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

[Deleted User]

You don't. Because you don't want to. It's like trying to change the colour of unicorn poo. Even if you could, what's the point? No one will ever see it apart from you.

Focus on your credit history. Make payments on time, don't go overlimit, clear in full each month.

tiptoptommy

Hello! This is my first post so please be gentle :-)

I have just applied for a £10k loan and was surprised by the rates offered (12.5%).

I checked my credit rating a few months ago and it was very good so I checked it again and it had gone down (Equifax - 374 - Fair).

It seems the culprit is my credit card. It has a limit of £1850 and on the report I have a balance of £1704. This was last updated 21/07/16. My actual balance is £1318.

My question is how long does this take to come onto my credit score?

It's nearly 2 weeks?

Also, if I upped my credit to 2850 would this increase my credit rating?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Use less of your credit limit.

And ignore your credit score.

DCFC79

tiptoptommy wrote: »

Hello! This is my first post so please be gentle :-)

I have just applied for a £10k loan and was surprised by the rates offered (12.5%).

I checked my credit rating a few months ago and it was very good so I checked it again and it had gone down (Equifax - 374 - Fair).

It seems the culprit is my credit card. It has a limit of £1850 and on the report I have a balance of £1704. This was last updated 21/07/16. My actual balance is £1318.

My question is how long does this take to come onto my credit score?

It's nearly 2 weeks?

Also, if I upped my credit to 2850 would this increase my credit rating?

Thanks

I rate you as 4 ginger biscuits and 3 malted milks.

Your credit history is what lenders can see and all they are concerned with, your score/rating is of no importance/relevance.

Stop focusing on the score but focus more on the data being correct.

tiptoptommy

Does it not matter that it shows that my 'credit card utilisation' is 92%?

[Deleted User]

Yes. That's why I suggested using less of your credit limit.

DCFC79

tiptoptommy wrote: »

Does it not matter that it shows that my 'credit card utilisation' is 92%?

Use less of the credit and close some of the accounts.

[Deleted User]

If you cant pay the balance off soon, raising your limit would bring your utilisaton down..... The issue then is do they think you could afford loan with a potential £2850 available.

I'd take a credit limit increase (presumably with that odd figure you've got it from somewhere like online banking as preapproved??). It'll take a good month to show up though.

As for your loan - either take it at those rates or wait and re-apply (possibly elsewhere, try the loan checker to see how each provider rates you). If you re-apply you might not get it, or be given a worse rate

ViktorOnopko

I did a £2 credit check with Equifax yesterday and everything looked sound. Is it worth checking with other credit companies and/or paying for the more detailed reports?

[Deleted User]

Paying for 'More detailed reports', definitely not. The £2 stat report has everything you need to know. The rest is just the company's (or CRAs) interpretation of that.

If you need help with any of it (e.g. one of the accounts is showing as partially settled, or a U marker etc), I'm sure the notes and/or MSE will help

Whether to check the others if up to you. Equifax & Experian are the main ones. It depends what you're after - if it's very important like a mortgage/re-mortgage then it may well be worth £6 to ensure all 3 files (direct, not via clearscore etc) are up to date.

If it's just a credit card, using Clearscore (Equifax) and Noddle (Call Credit) then paying £2 for the Experian report is more than enough, even though the Clearscore and Noddle are slightly out of date (say a month or so).