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Unpaid bills and payment disputes
Virtually regardless of the outstanding amount, it is paramount to resolve any payment disputes or unpaid bills as soon as possible. The reason for this is because any disagreement with telecommunication and energy companies or any lenders in general will have significant impact on your credit eligibility in the future.
From a consumer’s perspective, there is always the possibility of dispute for bills and invoices received for various reasons. Everything from disagreements over a product, services rendered or even cases of identity theft have the potential to occur to most of us. In any case, resolving the issue with whoever the debt is owed to should be the main concern precisely because already one unpaid bill can have significant impact on future credit eligibility, affecting your credit score. In very general terms there are two possibilities:
• If you owe the money, settle the debt.
• If it is a legitimate dispute and there is no basis for the amount you are asked to pay, make sure to keep track of every correspondence between you and the company/financier explaining the disagreement or quarrel. Bottom line being, if you are right you are right and it can be resolved.
In terms of finance applications, most fall through because of outstanding payments (defaults) and these defaults will stay on your credit file for the next five years. Whatever type of credit you may apply for (be it credit cards, car or home loans, mobile phone lines) any defaults on your credit file will come up time and time again and there is the legitimate concern of having your credit rejected. Additionally, the company or financier to whom the money is owed will make an attempt to recoup the outstanding sums and will ultimately pass on the debt to collection agencies if they are not successful. So if you do an issue with an incorrect bill you have received, i.e. you have been charged an amount exceeding the services received (internet cap usage, f. ex.) it is the best course of action to get in touch with the company soonest and resolve the matter.
From a financier’s view the situation looks a little different. It does not take an exorbitant amount on an unpaid default to be deemed a credit risk or ineligible for a finance application. Essentially, outstanding defaults mean to financiers that the individual has not paid for a service or product provided with. The consensus is that if the individual has not met his required payments on current agreements, where is the guarantee it will not happen on the credit agreement applied for now? When applying for credit many things are taken into consideration such as job stability, home ownership and the overall loan repayment history but any applicants with listed defaults will have a hard time getting approved.
In conclusion, any dispute with any bills or invoices should be attempted to be resolved as soon as possible even though it can be a tedious and incredibly frustrating task. In the long run it will only be of benefit because trying to prove credit eligibility once you have been deemed not to have it will only be more difficult.