Credit Rating: How it works and How to improve it discussion area

laul04

Can anyone answer the following:

I just checked my credit report,
and i have an old bank account, and old credit card i never used and cancelled and a store credit agreement i didnt know i had entered all showing on my report(i brought a pair of shoes oops).

All of them are cancelled and settled up but still showing?

can i get removed? should i get removed? are they bad?

Thank you

izools

Are the accounts marked as settled on your credit file? Do they have an account end date? If so, then the data is correct and remains on your report for six years from the date on which the accounts were settled.

It is positive and helpful to your score as long as the accounts were kept up to date

saracmellor

Just to let anyone know that is interested in finding out about their credit scores. I clicked on martin's Credit Watch Gold (Equifax) - free 30 days and then £69.99 for the year as recommended by Martin but somehow the site decided to click me into the £7.50 for a month (3 months payable upfront) and immediately charged my credit card for this amount. I have been on the phone for hours trying to sort this out with someone that could speak limited English, a very frustrating call (at 5p a minute) - I think I have sorted after asking to speak to the Manager but please be aware!!!!

recovering_spendaholic

The last time I checked my credit score in February it was 998. I just got knocked back from a bank account application and they said it was because my credit score was low. I have just been on experian and my score is now 588. All my credit accounts on the report are fully satisfactory except for one with Bonprix - a catalogue from where I bought £104 worth of stuff earlier this year. I bought it and totally forgot about it - when I got the statements through they looked like junk mail and I binned them - anyway I got a letter saying that I had not made 2 payments on the account. I immediately rang up and apologised and paid the amount owing in full, however it is on my credit report as owing £104 with 2 late payments. I made the £104 payment to them on 6 June. Will this be the cause of my low score? I do have a couple of high balances but I have NEVER missed a payment on anything. The Co-op bank search is now showing on there. Is there anything I can do to get my score back up a bit?

tishunt

[FONT=&quot]What's changed? [/FONT][FONT=&quot]You have a statutory right to check your file for £2, but in the past it was only by post; now after a push from the last govt all agencies offer it online too (free if you're in financial hardship). Both Equifax & CallCredit give instant reports, while Experian send it after a few days


On today's newsletter about the credit checking it states that you can get free credit checks if you;re in financial hardship - can anyone tell me how?

Thanks
[/FONT]

kittymac1

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read my liitle post.

Basically i have been playing the waiting game after having a default on my account just over 6 years ago. It has finally dropped off my credit reports and i have spent the last year or so trying to build up my score.

I took out the cash plus card and catalogues paying everything off in full as directed by Martin.

I have just looked at my record online and i have 7 agreements showing now each between 4 - 12 months old and all with big shiny green zeros next to them.

I just took the credit checker and got a good rating but i applied for a small loan from my bank in May and got rejected (this hasnt shown on my credit report though). Should i continue to wait before applying for the sub standard cards or take a leap of faith with the credit checker results? I don't need any credit cards i just want to improve my rating so i can apply for a mortgage at some point in the future.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

hullight

I applied this morning to see my Equifax credit report, gave all the details, registered a username and password and...nothing. So I tried to register again, using the same username and it let me, so I suppose they shouldn't have let the other one go through and charge the card, I hope.

But then it says I have to call them on their 0844 number to complete the transaction? So much for an instant report. They have already charged a £1 pending transaction to the card.

My experience of the online system has been a complete shambles and I don't know where I stand and haven't even seen my report, I'll stick to requesting it by post, it's a lot easier to just send a cheque.

mickmustardly

Hi,
Looking for some advice regards my credit report.
I will be applying for a mortgage in 3 or 4 months time and got a copy of my credit report from experien to check the details first before applying.

I had an IVA in August 04 which was completed in August 09 and was presuming that all the details of the IVA and defaulted accounts would be removed from my credit report after 6 years (August 2010).

It states on the report that the defaulted accounts are kept on file for 6 years from the date of default.
I had 8 defaulted accounts 4 of he accounts have a default date of 31/08/04 which should be grand and drop off my report at end of August, hopefully.

But the other 4 have later default dates of
22/11/04 - Co-Op
04/02/05 - Nationwide Overdraft
28/02/05 - Nationwide Visa
09/05/06 - Tesco personal finance (nearly 2 years after start of IVA)

Is there anyway of having the default date changed to when the IVA started so as the defaults can drop off after the 6 years from start of IVA? Not sure why the defaults are dated later than the others, especially the tesco one!
I wouldn't think a morgage lender would give me a mortgage with these defaults..

The Natiowide overdraft and Co-Op loan also show a current balance whereas most of the others show balance satisfied... should they not all show balance satisfied if IVA completed?
Should I contact my IVA practitioner regards this? Was Grant & Thornton in Dery

Many thanks for any advice in advance.
Michael

DizzleUK

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

The last time I checked my credit score in February it was 998. I just got knocked back from a bank account application and they said it was because my credit score was low. I have just been on experian and my score is now 588. All my credit accounts on the report are fully satisfactory except for one with Bonprix - a catalogue from where I bought £104 worth of stuff earlier this year. I bought it and totally forgot about it - when I got the statements through they looked like junk mail and I binned them - anyway I got a letter saying that I had not made 2 payments on the account. I immediately rang up and apologised and paid the amount owing in full, however it is on my credit report as owing £104 with 2 late payments. I made the £104 payment to them on 6 June. Will this be the cause of my low score? I do have a couple of high balances but I have NEVER missed a payment on anything. The Co-op bank search is now showing on there. Is there anything I can do to get my score back up a bit?

Absolutely!

However, the credit score is a total waste of money as each lender has their own way of scoring your information. That said, the difference in scores you have is a good indication to how much late payments affect your report.

Unfortunately, as the information is correct (you were late with payments) nothing will cure this other than time. After 12 months the impact should be greatly (but not completely) reduced and will get even better the further in the past they go.

glennc1981

Hi,

I'm in the process of paying off several debts I foolishly abandoned when I moved house in 2005 (two credit cards, one loan). All being well I will be debt free by October 2011.

I currently have a basic account and I am in full time employment (paying over £1000 into my account) but at the moment I'm ok to be credit-less. I was just wondering when you folks think I should try for credit again. I'd love to get a contract mobile but I don't want to cause any problems for myself. I will say I've grown up a hell of a lot since my silly days but I hope it won't hang over my head for too long.

Thanks for your help.