By The BlackBeltBarrister
(Based on my YouTube video – watch it here for the full story.)
Good morning! I thought I’d share a personal story with you — one that highlights just how quickly a credit report can be impacted by errors that aren’t even your fault. If you’re someone who depends on your credit rating, this could be a serious concern.
Now for context, I don’t personally rely on my credit score for reasons I’ll explain. But for many people — particularly those applying for a mortgage, credit card, or business finance — a rogue mark on your report could cause considerable damage. So, let’s explore how easily that can happen, and what you can do to fix it.
A Mobile Provider Mix-Up
If you follow my main channel, you may recall me mentioning my ongoing issues with a particular mobile provider. After years of subpar service — dropped connections, poor data coverage, and broken promises — I finally had enough. My family had three contracts with this provider, and I decided to cancel all of them.
I phoned them up, gave notice, explained my reasons, and requested PAC codes to move all three numbers over to a new provider. We successfully made the switch, and I was told we’d receive our final bill.
A few days later, I got the expected email. It stated clearly: “Your final bill is ready.” The amount due? Zero pounds, in fact it even showed a minor credit balance — technically they owed me a few pence.
All sorted, I thought.
Then Came the Strange Emails
About a month later, I received another email: “Your bill is due soon.” Odd, I thought. I no longer had an account with them. The email again claimed I needed to log in to make a payment — but there was still no positive balance owed. It even said, “If you’ve already paid, ignore this message.”
So I did.
But then came the kicker — a third email claiming I now had an overdue balance. This wasn’t a small error in their favour anymore. It showed a positive amount, meaning they now said I owed them money.
I got straight on the phone. I explained (again) that all contracts had been cancelled, that two numbers were ported over using PAC codes, and the third line was also closed. But I suspected I knew what had gone wrong — I believe one of the numbers was set up as a separate account rather than being attached to the main account, which confused the provider’s system.
Still, that wasn’t my fault.
They apologised and assured me that the error would be corrected and the balance would be zeroed out. I stressed that the most important thing was that nothing be reported to the credit reference agencies.
But of course, you already know where this is going…
The Negative Credit Report
A few weeks later, I checked my credit report using TotallyMoney.com — a free service that notifies you of credit changes and lets you monitor your score.
Sure enough, there it was:
“You’ve recently missed a payment — this can seriously harm your credit score.”
Now to be clear, this isn’t sponsored content — I just use Totally Money to monitor activity on my file and, importantly, to dispute errors like this one. I don’t recommend taking out credit cards or loans just because the site offers them — and yes, they do bombard you with those kinds of offers. Ignore them.
The point here is that despite having closed the account properly and been assured the issue would be resolved, the mobile provider still filed a missed payment on my credit file. That can have serious consequences if you’re in the middle of a major financial application.
Disputing the Entry: The Legal Approach
Thankfully, Totally Money allows you to raise disputes on incorrect entries — and I highly recommend you do so if you spot any.
Here’s roughly what I wrote in my dispute form:
“I cancelled my contracts with this provider. I received confirmation of the final bill, which showed a zero (or credit) balance. Despite this, the company has reported a missed payment. I have spoken to the provider who confirmed the account should show a zero balance and that no payment is due. Please remove this incorrect information.”
A few days later, I received confirmation:
“Your dispute has been successful. Your credit report will be amended shortly.”
Problem solved. Or is it?
The Bizarre Part: Credit Score
Increased
Here’s where it gets truly strange.
Despite the negative entry — a missed payment — my credit score actually increased by 37 points between April and May. There were no other changes on the report. No new accounts, no reduced balances, no extra repayments. And I’m using 0% of my available credit, so it wasn’t due to lower utilisation either.
I don’t pretend to understand the algorithms used by credit agencies — they are notoriously opaque. But this incident raises serious questions about how reliable and meaningful credit scores actually are.
If a missed payment doesn’t result in a drop — and is instead followed by a rise — what are these scores truly measuring?
Why This Matters
Now, in my case, this was more of an inconvenience than a catastrophe. But imagine if:
You were applying for a mortgage
You needed urgent business finance
You relied on a credit facility for essential payments
A single incorrect entry could trigger:
A reduced credit limit
A denied application
Higher interest rates
Automatic repayments demanded under T&Cs
In some cases — especially where credit cards are linked to your current account — funds can even be withdrawn directly, creating knock-on effects like overdraft fees or missed payments elsewhere.
Clients With Similar Stories
At our firm, we’ve seen many clients come to us with credit report issues just like this. In one particularly bizarre case, a client was being penalised for someone else’s account — they had the same name and birth year, and their credit files had been cross-linked in error.
It took weeks to sort out. Meanwhile, their loan application was stalled.
This is why I always encourage people to check their credit reports regularly — not to chase arbitrary scores, but to challenge false information that could affect your financial standing.
Final Thoughts: The Legal Takeaway
From a legal standpoint, this story reinforces a few key points:
Companies make mistakes — even major ones — and they can affect your credit standing.
You have the right to dispute errors, and you should exercise that right in writing and with supporting evidence.
Credit reporting systems are not foolproof, and they often rely on unverified data provided by third parties.
Your credit score isn’t always rational, and increases or decreases may not reflect real financial behaviour.
So, are credit reports pointless? Not exactly — they do serve a purpose. But they’re certainly flawed, and in my view, should never be the sole metric used to judge someone’s financial reliability.
📺 Watch the Full Video
For the full breakdown, supporting screenshots, and my take on the dispute process, watch the video on my channel here.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve had a similar experience, or if a credit error has ever affected you. As always, thanks for watching and reading — and please do subscribe to the Money & Wealth channel.
#CreditScoreErrors #ConsumerRights #BlackBeltBarrister
