What your credit score really means

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  • How old is old? You can apply for a statutory copy of your credit file from both Experian and Equifax or you can sign up for a free trial with both but don't forget to cancel before your 30 days or they will charge you. This will tell you all of the debt registered against you - this is assuming they've registered it, its not more than 6 years old and you use the correct addresses. So when filling in address details go bac as far as you need to, (although they're quite good at capturing hidden addresses).

    If the debts are over a certain age and you havent acknowledged any letters, made payments etc for a certain amount of time they may become barred, (I'm no expert on this but I'm sure someone else can advise).

    Good luck!
  • Davy123
    Davy123 Posts: 7 Forumite
    Thank you for this advice and i have acted on it, thank you again.
  • apartdatauk
    apartdatauk Posts: 1 Newbie
    edited 15 January 2016 at 12:03PM
    [FONT=&quot]Thanks for the guidance..[/FONT]
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242
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    Good credit score is vital for financial success & can help you qualify for a rental apartment and to get utilities connected without a single deposit.

    Its 3 digit number generated through mathematical algorithm by using information on your credit report. Lenders determine by this your creditworthiness for a mortgage, loan or credit card. 720 is generally considered to be a good credit score.

    And thank you for the misguided spam, my American friend.
  • Our income has dropped dramatically over the past 12 months thanks to a series of rate cuts (we work in oil industry). We have used up savings etc and are now facing the fact that we can't keep paying the fill amounts asked for monthly by credit cards. We are paying our mortgage secured loan utilities and council tax and that should not be affected but i will be asking the unsecured lenders to take a bit less (around 50%) until things pick up in our industry and I get paid more again (I'm self employed consultant).

    I am aware that this is going to screw my credit score but I have no interest in more debt - ever!

    My only worry is about getting things like house insurance, car insurance etc. I sometimes see they've searched my credit file - will they baulk at bad credit and refuse our business?

    With thanks
    Travelling hopefully 🏃
  • So does this explain why my Equifax rating is 'excellent' and my Experian is 'fair' despite seeing the same information on both??

    I also have a payment default from about two years ago which I believe to be incorrect. Is it worth getting this corrected at this late stage? I have since obtained a mortgage and credit card since this incorrect entry with no problem.
  • Superscrooge
    Superscrooge Posts: 1,171
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    edited 19 January 2016 at 10:16PM
    Our income has dropped dramatically over the past 12 months thanks to a series of rate cuts (we work in oil industry). We have used up savings etc and are now facing the fact that we can't keep paying the fill amounts asked for monthly by credit cards. We are paying our mortgage secured loan utilities and council tax and that should not be affected but i will be asking the unsecured lenders to take a bit less (around 50%) until things pick up in our industry and I get paid more again (I'm self employed consultant).

    I am aware that this is going to screw my credit score but I have no interest in more debt - ever!

    My only worry is about getting things like house insurance, car insurance etc. I sometimes see they've searched my credit file - will they baulk at bad credit and refuse our business?

    With thanks

    A bad credit history won't stop you getting house or car insurance but it might make insurance providers reluctant to let you pay by instalments.

    I'm assuming one of your major expenses is your mortgage. Have you looked at any options to reduce the monthly payment by remortgaging or extending the mortgage loan period?
    This might be a better option than trashing your credit history?
  • Superscrooge
    Superscrooge Posts: 1,171
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    happyplums wrote: »
    So does this explain why my Equifax rating is 'excellent' and my Experian is 'fair' despite seeing the same information on both??

    If you trawl through the various forum threads there are lots of similar comments where one CRA gives a high rating and another a low rating and both CRA's have the same information.
    There are even some posts from people with no credit history who have checked their credit file and found they have the maximum credit score of 999!

    Credit Scores are meaningless. You are the only one to see them. They are just there to keep you interested and visiting the CRA website every month.

    It's best to concentrate on your credit history, which is the only thing the credit providers see.
  • Credit Scores are meaningless. You are the only one to see them. They are just there to keep you interested and visiting the CRA website every month.

    On this point, my Noddle score is 607 out of whatever, or a 4/5 in old Noddle money. My credit history for the past 3 years is spotless, previous to that I wasn't as financially savvy, and had the occasional unplanned O/D fee and late payment fee on my credit card.

    Yet my main bank (the same bank I was having occasional issues with) rates me an A1 in terms of risk. Which means that I get the best possible prices and deals for credit.
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  • Thread about credit score is very very hard for me
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