How long does a default stay on your credit file?

A default is different from a default notice. The notice is the warning letter a lender sends before it ends a credit agreement: see how to deal with a default notice. The default is the entry the lender then adds to your credit file to say the account has broken down. It is that entry, and its date, that decides how long the damage lasts.

When does the six years start?

On the default date the lender reports, not the date you last paid and not the date you clear the balance.

There is no legal rule on exactly when an account must be defaulted. Guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says an account is normally defaulted when it is 3 to 6 months in arrears, and Experian says the same. That is practice, not law, but it matters. If a lender records a default date much later than when you actually fell that far behind, the entry stays on your file for longer than it fairly should, and you can ask the lender to review the date.

What changes when you pay a default?

Paying does not shorten the 6 years, but it does change what lenders see.

Experian says a satisfied default looks more favourable to lenders than an unpaid one. A partially settled entry shows you cleared the account for less than the full amount. StepChange says a partially settled account is removed six years after it is partially settled, or from the date it defaulted if that was earlier. If you are thinking about offering a lump sum, see how a full and final settlement works.

Can a default be removed early?

Only if it is wrong. An accurate default stays for the full 6 years, and nobody can make it disappear sooner. Firms that charge to “repair” your credit file cannot remove accurate information either, and you can challenge wrong information yourself at no cost.

Experian also notes that once a default is removed, the lender cannot register it again. Some people write to a lender asking it to remove a default as a goodwill gesture after paying. A lender can agree, but it does not have to, and most will not remove an entry that is accurate.

What happens if the debt is sold to a collector?

The default date should not change. Experian says that if a lender sells your debt, it must make this clear on your file “so it won’t look like you have two defaults”, and “the amount and date shouldn’t change”.

You may see two entries, one from the original lender and one from the new owner. The ICO says that is likely to be fair if both clearly relate to the same account, with the same default date and balance, and the original shows as settled. It is unlikely to be fair if the entries look like two different debts, or if they keep the debt on your file for longer than six years from the original default.

If a collector has put a later default date on the account, ask it to correct it to the original date. If you are not sure the debt is yours or the balance is right, see how to ask a creditor to prove a debt.

How do you challenge a wrong default?

Common problems are a default on an account you never fell behind on, a default date that is too late, a duplicate entry, the wrong balance, or an account that is not yours at all.

1. Get all three credit files. Lenders do not have to report to every agency, so the default may show on one file and not another. The ICO says asking each agency for a statutory copy of your file is free, and they normally have one month to reply.
2. Contact the lender. The ICO says that if an entry has a company’s name on it, that company is usually responsible for it, and the agency cannot change it without the company’s permission. Lenders can update entries themselves. Explain what is wrong and send evidence, such as bank statements showing payments.
3. Raise it with the credit reference agency as well. It will check with the lender.
4. Add a notice of correction if the entry stays. Under the Consumer Credit Act, if an agency does not remove or change an entry within 28 days of your request, you can ask it to add a note of up to 200 words to your file explaining your side. Lenders see it when they search.
5. Complain. If a lender will not correct a clear mistake, make a formal complaint. If you are unhappy with its final response, or it has not replied within 8 weeks, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You usually have 6 months from the final response. If an obvious inaccuracy is not corrected by the lender or the agency, you can also complain to the ICO, although it does not decide financial disputes.

If you use our checker, we may pass your details to a licensed insolvency practitioner or debt adviser.

How do defaults, CCJs and insolvency sit together on your file?

Each entry has its own clock. That is why debts do not all disappear from your file on the same day.

A CCJ often follows a default on the same debt, so you can have both for one account, each with its own date. See how long a CCJ lasts. If you enter an IVA, the accounts in it usually carry their own defaults alongside the IVA entry, which is explained in how long an IVA stays on your credit file.

A default is also separate from whether the debt can still be chased. A debt can drop off your file and still be owed, and a debt can become statute-barred while the default is still showing, or the other way round. See statute-barred debt.

Does a default stop you getting credit?

Not for ever, and not every lender treats it the same way. A recent default weighs more than an old one, a satisfied default is viewed better than an unpaid one, and one default looks different from several. Each lender makes its own decision.

What is worth avoiding is taking on expensive credit just because it is offered. If you already have defaults and are struggling with other payments, borrowing more rarely fixes the underlying problem. Free, impartial debt advice is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline: see where to get free debt advice. For the formal options and how each affects your file, see debt solutions compared.

What to do next

1. Get your credit file from all three agencies and note the default date on each account.
2. Check each default date is roughly when you fell 3 to 6 months behind, and that sold debts keep the original date.
3. If something is wrong, write to the lender first, then the agency, and keep copies.
4. If you have other debts you are struggling with, see help with debt problems for where to start.