credit cards

[danchip]

i rang my credit card company in january and set up a direct debit to pay it off and also change the address on my account, I then went to work abraod/offshore for 8 months and when i came back i had no statements and a million letters from debt collectors saying i hadn't paid my card and had defaulted on the account and had nearly �500 of late payment fees and interest built up on the account

having spoke to the credit card company they have said a direct debit was never set up and i never changed my address and any phonecalls i had that long ago will no longer be on their archives

is there anything i can do to sort this out

[puzzlemaniac]

credit card companies normally retain recorded telephone calls for a number of years, not months. Can you prove from your telephone bill that you contacted the cr card company in January. It might help them trace a call, or help you argue your side.

[danchip]

not sure if i have still got my phone bill from january, i was told i could maybe contact the FSA about it

[PrinceRainie]

From experience, I'm affraid there is probably not an awful lot you can do, other than pay it off asap.
The default will be registered on your credit file which will have an adverse effect on obtaining future credit, however once the debt is repaid it will show as being settled, but will stay on file for 6 years (i think).
You can put whats called a "notice of correction" on your credit file explaining what lead to the defulat in the first place...i.e you setting up DD and change of address, however credit company failed to do this etc etc.......this will be viewable by any future crditors you apply to and will provide them with an explanation as to why the default is on file.
If you look on the experian website it will provide further details......good luck

[danchip]

i'm really annoyed about this just because some lazy idiot couldn't be bothered to do his job

[SlackAlice]

From experience, this is why I always write a letter to other companies and keep a copy. It's not quite as deniable as a phone call.

[danchip]

in response to zacmasters post, the lazy idiot who wasn't checking his statements wasn't receiving any statements from the cc company