Since hitting 30, with a staff job as a journalist [at the Guardian], I’ve made huge efforts to ensure a squeaky-clean credit rating before applying for a mortgage and I’ve had several meetings with Lloyds Bank managers to get all my accounts in order.
Recently, a flat came up and I planned to apply for a loan. But an Experian credit check came through as “very poor”. It showed a single, mystery Lloyds Bank credit card in arrears with six missed payments.
I had no communication about this, even though the card seemed to have my correct address and contact details. None of the bank managers I’d met had mentioned it.
An investigations team said they had identified the card, admitted there had probably been “service errors” but were no clearer as to where it had appeared from. They would write to a lender to advise them there was an investigation ongoing rather than admit any error.
I was then told that I had reported a lost credit card in 2011, stolen while I was working as a correspondent abroad. There had been several attempts to send a replacement but none reached me. It seems it then disappeared from my online account and had somehow frozen in the system as “lost”. I had assumed the card had been officially closed. When the direct debits were cancelled, the frozen account landed in Lloyds’ collections department which, for some reason, sent all communications to a five year-old address.
Please help as this unfair blot on my credit record is preventing me from getting a mortgage. GP, London
We are getting more and more complaints from readers who only discover a poor credit record when it comes to the critical stage of applying for a mortgage.
Lloyds Bank said: “We would like to apologise for the distress this may have caused. It appears a few errors were made regarding her account. Due to these errors the customer’s account had been suspended and she was advised that the account was closed. An investigation has brought these errors to light and appropriate action has been taken.”
It has agreed to refund £176.76 interest on the account and late payment and overlimit charges of £72. It is also removing the negative data applied to the credit file and has offered £150 in compensation.
But remember it may take up to 28 days to erase the debt from your credit rating so it would be wise to factor that into your flat hunting.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
