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

Menasim

Hi Farfetch and RichN,
Thank you both so much for replying! 
I got a phone call from vodafone today from a customer relations person, she spoke about the problems that I've been having, and has agreed that I owe them nothing. She has credited my account with the disputed amount, and has assured me that they will resolve the matter by close of business on Monday. She has assured me that she will call me back on Monday to let me know if this has been sorted! 
I will now wait until Monday to see if she follows up on her promises. If not I shall take the advise from both of you by writing and emailing the relevant persons! 

Thanks to both of you once again. I really was exhausted by the whole thing and didn't know what to do! 

Vikiinthesun

I left the UK nearly 14 years ago is it possible to get a UK credit check? 

[Deleted User]

Vikiinthesun said:

I left the UK nearly 14 years ago is it possible to get a UK credit check? 

If you have some sort of active credit in the UK then you will have a record that you could check yes (might need to write to them for the statutory report) but if you left 14 years ago and have no ties here then your reports will probably be blank as things will disappear 6 years after closure.

Vikiinthesun

Deleted_User said:

Vikiinthesun said:

I left the UK nearly 14 years ago is it possible to get a UK credit check? 

If you have some sort of active credit in the UK then you will have a record that you could check yes (might need to write to them for the statutory report) but if you left 14 years ago and have no ties here then your reports will probably be blank as things will disappear 6 years after closure.

I understand all that but I was led to believe that after 10 years of no UK ties or active credit the whole file is deleted and a credit check can not be completed as you don't have an address for over 6 years and not on an electoral role.

[Deleted User]

Vikiinthesun said:

Deleted_User said:

Vikiinthesun said:

I left the UK nearly 14 years ago is it possible to get a UK credit check? 

If you have some sort of active credit in the UK then you will have a record that you could check yes (might need to write to them for the statutory report) but if you left 14 years ago and have no ties here then your reports will probably be blank as things will disappear 6 years after closure.

I understand all that but I was led to believe that after 10 years of no UK ties or active credit the whole file is deleted and a credit check can not be completed as you don't have an address for over 6 years and not on an electoral role.

Any non-active credit is deleted off your file 6 years after closure in the UK, same with CCJs, debts etc

Knitty_to_the_gritty

Plucked up the courage to apply for a Capital One card for rebuilding my credit 'score' and was just approved. I intend to only spend what I can pay back each month like petrol etc. 

Any ideas how this will look for a potential mortgage application at some point? How long will look good in terms of me paying back a regular amount? I was hoping to apply in the summer, but will I need more time to build up my credit-worthiness?
Thanks

sparelogin

The longer the better, but every little helps.

[Deleted User]

Knitty_to_the_gritty said:

Plucked up the courage to apply for a Capital One card for rebuilding my credit 'score' and was just approved. I intend to only spend what I can pay back each month like petrol etc. 

Any ideas how this will look for a potential mortgage application at some point? How long will look good in terms of me paying back a regular amount? I was hoping to apply in the summer, but will I need more time to build up my credit-worthiness?
Thanks

The more months, even years, you have of good credit history, the better. 4-5 months of spending isn't going to really make a huge difference, it will depend on what is on your history (not the made up score) e.g. if you have 27 defaults and 8 CCJs it's a lot different to simply having no history as you've previously not had credit. Just keep it up and if you do have an adverse history then speak to a specialist broker. I would suggest though that even with a clean, but bare, history, you will want to keep the card stuff up for a good year or so, maybe even get another card or credit account like a mobile contract to keep building good credit behaviour.

sarnie44

Hi, my son has just turned 18 and wants to go travelling at the end of this year.  I would rather he took a credit card when he goes, how do we get his credit rating up so he will be approved for a decent card before then?  He already has 2 current accounts (one used for savings as it has a better interest rate), a mobile which he pays for out of his account and a debit card.
Thanks.

zzyzx1221

sarnie44 said:

Hi, my son has just turned 18 and wants to go travelling at the end of this year.  I would rather he took a credit card when he goes, how do we get his credit rating up so he will be approved for a decent card before then?  He already has 2 current accounts (one used for savings as it has a better interest rate), a mobile which he pays for out of his account and a debit card.
Thanks.

It depends on how you define decent I suppose.  It's probably unlikely that an 18-year-old is going to get what most people would define as a "decent" card (in interest rate, limit and perks) and I'm not sure why a credit card is necessarily much better than a debit card.  Ther are certainly fee-free foreign transaction debit cards out there.