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

seeya23

marcellep wrote: »

Thanks for that, I wonder if I would get it as I have a default from 4 years ago!

yes you will get one i have 2 ccjs and have solo 20 and Orange at £30 for 18 months try orange first i have htc hd phone

brighton69

Hi Everyone!

This is my first post so bare with me please!

Basically me and my partner are having some problems with credit at the moment. We are both 18. While living at home we both obtained phone contracts with Orange and I also obtained a car on finance so must have had good credit score then I'm guessing.

We have a joint bank account with Abbey which is classed as "Satisfactory" on my credit report along with all the other bank account; none of which have overdrafts.

My partner has no late/missed payments or anything but I have 1 LATE payment for my phone bill from December 2008 other than that everything else looks fine. Also my orange account also shows as "Satisfactory".

However in March we both left our jobs to move to the south-east; which was around a 230 mile distance and both now have jobs which all been well should be secure (meaning we are on permanent contracts based on full time hours 35 hours and 39 hours) the problem is to fund the move we tried to gain access to credit but failed but at the time didn't know the consequences of that amount searches on our file.

We are now trying to re-build our credit score because in around 3-5 years we hope to getting a mortgage.

Having looked at forums i do have some questions? Forgive me if I've not seen the answer somewhere.
1-How long does it take to have these searchers removed from your file?
2- Would our re-locating played a huge factor in our credit score dropping?

Oh and just for a bit of added information; We are on the election register and have just taken out the pre-paid master card which Martin suggested with the credit builder option but any other suggestions would be appreciated!

Moggles_2

brighton69 wrote: »

Would our re-locating have played a huge factor in our credit score dropping?

Yes, the new job and address would have temporarily disrupted your credit rating, unfortunately.

Lenders like stability, so best practice is to apply for credit facilities, where possible, before you move/change jobs/change banks. Being with the same employer, bank and current address for a while, all help when applying for credit

Moggles_2

brighton69 wrote: »

How long does it take to have these searches removed from your file?

Credit checks are viewed as negative only if you attract too many in a short space of time. Each footprint drops off your file after 12 months, so the effect is fairly short-lived

Andyhhh

Ive had a trawl around here but havent found out what the three credit agncies score ranges go up too?

I got 999 with Experian and 675 with Call credit which seems to be a big disparity if they are both using the same maximum score ?

Does anyone know what all three go upto please?

Thanks

Netermoon

Hi all, i wonder if anyone can advise me. I applied for a current account about 18 months ago and then 4 months ago and was refused. I am wondering why, as i have no defaults, or ccjs, and have a high credit score, which is above average, as quoted by Experian! It has taken me 18 months to get it that way, as i had a very poor rating before, as had ccj and defaults which i had set aside by the court. I have 3 credit searches, 2 from last year and one from today as made an application for bank account online.I also have 2 accounts which show late payments but are settled in full, and no longer in use.I am waiting to find out about my application, and if rejected want to go to a bank and make application,but i am worried about geting into the rejection cylce, any advise would be helpful. Many thanks.

CannyJock

Netermoon wrote: »

Hi all, i wonder if anyone can advise me. I applied for a current account about 18 months ago and then 4 months ago and was refused. I am wondering why, as i have no defaults, or ccjs, and have a high credit score, which is above average, as quoted by Experian! It has taken me 18 months to get it that way, as i had a very poor rating before, as had ccj and defaults which i had set aside by the court. I have 3 credit searches, 2 from last year and one from today as made an application for bank account online.I also have 2 accounts which show late payments but are settled in full, and no longer in use.I am waiting to find out about my application, and if rejected want to go to a bank and make application,but i am worried about geting into the rejection cylce, any advise would be helpful. Many thanks.

You don't mention any current credit that you have. If you don't have credit to show you're now managing it properly then the only thing they can go onis your past performance which doesn't sounds particularly great. The CCJ's and Defaults will be on your credit report for 6 years.

