Remortgaging with multiple defaults can be possible, but the choice of lenders is usually narrower than with a single default. Lenders that consider adverse credit tend to look at the pattern rather than the count alone: whether the defaults came from one period of difficulty or keep appearing, how recent the latest one is, what each was for and the total amount. Several small defaults from one hard year, all since settled, may be viewed quite differently from recent defaults that are still unpaid.
The sections below explain how several defaults may be weighed, why a sold debt can appear twice and whether clearing them with a remortgage makes sense. For a single default, see our main page on remortgaging with defaults.
On this page
This page covers
- Credit issue
- DefaultsUsually stays on your credit file for 6 years from the default date.
- How many
- More than oneLenders tend to look at whether several issues come from one period of difficulty or an ongoing pattern.
Read the main guide: Remortgaging with defaults on your credit file
In short
- One period of difficulty is usually viewed differently from defaults spread over several years.
- The most recent default often matters most, alongside the total and individual amounts.
- Each default stays for 6 years from its own default date, so they drop off at different times.
- Clearing defaults with a remortgage secures those debts on your home, and there are alternatives.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Borrowing over a longer term can mean paying back more in total.
One period of difficulty or an ongoing problem?
Defaults often arrive in clusters. A job loss or illness can mean several accounts fall behind at once, and each creditor registers its own default, normally after about 3 to 6 months of missed payments. That can leave several entries on your file from the same few months.
Defaults grouped together, with a clean record since, tell a different story from defaults registered every year or two. The most recent default often matters most, because it shows how lately you had trouble keeping up.
| Pattern on your file | What it may suggest | How it may be viewed |
|---|---|---|
| Several defaults within a few months, some years ago, since settled | One period of difficulty that has passed | Some specialist lenders may consider it, depending on the rest of your file |
| Several defaults within a few months, in the last year | A recent period of difficulty | Fewer options, and the explanation will matter |
| Defaults spread across several years | Ongoing difficulty managing credit | Choice likely to be narrower, particularly if the latest is recent |
For illustration only. These are general tendencies, not any lender’s criteria.
How dates and amounts are weighed
Each default stays on your file for 6 years from its own default date, so a group of defaults drops off one by one. Knowing those dates helps you and an adviser work out how your options may change over the next year or two.
- Total and individual amounts. Lenders may add the defaults together, and some may look closely at the largest or view very small ones differently.
- Type of account. Utility and phone defaults may be viewed differently from loans, cards or car finance.
- Status. Whether each is satisfied, partially settled or still outstanding. Our page on remortgaging with satisfied defaults explains what paying changes.
- Related entries. Missed payments usually appear before each default, and some defaults go on to become court judgments. If yours did, see remortgaging with multiple CCJs.
How do defaults sold to debt purchasers show?
When a creditor sells a defaulted debt to a debt purchaser, or passes it to a collection agency, your file can show the same debt more than once. The original account may show as defaulted with a zero balance or marked as transferred, and a new entry may appear from the company that now owns it.
That can make it look as though you have more defaults than you do. The new owner should keep the original default date, so the debt still drops off 6 years after it was first defaulted.
- Match each entry to an original account so you know how many separate debts there are
- Check that the default date on any new entry matches the original
- Check that only one entry shows a balance for each debt
- Raise any errors with the company reporting the entry and with the credit reference agency
Should you clear defaults through a remortgage?
Some people remortgage to raise money to pay off outstanding defaults and other debts. It may be possible with some lenders, and it marks the defaults as settled, but it does not remove them. Each still shows for 6 years from its default date.
Repaying defaulted debts with a remortgage turns unsecured debt into debt secured on your home. If you cannot keep up the payments, your home may be at risk. A longer term can also mean paying more in total. A regulated adviser must consider whether consolidating is appropriate for you, and our debt consolidation remortgage page explains the risks in more detail.
Alternatives to consider
- Agreeing affordable payments or a settlement with each creditor directly
- A product transfer with your current lender. Where you are not borrowing more, it may not need a full affordability assessment
- Waiting until the oldest defaults drop off, if your current deal allows
- Free debt advice from StepChange, National Debtline or MoneyHelper, who can explain options such as a debt management plan
What lenders may look at with multiple defaults
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Number of defaults | How many separate debts have defaulted, counting a sold debt only once. |
| Most recent default date | Often the key point, because it shows how recently accounts fell behind. |
| Spread of dates | Whether the defaults come from one period or recur over several years. |
| Total and largest amounts | The combined value and the size of the biggest single default. |
| Settlement status | How many are satisfied, partially settled or still outstanding. |
| Mortgage payment history | Whether your mortgage stayed up to date while other accounts defaulted. |
| Loan to value | Lower borrowing against your home’s value tends to widen the choice. |
| Income and affordability | Your income, outgoings and any remaining debt repayments, stress tested at a higher rate. |
These are general points, not lender rules. Each lender sets and changes its own criteria.
Information an adviser may ask for
You don’t need all of this to make an enquiry. It helps to know where to find it, because an adviser is likely to ask about most of it.
- A list of every default with the creditor, amount and default date
- Which debts were sold on and who owns them now
- Settlement letters, or the current balance of each unpaid default
- Copies of your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion reports
- A short explanation of what led to the defaults and what has changed
- Your mortgage balance, deal end date, any early repayment charges and an estimate of your home’s value
- Proof of income and your regular outgoings
Frequently asked questions
Does it help if all my defaults happened in the same year?
It can. Defaults grouped in one period, with nothing new since, often suggest a problem that has passed. Lenders will see the dates but not the reason, so a short explanation can help an adviser present your application.
Why does one debt show twice on my credit file?
Usually because it was sold or passed to a collection agency. The original entry may show as settled, zero balance or transferred, and the new owner reports its own entry. Check that only one shows a balance and that both carry the original default date.
Will paying off my defaults help me remortgage?
It will not shorten the 6 years, but settled defaults are often viewed more favourably than outstanding ones, and paying them reduces your ongoing commitments. Our page on satisfied defaults explains what changes.
Is there a limit on how many defaults a lender will accept?
There is no standard limit. Each lender sets its own criteria, and many look at dates, amounts and status as well as the number.
Should I wait for my older defaults to drop off before remortgaging?
It depends on how soon they go and what waiting would cost. If your deal is ending, a product transfer could cover the gap while older defaults age off your file, rather than paying the usually higher standard variable rate.