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

YBNB

Good afternoon everyone. Been reading through here and found lots of potentially good information but nothing that exactly fits my sister's situation.

In brief: she wants to apply for credit (new mobile phone account); she currently has no credit except for one Credit Card which she pays off every month. She registered with Experian, and the only thing that I think would flag her up if she were to apply for credit is that she's not on the electoral roll (according to Experian). She's been at the address for 9 years, and has voted, most recently in last year's local council elections.

Under "Electoral Roll Information" on her Experian report, there is 1 record held, which reads as follows:

Address: SOME Road, SOME Town, SOME Postcode. (All correct)
Names and dates: No names listed on Voters Roll.

On Experian's "My Details" page, where it says "The following information will be used for your order:", her address is correctly listed as:

SOME House Name, SOME Road, SOME Town, SOME Postcode.

Is that, as it seems, an anomaly? What should be her next step? I've advised her not to apply for anything until she's listed by Experian as being on the Electoral Roll for fear that a negative search result may harm her rating.

All advice gratefully received, or further information gladly supplied on request.

Thanks, MSE'ers!

hur575

YBNB wrote: »

Good afternoon everyone. Been reading through here and found lots of potentially good information but nothing that exactly fits my sister's situation.

In brief: she wants to apply for credit (new mobile phone account); she currently has no credit except for one Credit Card which she pays off every month. She registered with Experian, and the only thing that I think would flag her up if she were to apply for credit is that she's not on the electoral roll (according to Experian). She's been at the address for 9 years, and has voted, most recently in last year's local council elections.

Under "Electoral Roll Information" on her Experian report, there is 1 record held, which reads as follows:

Address: SOME Road, SOME Town, SOME Postcode. (All correct)
Names and dates: No names listed on Voters Roll.

On Experian's "My Details" page, where it says "The following information will be used for your order:", her address is correctly listed as:

SOME House Name, SOME Road, SOME Town, SOME Postcode.

Is that, as it seems, an anomaly? What should be her next step? I've advised her not to apply for anything until she's listed by Experian as being on the Electoral Roll for fear that a negative search result may harm her rating.

All advice gratefully received, or further information gladly supplied on request.

Thanks, MSE'ers!

I had similar problem, I have contacted experian, and uploaded my voting paper, and it was immediately corrected.

Moggles_2

YBNB wrote: »

My sister wants to apply for credit (new mobile phone account); she currently has no credit except for one credit card which she pays off every month. She registered with Experian and she's not on the electoral roll (according to Experian). She's been at the address for 9 years and has voted, most recently in last year's local council elections.Under "Electoral Roll Information" on her Experian report, there is 1 record held, which reads as follows:
Address: SOME Road, SOME Town, SOME Postcode. (All correct)
Names and dates: No names listed on Voters Roll.
On Experian's "My Details" page, where it says "The following information will be used for your order:", her address is correctly listed as:
SOME House Name, SOME Road, SOME Town, SOME Postcode.
Is that, as it seems, an anomaly?

This is quite common, particularly where a house name is concerned. The agencies collate info from 3 main sources 1) you 2) public records 3) their clients, the lenders. Obviously, this info' is only as accurate as its sources.

I would inspect the electoral roll. She can do this at her nearest public library.* Pay particular attention to the way her details are recorded on the register. First name(s) as well as surname. Also an extra line may be inserted/omitted or the order reversed, as you've discovered, where a house name is involved. You'd be surprised how often this happens.

When she applies for credit facilities, bank accounts etc.or to the credit reference agencies, ensure her address matches the details as they appear on the electoral register and she'll avoid all the inconvenience of sending documents through the post as proof of residency, because her ID can be checked electronically using the electoral roll. More importantly, her electoral roll status can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.

*If she opted out of the edited register (which is sold to anyone who wants to buy and which may be viewed in a public library), she can check the full version at her local electoral registration office

swimityswim

Hi there, I'm not sure if Im posting in the correct place, so please excuse me if I should be elsewhere!

Ive just had a look at my Equifax credit file. My credit rating is bad, as I have had several defaults and a ccj. However, I was suprised to see that even though the defaults were listed, the agreements with the debt collectors were not there. I realise its not credit as such, but I had expected them to be there. Also, only one default status was 'settled', whereas Ive actually settled 3 of them. Should I contact Equifax and ask them to update the 2 that should be 'settled'?

Frustratingly I can't access the free trial on Experian as apparently Im already a member, although I can't seem to access my log in details! Is there a way of retrieving my rating by paying the £2? I can't find any info on their website about this.

Doshamento

swimityswim wrote: »

Frustratingly I can't access the free trial on Experian as apparently Im already a member, although I can't seem to access my log in details! Is there a way of retrieving my rating by paying the £2? I can't find any info on their website about this.

I think this is what you're looking for? http://experian.metafaq.com/templates/experian/main/answerPage?_mftmfenv:linkEntryCategory=$Order_Report&_mftmfenv:linkEntryClient=$experian&_mftmfenv:linkEntryName=$orderbypost

copacabana

Hi, I'm checking my Experian file at the moment and could do with some advice: once you've registered, you're supposed to log all of your addresses over the past six years, which in my case means about eight, some of them overseas. I'm just wondering if by doing so I could actually HARM my credit rating (versus leaving it as it is) if they don't have all those details on their file for me already, or whether I would still be better off just making sure any info connecting me with those addresses is actually correct. Many thanks for your help.

uncle_buck_5

My partner and I are trying to obtain a self build mortgage through a company called 'Buildstore'. The mortgage itself is underwritten by Birmingham Midshires who have credit checked us and refuse to lend due to a 'credit issue' at a previous address.
We both got copies of our Experian credit reports which show no issues, except one late payment on each report (both are orange number 1's).

Because of the Data Protection act Birmingham Midshires will not tell Buildstore anymore details about the credit 'issue', and we cannot phone BM to discuss the issue because we have applied for the mortgage through Buildstore!

I have phoned Experian who assure me that lenders can only view the same information as me, so where do I go from here? Are these two late payments enough for a lender to refuse to lend to us?
We have applied for Equifax's report and will be able to view these tomorrow. Other than getting those reports does anyone have any advice/suggestions on how to find out what this credit issue actually is?

Thanks

bluejosiah

Can someone please tell me what someone can do if they want to sign up for the Experian 30 day free trial but they don't have a credit or debit card to use to sign up???

If I have no choice but to apply by post, is the Experian statutory credit report enough to see why I might be refused credit?

Here's hoping for a quick answer! TIA

scaryjon

Right i need a new car, im sick of buying old ones, and thus require finance for a car. So im thinking of getting this by paying the car places monthly for a car.

However,

I defaulted payment on a loan i had to do my Masters in 2004, im still paying that off now, and still have a fair way to go. I havent missed a payment in a year and a half a pay by direct debit now. I have also followed the other advice on here and got one of those high interest capital one credit cards which i have been spending on for 5 months and paid in full each month. Ive lived at the same place for since i was born (well technically, while i was at uni i still out this down as my address.) ive been back on the electoral roll for about a year too.

SO if your still with me, whats my chances of getting car finance? i dont want to bargin them down and then look like an idiot when they credit check me!

Thanks very much
Jon

hur575

scaryjon

I am afraid until you get the default off the file, you will not get a good deal.