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

curtisjones1

Thanks izools. I was wondering if i cancel my 30 day free trial at experian can i re apply again in a few months time? or will i have to use another website?

izools

curtisjones1 wrote: »

Thanks izools. I was wondering if i cancel my 30 day free trial at experian can i re apply again in a few months time? or will i have to use another website?

Your records will remain on Experian Credit Expert so you won't be able to get the 30 day free trial again. If you try to sign up a fresh it'll just say you've already got a log in.

You can sign up for Equifax' but IMHO best bet is just getting the £2 statutory credit reports from time to time.

You can get the £2 statutory reports online now with Equifax

curtisjones1

Thanks again izools! What exactly does a statutory credit report consist of? and can i find out my credit score from it? thanks

izools

curtisjones1 wrote: »

Thanks again izools! What exactly does a statutory credit report consist of? and can i find out my credit score from it? thanks

Your statutory credit report contains exactly the same data.

The "Scores" that credit reference agencies sell you is something totally different and should be avoided - as all creditors score differently and what ever a credit reference agencies tell you your score is, it'll be different to what the creditor you apply to will work out your score to be.

There's no such thing as a one score fits all, so best to stop wasting your money on these really

woodsey1982

Not too sure if this is the correct page, but my credit score with Experian is 576 ( poor ) - mostly due to on default which is due to drop off my account in April next year.

However, it lists the "negative" aspects of my account as not being on the electoral roll. However, I completed my declaration to the electoral office about 4 months ago to confirm my details. When I saw that I wasn't registered I contacted the electoral office, who have advised me that I definitely AM on their electoral roll at my current address.

Question 1 - how do I go about amending this? is it the electoral roll's job to chase this up, or the should I contact the credit reference agencies to have this amended. Or would I be quicker re-registering...even though I'm already on the books? :mad:

Question 2 - any idea roughly how much this adds to your credit score once its sorted? I know each lender has different levels of scoring but its just to see if it would be worth my while.

nik19

Woodsey1982 - I had a similar problem earlier on last week. I just moved to London in December and immediately registered with local council to get my name on the Electoral Roll, which listed me on their register in Feb.

When I checked my experian credit report last week, I was annoyed to find out that I was not showing up as being on the electoral roll, so I called up experian and let them know.

They told me that its actually a very common problem, the council sometimes list name and address details differently than what you enter on the credit expert website, so while you're on the phone, they (creidt expert) will check their records and tell you how to amend your details.

Once you amend your details and save them, your details will be amended within 24 hours, I checked my report the next day and it had been updated.

As far as your second question is concerned, my credit score was 999 before I amended my electoral roll details anyway so it did not change at all after it was done. However, in your case it may definitely improve your score and regardless, I still think it is important for you to get your details amended anyway - It only takes a 5 min phone call.

I hope this helps!

Nik

chopper_99

Following on from my posts last week about my statutory credit reports all looking good now, I was then turned down for a personal loan with Santander, but have just been accepted for a credit card with Sygma. So hopefully I can make use of the 6 month balance transfer on that, but I still really need a personal loan to buy a car.

MK2773

Hi all,
I have been in the UK for 2.5 years. I have 2 credit cards (1bank + 1store) but with a very small credit limit. As it was inconvinient to track the spending and contain it within limit I have been using my corporate credit card (with reasonably large credit limit) for personal use as well... I have done this for full 2.5 years with always paying back in FULL and with NO late payments...

The problem is this card has the billing office as my office address and hence it (I guess) does not appear in my credit report (I have reports from 2 agencies)..

I want to apply for mortgage and hence wanted to to know if there is a way I can link my corporate credit card to my credit report... and will it improve my credit rating...

Many Thanks
MK2773

logicturnip

Hi sorry to go a little off topic!

I'm currently in a dispute with BT, as a signed up for a 12 month contract and am now magically in an 18 month! I'm coming up to the end of my 12 month term.

I'm really short of money, I've paid BT £240 for £140 of services over the year, so they owe me money. However, in about 2 weeks, they take another £70 on my direct debit, that I cant really afford.

I want to cancel the direct debit.

Simply put, will this affect my credit rating?

I'm happy fighting BT when they chase me for the money, but i don't want my rubbish credit score to be affected further.

mynameisclare

The credit rating guide says that access to too much credit can be damaging, but how much credit is too much?

I have a single credit card with a £4000 limit. It's rarely over a couple of hundred as I pay it off each month, but I find it useful for the occasional large purchase such as car insurance (probably will be about £1700 this year, don't ask!). The crazy thing is the bank gave me that limit when I was a student living on £6K pa, but that's a whole other story...

Then there is my current account has a £1500 overdraft limit, but I have never been overdrawn so not sure if it would show up on a credit report?

Is this level of credit likely to damage my ability to get credit in the future? I could ask if they will reduce the overdraft limit as I never use that anyway, but what about the credit card? I'm not looking to apply for anything now, but I am currently saving to be able to buy a house in the next couple of years.

Just to add, I haven't actually checked my credit reports as they wanted me to send off a copy of my ID, which I'm reluctant to do unless it's really necessary.