MSE News: MSE launches free Credit Club
Comments
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I seem to be somewhat anomalous, rather more likely to get a loan than a modest credit card.For example, if you have a credit card with a £1,000 credit limit that you've only spent £100 of, then the credit utilisation of that card is 10%.
Of course though, this looks at ALL your credit and debt. As a rough rule of thumb, a credit utilisation of below 60% is positive.
The credit utilisation shown for me is just plain wrong, saying 60%. In the last 12 months it has fluctuated between 8 and 30%, never above 20% in 6 months, and is currently about 15%
If MSE hope to cover their costs of this by later earning money from referrals of new applications, some algorithms need tightening up. I've been previously rated by MSE's online checker as 0 and 90% likely to get a certain credit card, even with both those results on the same day. One would encourage and one would discourage. (90% probably the correct one as I already have an account there.)0 -
I pay monthly for my credit report, is it worth signing up to this and cancelling my experian subscription?:beer:0
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Couple of things:
1. I input inaccurate income information into my Credit Club profile. How can I change it? I can't find any way except to delete my account and create a new account.
2. In common with many providers you ask for details of pre-tax income. How is the tax on that income then calculated? I suspect that I am discriminated against because I am retired, and thanks to careful investment planning, now virtually all of my income is tax-free but I have no way of indicating this. Wouldn't it be better to ask for details of net income after tax?
Hi there
1) We've not yet released the edit functionality, but it'll be coming soon via the settings menu (top right) on the dashboard page.
2) The disposable income is calculated by HD Decisions (part of Experian) based on the figure you enter at registration. It uses this to model your net income based on HMRC calculations, but you're right it is making assumptions around tax relief. However, this is in line with how potential lenders are likely to calculate your affordability also.
I hope that helps.0 -
Does not make pleasant reading for me. 737 and fair. Stoozing certainly has taken its toll on my credit report. However it has not stopped BC wanting to increase one of my cards with them by another £2k.
All these statistics all very well but I take all this with a pinch of sea salt.
Hi Mable
In terms of your ability to get credit, it might be worth looking more at your MSE Credit Hit Rate rather than your Experian Credit score (as that only tells part of the picture).
Thanks0 -
I have an 'excellent' score of 975 with the Credit Club
but
720 'crap' when viewing my Experian credit score through Barclaycard..!
so no idea!!
I did however get accepted for a Tesco 0% fee 24 month credit card a few days with £4750 credit limit though so I'm not looking for any additional cards etc. but it is interesting.
These scores are still a dark art and a money spinner if you sign up to these companies direct. So don't.
Use Clearscore for Equifax, Noddle for Callcredit and Barclaycard/Credit Club for Experian(ish)
Hi Bike369
The first thing to highlight is there isn’t a single universal credit score. Your score will differ across the various agencies and even at a single agency, depending on the information you provide to it. Experian has a number of different services in place which allow you to view a credit score. However each work independently of each other asking for slightly different information when you sign-up, so it is entirely possible for your credit score on Credit Club to differ from the score provided to you by Experian elsewhere.
There isn’t the concept of a single score per individual that is returned each time your data is matched at Experian.
Some common reasons for differences in the Experian Credit Score include:
- Timing - your Credit Club information updates every 30 days, so the timing may differ from a difference service (I think Barclaycard might be 60 day updates).
- Information - differences in personal information provided at registration results in a different match-up of information on the credit file. For example the amount of address history provided can have a negative or positive impact, depending on the information which this matches to.
- Formatting - Also, the format of your current address must be correct in order to ensure that all of your information is being pulled onto your report. For example if your flat number is being inputted as your house / building number on some of your accounts and then the other way on your membership then this may cause the information to differ.
- You may also wish to ensure that your name has been inputted in the same way on your membership as on your accounts and financial information so that the system can match this. For example if your name is hyphenated on an account but shows as a first name then middle name on your membership then this account may not appear on your report.
