Hi,
I said a while ago I'd post the letter I'm sending to my creditors. Actually took me a while to sort out - probably 5 hours, even though just 5 creditors, because it took a while to get everything straight, so I'm also going to post some what I hope are helpful tips.
Your Experian credit report actually has a list of helpful addresses at the bottom, for all the creditors it lists, so this is where you should look to find out the addresses to send to.
I found that with some creditors the balance was marked as satisfied but the date was too late, and some had the correct default date but not marked as satisfied. In these cases I modified the letter shown below by replacing the list with a single bullet point. However I added a comment below to the effect that I noted that the balance was marked as satisfied, or that the date was correct.
I had already contacted a couple by phone - one had sorted it all out correctly, whereas the other had marked as satisfied but not changed the date, so I'm writing to them but added a note saying thanks for updating the balance but date still wrong (in addition to the standard text).
I went through all 3 reports checking them against each other. In once case, a debt had been sold on, and Noddle (CallCredit) listed only the original debt (marked as satisfied, but wrong default date); whereas Equifax seems to list only the purchased debt (so it was listed under Max Recovery instead of MBNA) and had the correct default date but not marked as satisfied, so I'm writing to both MBNA and Max Recovery with appropriate letters.
In once case it took me a while to find the account number, eventually I concluded that the current owner of the debt bought it from Barclaycard but they bought it from Egg - I only worked this out because the Egg one was listed under Noddle with entries until end December, then satisfied, but the new owner has entries from January onwards only, and for roughly the same amount. And in several cases the last 4 digits listed in the credit report seemed not to match the actual original card number, so this all proved quite time comsuming.
Another thing, in the letter I have a paragraph saying "name of creditor" was included in the IVA, I haven't filled these in yet, so I think I'll go through filling in the name of the _original_ creditor but comment on the fact it was purchased by the current owner, if appropriate.
Here's the letter I've written, somewhat based on other letters people have posted but I prefer to use more direct language than some:
Data Control Officer
<CREDITOR>
<ADDRESS>
Dear Sir or Madam,
Re: Account Number <NUMBER>
I am writing to request that you formally update my credit files in accordance with the Data Protection Act, as they contain incorrect information as detailed below.
I entered into an IVA on <START DATE> and subsequently received my Notice of Completion of Voluntary Arrangement pursuant to rule 5.34 of the insolvency rules 1986 on <END DATE>, and <name of creditor> was included within the IVA. I have enclosed the Notice of Completion which confirms the start and end date of the IVA as indicated here.
Currently the information that you have recorded against my name with the Credit Reference Agencies is factually incorrect, and I therefore ask that you make the following corrections:
(1) If the account is marked as defaulted, the default entry must be no later than <Start date>, in accordance with the Data Protection Act, as guidelines state that the default date should be no later than the start of the IVA.
(2) The account should be marked as settled or satisfied, in accordance with the Data Protection Act, as guidelines state that the account should be marked to indicate that no further payments are due.
The Information Commissioner has indicated that I should allow you 28 calendar days from the date you receive this letter to comply, during this time you are requested either to update the Credit Reference Files correctly (of all three Credit Reference Agencies) or notify me in writing the reasons that you refuse to.
If further information is required, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone, email, or post, as I am keen to resolve the problems as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully
Seems unusual since they presumably have IVA completion but maybe they're thinking they need to write off the rest now. In any case same as anything else, if the default date recorded against that default is after the start of the IVA, you'll need to write a letter to the creditor. I'll post what I'm sending to mine.