Being on the electoral register, time at address, time in employment, time with bank all count in your favour.

If you've seriously damaged your credit rating (regardless of what Experian says, that's just a money-making exercise for them that bears no relevance to how a lender treats you) then you may have to start rebuilding your credit from the sub-prime cards up.

Your own bank may be more sympathetic to your case, would be where I'd start.

owitemisermusa

Lost a previous post when the Forum went down (aargh).

In brief, I've checked my credit report for the first time ever and have a few queries that I would love to have answered.

I'm on the electoral roll but current address not showing up - previous addresses are.

What do the words "settled or satisfied" mean? Does this mean that the accounts in question (old mobile phone and credit card) are closed?

What's the effect of "not updated"? A few credit card/current accounts have one or two months that have the symbol for "not updated" on. Should I do anything or just ignore?

Thanks for your help.

OMM.

Zack1

Hi everyone,

Just been thinking about my credit rating and came across this. I was on Equifax/Experian until my trial ran out, but being just 18 (May) there wasn’t really anything useful on it as nothing had updated. There were something like 6 searches because I thought I was going to be rejected so applied for lots in the hope that at least 1 would approve me before the CRA’s have updated their info on me. It worked and Natwest & Vanquis did. I then cancelled Vanquis as I didn’t like the look of them (no online system like Natwest to track the account easily, and didn’t want to take the risk of late payments/going over limit etc).

I got my o2 contract in May with a £150 deposit, that was the first thing I applied for as I needed it most. It’s £35 a month for 18 months, not sure if those details show up or influence my credit rating or not. I got accepted for the Natwest & Vanquis cards in June.

I’m going to uni in September and will have to move all my mail to new address, unfortunately I know it will appear on my credit report. Basically I could end up with 3 or 4 addresses between now and June 2011/2012 (pretty much depending on which year I pick to end uni and if I get a flat to myself this time next year (meaning 3) or if I keep moving around halls/shared houses (meaning 4+)). Is there any way to minimise the damage that moving about will cause? And how much would it affect me in future?

I’m waiting for results so I can apply for the Natwest interest free student overdraft (I believe that’s credit scored so don’t want to wreck my credit score any more by applying for other stuff now), once I have a decision on that (either way) then I want to apply for the Aqua and/or Tesco cards in addition to what I have. Would having 2+ cards and using & paying both of them prove to be more beneficial in the long run? In showing that despite moving about I have kept up with repayments on cards & contract, and so help offset the damage from the multiple moves, or would it be more of a negative because of all the trouble I *could* get into if I had problems and went on a massive spending spree?

Sorry for the epic post! Thanks if anyone has any advice though. I'm not sure what to do about multiple cards, I think it’ll be good if I can get it (and applying and getting another search or 2 against my name doesn’t phase me because they drop off after 12 months and I won’t need anything else for at least 14). As for the address thing, would a PO box be an option? Or would the likes of Natwest not be happy billing to them/it would look dodgy I suppose?

And is there anything I could do to improve my rating to help offset the bad things? I'm on the electoral roll etc here (got it done in April ahead of phone application), but I'll have to get it redone at uni. Would removing myself from here now so I'm only registered at one place be a good thing? I can't really think of anything else so was hoping people from MSE would have some fresh ideas

Netermoon

Hi Canny Jock, many thanks for your reply. I have a small loan of 700, which i am paying monthly. As for the ccj and default these were removed by a court judge, as they had been put unlawfully onto my bank account and credit report, as i had maintained monthly payments to my creditor, through the credit counselling service, and had kept them informed at all times, of my situation, my divorce had sent my financial state into a mess. I spent 18 months repairing my credit report, fighting Experian to remove incorrect information from my credit file, they had someone elses accounts on there! My credit score is now very high, and i have no unpaid accounts apart from the one loan. My own bank refused my application for a current account, even though i was accepted for a loan, by another company.