Credit file & ratings

Hi! This is the discussion thread for the What credit scores really mean guide. Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. Thanks folks,

Hi all! This is the discussion thread for the What credit scores really mean guide. Well, what does your credit score really mean ?. By Martin If you've paid to get a credit score from one of the credit agencies, how reliable is it? We run through the truth about credit scores. I’ve just found out that my credit score has…

Useful links to MoneySavingExpert.com guides * Top tips to build your credit score * How to check your credit report for Free * Credit Club * Build your credit history * Student credit scoring * Should I get a loan if I have a bad credit score? 💡 If there's a link you think we should include here, please send me a message!

Clearscore says that using more than 70% of your available credit is a bad sign. Does that still apply, if you pay it off immediately, ie. before the statement arrives?

I received an email yesterday saying that there had been a change to my credit report so I logged in to find out what it was. There was a line saying the following. "A new opus public utility account will be added to your next report" I thought this strange since I haven't opened any new accounts recently. I had to Google…

Due to an unforeseen circumstance, I entered a Debt Management Plan (DMP) for my Nationwide loan in September 2025. I have always made payments on time and have never had any issues with the arrangement. This year, my partner and I received some unexpected funds, so we began the process of applying for a Shared Ownership…

I have received a "Notice of Enforcement" from Excel for a person of a similar name to myself. The notice relates to council tax on a property that I have had no association with since 2010. (when I separated) NB. it belonged to my ex-wife, who purchased it in 1996, and sold it c.2016. The Council Tax liability order on…

Hello, I had a CCJ against me earlier this year, due to be removed from my credit file after a successful N244 as parking related CCJ sent to the wrong address. I thought this had already been removed and applied for a £5 pm new sim only contract with Smarty, which they conducted a hard search x2, Experian believes and…

Evening! I was looking up a companies "company policy documents" and they stated that they may, in certain instances – notably in compliance of Money Laundering regulations – need to request personal data from credit reference agencies or similar. In particular they use SmartSearch. found hear…

I received an email from ACI at the end of July 2026 chasing a debt £546.62. Apparently from a failed direct debit from 2023. Which has subsequently mounted up, I assume I contacted ACI and the address it related to was not mine and I have never had a mobile account with EE. However, they did have my btinternet.com email…

applying for a mortgage around April next year. I currently have 2 credit cards Lloyds with 8.5k limit- haven’t used it for months M and S 6k limit use monthly and pay off I also have a chase bank account I never use. Should I close the Lloyds CC and chase account? Would this look better when applying for a mortgage?

Hi All, I received a letter today saying we ' we need to make sure the information we hold of you is up to date so we can access full range of products and services. This is also to meet UK legal and regulatory obligations. I have an empty current account, however my mortgage is also with them. They're asking for a lot of…

My current PCH with Mobilize comes to an end in Jan 2027. I’m looking at applying for a mortgage around April /May 2027. I spoke to the leasing company today and asked about the possibility of extending beyond Jan 2027, I was told it was too early for them to consider it now and to call back in November. They also said…

I wonder if someone could assist me with this. Today I received a letter from Lowell I believe they are debt collector on behalf of "JD Williams". I have been living at my property for over 5 years and never heard their name before. On this letter there is my name spelt wrong however they have asked me to contact to clear…

I took out a contract with Vodafone in October 2019 and paid £149 by debit card in store for the initial setup fees. The relationship broke down due to personal factors and bereavement grief and no further payments were made. In November 2019 Vodafone suspended the account due to non payment. They subsequently sent an…

Credit reference agency TransUnion will soon score you out of 999, instead of the current 710. Yet while your TransUnion credit score's likely to change, this WON'T affect the underlying data on your credit report – and it's this data that lenders generally use to decide whether to offer you credit Read the full story:…

When using a credit card to build your credit score/rating/worthiness, Martin always says pay it off IN FULL every month. In order to have positive effects on your credit score, do you need to wait for your credit card statement to be generated and THEN pay it off, or is it okay to spend on the credit card and immediately…

Hi, This may be a strange question, but was wondering if anyone would know the answer to this. I held a bank account with Lloyds since I was born in the 80s. When I was older I agreed an overdraft facility with them. At points I was living in the overdraft and other times I didnt need it but still had it on my account.…

We are in our 80's and my email address was hacked. That led to Banks and Credit Card hacked. It has been horrible and a long tale. (No debts & Credit Card just used for 'JL vouchers' and protection if buying a large purchase but always paid balance each month.) We are now registered with CIFAS and EXPERIAN and thought…

I took out a new credit card, a little under 2 months ago, and it has now appeared on my Clearscore file. However, Clearscore is not showing any Hard Searches. Don't banks perform a Hard Search, before issuing a credit card?

I have a 36 month PCP loan which has four months to run, so four payments then the final balloon payment. It has always been my intention to hand the car back at the end, but having seen a good deal on a new car, I hoped that I could pay the remaining four payments now then hand the car back. I realise that I must pay 50%…

Hello. The electoral roll address is recorded incorrectly on my Experian file, though fine with Equifax. My address format is (with address anonymised). 14 Leinster Court, 6 Village Road, Town, postcode. Experian have it recorded as 14 Village Road, Town postcode, which is completely wrong. I have lived here for 13 years…

My thoughts on hard searches are: As long as the hard searches are successful and the open credit accounts is showing on and reporting to credit agencies then the successful hard searches becomes irrelevant to new lenders. New lenders will check the history of the open accounts in deciding new credit applications. Hard…