For more information on what your credit score really means, take a look at our full guide: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/what-credit-scores-mean
I hope this is helpful.0 -
The credit utilisation shown for me is just plain wrong, saying 60%. In the last 12 months it has fluctuated between 8 and 30%, never above 20% in 6 months, and is currently about 15%
Hi Redux
I wonder if you've misread this section? The 60% figure is not dynamic it is part of the editorial explanation. Or have I got the wrong end of the stick and you were highlighting that your Utilisation figure was showing as Poor / Very Poor?I've been previously rated by MSE's online checker as 0 and 90% likely to get a certain credit card, even with both those results on the same day. One would encourage and one would discourage. (90% probably the correct one as I already have an account there.)
It sounds like here that the details you entered on the eligibility tools were different. The way the tools work is that they only contact the bureau per individual once every 30 days. So if you login again later that day, you score should show the same (as its based on the same bureau information).
Thanks0 -
MSE/Experian
Clearscore/Equifaxnon smiley face
Account stability
The average length of your financial relationships is less than six years. Remember, this isn’t just bank accounts, mortgages, loans and credit cards, it can include utilities, mobile phone contracts, broadband and more.
So what really counts ? My main current account was opened in 1995 and my oldest and largest limit credit card was opened in 1998. I have (several) new current accounts and new cards, mostly opened in the past 12 months as well as being a broadband and energy tart. If you only had 2 accounts, one 30 years old and one 1 month old the average will be low so a bit of a pointless statement, Clearscore seem to have it better thought out.Positive
You have held at least one of your accounts for several years
999 for me. Only 50-50 CCs but an MSE 98% chance of getting the 0% cards, every time I apply for a new card I get one. Weak for loans but that will be down to low (on paper) monthly income, I always "borrow" from myself anyway. Noddle has me 639/710 and 5/5, Clearscore this month has me as 547/700 (up from 536 all year). Noddle show me as just above national and local average of 611 and Clearscore show me well above the local and national averages of 440 & 380.
Just goes to show what a load of twaddle most of it is
I think most of us have figured that one out alreadyFor more information on what your credit score really means, take a look at our full guide: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/what-credit-scores-mean
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Average length is probably not a great choice to use. A few with longer duration are likely to matter more. MSE might be assuming a "thin file" with only a few accounts where the average would matter more vs one with quite a few accounts where the recent ones would be almost irrelevant for stability. Clearscore/Equifax is probably doing a better job on this one. Not a good match for a site like this which encourages tarting so will generate lots of recent accounts while the older ones provide the stability background.So what really counts ?
Could be worse,. This service says I will be accepted for almost no cards but the poor score set, while the previous card comparison and other places do a way better job of matching reality with more appropriate acceptance rates. I assume mostly the discounting of a significant portion of my income and probably multiplying my rent by four while perhaps also pretending that a I have a car and associated costs.999 for me. Only 50/50 for CCs but an MSE 95% chance of getting the 0% cards, every time I apply for a new card I get one.0 -
- Formatting - Also, the format of your current address must be correct in order to ensure that all of your information is being pulled onto your report. For example if your flat number is being inputted as your house / building number on some of your accounts and then the other way on your membership then this may cause the information to differ.
The problem is that there is not a "correct" format of your current address. People apply for credit online, where they specify their postcode and house number, and the web form sometimes only lets you select from a list of options (from the Postcode Address File). Sometimes they have an "my address is not listed" option, sometimes they don't. When they have it, sometimes they just ask for "Address Line 1", "Address Line 2", etc and sometimes they ask for "Street", "House name/number". Sometimes they have a "Flat" field, sometimes they don't.
All this means you stay with the Postcode Address File format to avoid problems. Which works for most stuff, but not for the electoral roll, which uses whatever format they want.
Not a lot you can do to fix this. But there is a tendency in this industry to always blame the normal persons, supposing they have not written the "correct" format, instead of doing a bit of introspection and try to fix the whole thing from inside. Experian being a clear example of this, with multiple places they could obviously improve by themselves.0
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