 years it just says 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6, 6 payments late??? but why will they not default this account like the others have done ie from the 1st March 2010, i have called them a few times and each time they say yes we have written this debt off due to sickness and will not come after me but why is my account not showing a default is there anything i can do?? it feels to me like oh well you didnt pay us back so we are going to stitch you up forever?? is there any rules regarding this? can i get them to issue a default? i was so hoping that in 2016 my slate would be finally clean but not with the 66666 showing on my credit file for both Barclaycard accounts.

Please can you help me thanks.

was this, by any chance, a bank account?

[Riz]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

^^^^ agreed. If playing the SB game then you need to ignore the incorrect entries and argue them later. The ICO guide clearly states a default should be applied within 6 months of the first missed payment, ie default.

Not only that, but the ICO also state very clearly that:

A record showing a series of payments as six months in arrears when this does not reflect the real payment history should not be used as an equivalent of a default.

[matty1243]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

No the account was 2 Barclaycard credit card accounts one for £10K and one for £7K, today i have contacted the FSO and the guy was very helpful, i explained the story as above and he said that he had heard of this before and was happy to open a case for me... He said it was interesting that the letter from Mercers dated 1st March 2010 says "Once registered a default notice may effect your ability to obtain credit in the future" so as i explained why when the 666's started at this date why did they not place a default notice, the guy at the FSO seem to agree with me and he said he will now write to Barclaycard to find out why this has not happened, and i told him all i want is the correction made for this date so the six years can start, i do accept the fact i got in a mess, he told me that the FSO can change the rule if they find this unfair and make them show the default, but as i said before he was very interested in my query and said it was worth getting it looked into now.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

Oh so you're not fighting for UE / SB then? Good luck......

The FSO??? You mean the FOS? They will be useless as it's not a FOS query, it's ICO!! If you want help you do need to read what we are saying and stop thinking for yourself or you'll end up in a likely worse position, like contacting the FOS.

Go through the FOS and forget fighting SB - also they have no jurisdiction as it's nothing to do with them and secondly, you must complain to the bank first and let them issue a final response (then you can go to the FOS within 6 months)....

but this (data reporting errors) is an ICO issue THEN a FOS issue last of all.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

but as i said before he was very interested in my query and said it was worth getting it looked into now.

No. All you did was speak to a call handler, not the FOS, Adjudicator or an Ombudsman. You spoke to a nobody (with respect they are just call handlers) that literally records the details. He can be interested all he likes but he won't have anything to do with anything as it will be passed to an adjudicator. (Process)......

[Riz]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

The FSO??? You mean the FOS? They will be useless as it's not a FOS query, it's ICO!! .

The FOS can deal with them as well. In fact, with some of the ones I've seen it was the FOS that got the default added and backdated.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

The FOS can deal with them as well. In fact, with some of the ones I've seen it was the FOS that got the default added and backdated.

Yes after contacting the bank then the ICO - process must be followed. You cannot bypass the OC and go straight to the FOS.

The ICO sorted mine, ie they confirmed that the company was likely to be in the wrong hence once I gave that letter to the FOS caseworker the problem was then resolved as the ICO have limited powers.

So whilst I agree, I also think process needs to be followed as well.

[Riz]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

Nope, ones I've seen didn't go via the ICO, but were after a complaint to the OC and the the FOS.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Debt With Bipolar Condition Barclaycard will not issue Default on my account

Nope, ones I've seen didn't go via the ICO, but were after a complaint to the OC and the the FOS.

lol, the FOS have no right to intervene with DPA issues, good example is us at AAD. If the FOS wrote to me I'd laugh at them and rightly so.

point is, not all firms are licensed with the FOS but if they deal with data then the ICO manages it hence I tend to refer to process and the process is complain to the OC, then the ICO then the FOS.

skip a hurdle and mess up and your chance is blown. You get one chance with the FOS and lately they are idiotic rulings at best, of late. The FOS are the last resort hence why jump in before the ICO rule? It's silly IMO.