Lost my mortgage over a missed utility bill

[Icanttakethisanymore]

I’m posting here for traffic so perhaps that makes me immediately unreasonable but hoping someone has sone reassuring experiences they can share.

I was accepted foe a new mortgage just over 6 months ago and for various reasons the sale took ages to go through. We are now making progress but I’ve had to reapply for my mortgage as the offer has expired. Unfortunately in the summer I missed 3 gas bill payments on our second home. It was an administrative cock up, not a lot of money. It’s now sorted and a DD set up so all good…. However, it has created an adverse event on my credit file and the bank has rejected my mortgage application. I’ve spoken then gas company as Experian and it sounds like the gas company are going to remove the adverse event… i’m a bit suspicious that it sounds a bit too easy.

Has anyone had experience of this and managed to get an adverse event removed? I have no defence particularly, it wa just an error, but equally I have no history of not paying my billed or having outstanding balances.

If I can’t get a mortgage I’m going to be absolutely buggered.

What does the adverse event show as on Experian?

It’s called an adverse event and when I request my file it shows the last 24 months of history with every supplier I have a credit agreement with. With this gas supplier it shows that for 3 months in the summer there was an outstanding balance. The gas company seem to be saying they’ll remove it but I’m just sceptical that it would be that easy…

the bank has a rule that they wil not provide a mortgage to someone with a negative event on their file. 😭

Did you arrange the mortgage through a broker? If so, what have they suggested?

Three payments missed is pretty bad. But a mortgage broker will find you a mortgage.

That if we can’t get it removed, no standard lender will give me a mortgage.

Whilst I’m sure that’s true, obviously it will be very expensive if we have to go to a specialist lender.

That if we can’t get it removed, no standard lender will give me a mortgage.

OP are you sure? Admittedly it was a few years ago but I had a missed Barclaycard payment on mine (didn't have a DD set up and forgot) and still got a Nationwide mortgage no bother.

Brokers get people in all sorts of circumstances and dubious credit statuses, mortgages. I doubt one set of missed payments is going to rule you ineligable.

I guess I’ll need to approach some alternative brokers if I can’t get it removed; my existing guy didn’t sound at all optimistic.

I guess I’ll need to approach some alternative brokers if I can’t get it removed; my existing guy didn’t sound at all optimistic.

Yes definitely try some alternative brokers. A quick google also suggests that a missed utility payment is viewed as far less serious than a missed mortage payment.

It might hit the rates available to you though unfortunately, but it's not forever.

Have you set up direct debit so you don't miss any more? This is vital

I had this - six years of paying mortgage fine, then wanted to move and applied for a larger mortgage but missed one - one! - credit card payment (to make it to zero, I thought I'd paid it off but had one more month) and my previous mortgage provider wouldn't give me a new mortgage.
Our broker found us a mortgage with another lender no problem. It was easier than trying to plead my case with my credit card bank.

I have, I paid the balence at set up a DD a couple of months ago, so the utility company has no issue. The guy I spoke to said he’d ask for the adverse event to be removed… I’m just worried that all sounds a bit too easy so I wondered if anyone has experienced this being done and it being ok?

i checked my credit history a year ago. Shocked to find an adverse event on my history. It turned out to be a private parking fine I hadn’t noticed which got referred to a debt collection agency. As soon as I received the debt collection agency letter I paid the amount owing.
Didn’t realise it would impact my history. But once I realised, I did contact the company and they did remove it just as you have been told. My credit history is now completely clear.
Hope this is your experience too

I had 6m of missed payments on my credit score with BMW for a car - it was a PCP agreement which I had terminated so no longer had the car. BMW still logged it as miss d payments despite me not owing anything. Thankfully I complained and BMW removed these and I secured a mortgage

It is "easy" for them to do, OP, I wouldn't worry about that part... but it does take a bit of time. Utilities often don't report all that regularly to the credit reference agencies (CRAs) so they won't put it in immediately, and you may not see a change to your credit file for 6-ish weeks. They can just tell the credit reference agencies to update the information whenever they send their reports through, and they'll usually update all 3 CRAs at the same time so TransUnion, Experian and Equifax will all receive the update.

(Many years ago we found that DH had a default recorded that he wasn't aware of with a mobile company over a disputed bill, but we did get it taken off and our mortgage then went through no issues. He was annoyed that in order to get the mortgage he had to pay out the penalty charges in full to the phone company who definitely didn't deserve it, though!)

Ahhhhh - fingers crossed. Thank you for sharing your experience. That’s cheered me up no end

Thank you - the guy at the gas company said it could take a while and suggested I contacted Experian and raise a query with them (which have done). This means that they’ll request new data out of the normal schedule so apparently should happen sooner…🤞

Yes, the adverse can be removed from your credit file. I have known it to sometimes take around 2 months but other occasions where it's been updated almost immediately. You may need to keep chasing the utility company and keep checking your credit file.

Get your broker to try Empower Mortgages OP. They offered us under similar circs earlier this year. We never did get a response from Experian when trying to sort it, but Empower offered us anyway.

Not sure on the impact for your mortgage but exh defaults on the mortgage after I left him. I had a letter from his solicitor stating that inwas not financially responsible for the mortgage which halifax accepted and stopped trying to come after me. They also had all the negative events removed from my credit file after exh finally sold the house and closed down the mortgage.

Hope you get sorted

Simply adverse brokers are incredibly if you can't get it sorted anywhere else
I was nearly in tears with having been let down my brokers etc and having debt, they got me a DIP in 24hrs and were stars all the way through

I'm remortgaging and using them again

They can remove it.
Dh had insurance with the AA, they marked him as defaulted, wrongly. I found this out when I went to apply for credit.
After a complaint, all evidence of default was removed from hid credit report.

There's a difference between removing incorrect information and correct information. The credit reporting agencies have a responsibility to record accurate information. Unlike your husband, the OP has no right to have this information being removed because it is true. Hopefully she will get some help with it.

Thanks everyone - I’m feeling more confident it will get removed so I guess it’s just a matter of time! I’ll keep nicely chasing the gas company and hope for the best!