i am 31 and have just one single debt of around £7,000.... This was a loan from my EX bank, HSBC, i got the loan to pay off another loan. When i took out the loan around 18 months ago i went into the bank and set it up, the printer at the bank wasnt working and i was unable to sign any forms, the loan went through and i was told the forms would be sent in the post for me to return. they never arrived and therefore it seems my loan got lost in their system. no payments were ever requested from my bank yet i checked my credit file some time later and the loan showed and each month it stated that a payment was made. In November 2007 i went slightly overdrawn on my account and it was this that seemed to trigger to the bank that no payments were being made. i was immediately issued with a letter saying my loan would default unless i made payment in full within 28 days. i contacted them immediately and eventually agreed to take out a fresh loan to cover that one (they seemed to struggle to comprehend that i had not been missing payments, only that they had NEVER REQUESTED them), anyway to cut a long story short, i was in the process of waiting for a mortgage application to go through with a different bank and i was advised by a financial advisor to hang fire to the last possible day to arrange the new loan as a credit check would have to be carried out and it may affect it. Stupidly, unbeknown to me i waited one day too long and the 28 day deadline passed before my account defaulted. i asked for leniency saying it was a genuine mistake and could the debt be "brought back to the bank"... they declined, i challenged the decision but was still told the same thing.. i now pay £160 a month to Metropolitan Credit Services (it's just another dept of HSBC yet they dont admit it!!!), my debt is now defaulted yet i am making payments each month. I'm absolutley gutted that i have a default against my name and obtaining credit is virtually impossible (simple things like getting a contract phone or NTL). i now want to try and build up my credit score but to do this i need to get credit and make regular payments!, i applied for a vanquis credit card as i heard they dealt with people with a poor history, but i was refused. i only want a credit card with a limit of about £100 as i literally only want it to maybe spend about a tenner a month on it and pay it each month ontime. anyone got any ideas as to what card i may be accepted for or maybe any other ideas as to how i can build up my credit score? Thanks for reading all this by the way!!!, PLEASE HELP!!!! 31 AND FINALLY COMING TO HIS SENSES ABOUT MONEY!!!!!!! (I GOT MY MORTGAGE BY THE WAY!!!!! WOOHOO) Michael