10 Years Old HDFC Freedom Credit Card impacted Cibil Score
Applying for a home loan recently, we found out that my wife’s CIBIL score had crashed to 546 because of an old HDFC Freedom Credit Card issue from almost 10 years ago.
Back when she had just started her career, some aggressive marketing team pushed her into taking the card. Being completely naive about credit cards at that stage, she never used it at all. The card was literally still attached to the original welcome letter and, as per her understanding, it was never even activated.
What makes this worse is that the card was never linked to her bank account, there were no ECS deductions, no transaction usage, and apparently no proper prior intimation before the account was marked overdue and eventually written off.
Fast forward to today — while checking eligibility for a home loan, we discovered that this card somehow accumulated outstanding dues of barely ₹2,000 over the years and severely damaged her credit score.
Now she is financially stable, well settled in her career, and fully capable of making the down payment for the house. Unfortunately, despite me having a strong credit score as a co-applicant, banks are still refusing to process the loan jointly because of her low CIBIL score.
What are the best options available now?
- Can this be settled and the score improved quickly?
- Is there any way to dispute such old charges if the card was never knowingly activated?
- Can a written-off status be reversed after settlement?
- Has anyone managed to get such remarks removed from CIBIL?
- Would NBFCs or smaller banks be more flexible in such situations?
Would genuinely appreciate practical guidance from anyone who has dealt with something similar.