Urgent Help Needed - False Defaulted Payment on my Credit File

[JH19]

Hello,

I urgently need help, I’m currently trying to apply for a mortgage and have discovered that O2 has set a defaulted payment on my credit file in December last year. I have called Payment Management & O2 Customer Service and all agents have assured me that I do not and never have owed O2 any money.

To get my mortgage approved I need:

1. An official statement from O2, to say that I do not owe them any money and that the defaulted payment was set in error.
2. Swift action to get this default removed from my credit file.
   
   

Customer Service have been unhelpful and I’ve been referred to the Credit Amendments & Referrals Team, whom I have contacted on the 4th July 2024 and I have had no resolution from them since. I emailed the complaints department on the 12th July, no response. I have been calling in every single day only to be told that there is nothing O2 can do.

I wil be taking this further to the financial ombudsman if I cannot get an answer/reply/solution from O2.

This is abysmal service, there is no way to get anything expedited for an error caused on their end. It has caused myself and my wife immense distress and we’ll be loosing out on a mortgage and a house if this takes any longer.

Please can someone tell us if there is any way to get O2’s attention and get this process sped up. It’s ridiculous that it should take them this long to respond to a simple accounting error that should take no time at all to remedy. Not to mention that it is illegal to post a default without sending out an NOD!

Thanks, J.

[Enlli]

Sadly there is nothing we can do here as this is a community made up of all customers.

Official complaints seem to be taking around 8 weeks at the moment, not much help in your case. Once filed Customer Services won't do anything until there is an outcome.

Sorry we can't offer more hope

[pgn]

In addition to advice proffered above: You should be able to contact one or more of the Credit Reference Agencies and ask them to flag the O2 action - while this does not, in the short term, remove the inaccurate record, it means that O2 need to be contacted if a search shows a default that you have flagged.

Links for CRAs can be found online or here on the Community Forum, if you Search - https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly/Seeking-advice-on-credit-file-amendment/m-p/1722389/highli...

Good luck @JH19.

[JH19]

Hello, 

Thank you for the responses to my post, I realised I haven't listed everything I've tried so far. 

So here's the list: 

• I confirmed with O2 Customer Service & the O2 Payment Management Team that I do not and have never owed O2 any money. 
• I messaged O2 Credit Referrals at creditreferrals@o2.com with my details, my problem and my request. I got one response saying, I need to contact customer service. That ticket was then closed by the credit referrals agent and incorrectly marked as resolved.
• I got another message from a different agent from the credit referrals team who asked for more information, I provided this information, then never heard back from them. That ticket was also closed by O2. 
• I then got a third message from the credit referrals team, asking for the same information that I had already provided. This ticket is still pending. 
• I messaged complaints, I got an automated response saying my complaint was received, but after 10 days, no further messages. 
• I messaged complaints a 2nd time, with the same scenario. 
• I called the credit bureau "Check my file", who said I can log a complaint about O2 with them and they will request O2 to confirm that the default on my account is in fact correct. They will do this on behalf of all of the other bureaus that are reporting this error. I logged this complaint with "Check my file" in writing. 
• Additionally, I have been calling the payment management team every single day since the 4th July to ask about the progress of this. Apparently, they're unable to do anything but log that I called and then send a message to the credit referrals team. 

This process has been ongoing since the 4th July, and I am getting incredibly fed up with it. I am at my wits end on how to approach this further, or get this solved asap. 

[Oxonian]

An additional issue @JH19 is that O2 are only part of your problem ; the credit reference agencies themselves have a reputation for taking an age to revise their records even when the likes of O2 pass an update to them. 

[JH19]

Well, I'm not too worried about how long the update takes. The mortgage lender would be happy with just a statement that they posted that default in error and that it'll come off in the future. But apparently, O2 can't even give me a statement to say I don't owe them anything, while they work on resolving the faulty default. 

[Oxonian]

The only other suggestion that I can make @JH19 is that you file an official complaint with O2. However, please note that it is currently taking O2 up to eight weeks to investigate and respond to complaints, and in that time, other O2 teams are likely to be either unable or unwilling to engage with you. 

Hence, if you lodge a complaint, your problem is likely to be resolved but not for at least two months' time. How to lodge a complaint is detailed here should you choose to follow that path :-

How to Complain | Help | O2

https://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain

Customer+Complaints+code+250523.pdf (o2.co.uk)

https://www.o2.co.uk/documents/456036/4246828/Customer+Complaints+code+250523.pdf

Please keep us updated on developments. 👍

[JH19]

Hiya, 

I've already lodged two complaints because the complaints department sent me an automated email saying they'd aim to respond within 7 days. So after the 7 days ran out, I had no response, so I chased them up about it. 

[Oxonian]

Please @JH19 keep us updated on developments. 👍

[gmarkj]

The anecdotal evidence is that complaints are taking approximately 8 weeks to get resolved @JH19 ...