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

izools

brid13th wrote: »

Hi, sorry if this has already been answered but I can't find it, perhaps someone can link me if it has.

Recently got my credit report from experian, it all looks pretty good except for the "Linked addresses" section, where there are 53 entries, all repeats of the same four addresses, some of the entries are exact duplicates of each other (same company, same date etc). Will this affect my chances of getting credit? If it will then is there anything I can do about it?

Many thanks.

The presence of a large number of address links has no effect on your credit score whatsoever - the data at those addresses does.

If there is any adverse information at those addresses it will be seen by creditors and taken into consideration when assessing you, even if you don't provide them as previous addresses on your application.

Did you include the addresses as previous ones in your CreditExpert mebership signup? If not it's worth adding them in so that you can see what information, if any, is at those addresses.

You'll see the information the day after entering the addresses into your membership details.

brid13th

Thankyou, only the current and one most recent addresses were in the experian details so I've updated them. I have just noticed that an entry made recently from Orange lists me at flat 32 instead of 22, how do I get this changed?

We've now lived at this address for 8 months, I stupidly applied for a couple of cards only a month or so after we moved and got rejected for them.

-The only search on my experian file is from experian. But the applications i made do show up in the linked addresses bit.
-Two cards show up, both fully paid off with no late payments(I also have a natwest card, and a tesco one, both with about £600 on, niether of these show, also a £600 overdraft with my natwest account).
-Address shown on electoral roll but says "No Names Listed on Voters Roll " .

Apart from all the linked address entries as meantioned before, this is all that's on it, I really need to find a 0% transfer deal to move the tesco and natwest cards over onto, but don't want to risk applying for cards I'm not going to get. Does anyone have any suggestions? thanks.

Moggles_2

brid13th wrote: »

We've now lived at this address for 8 months ... Address shown on electoral roll but says "No Names Listed on Voters Roll" ... Does anyone have any suggestions?

In that case, you need to enrol at your current address ASAP and before you submit a further cc application. It's free after all and everyone's credit rating improves no end once registered. I'd make this your number one priority

Note: your name cannot be added to the ER retrospectively. If you enrol now, public records will show that you've lived at your current address since at least 1 December 2009. (The delay is due to the annual audit in mid-August)

izools

Further to the ER registration, which is most important, you need to contact Orange and correct the address they hold on file for you - it's Orange's fault, not Experian's.

Once you have ER showing on your credit file and all the accounts at the correct address, you should be able to reapply with confidence as long as you haven't applied more than twice in the preceding six months

janian

Hi again Izools

I used the Barclaycard checker and it said I was 80 to 90% likely to be approved for a card with a good credit rate. I do wish that these institutions were forced to say exactly why people are turned down. After all why dont they have to say. What's the big secret? Its mad :huh:

izools

janian wrote: »

Hi again Izools

I used the Barclaycard checker and it said I was 80 to 90% likely to be approved for a card with a good credit rate. I do wish that these institutions were forced to say exactly why people are turned down. After all why dont they have to say. What's the big secret? Its mad :huh:

That's excellent news! I bet you're relieved! No doub't you'll be applying for a Barclaycard when the time comes, you can see that atleast they want your custom

Thing is about lenders revealing their criteria, is if they did this, potential customers could bodge their application to fit the picture and then they end up with customers they don't want.

I'm going to quote myself again if nobody objects, here's my explanation on how creditors might turn you down for reasons other than risk:

They don't look at any one piece of information.

They will NOT use the Experian score, but calculate their own score, based on the information Experian hold about you (payment history, search history, balances, available credit, how long accounts have been open, defaults), also public information (Electoral register information, court judgement information). They will also look at other information you provide, like income, marital status, occupation, time in job, etc.

All of this information is put into their automagical score sheet worker outer and then depending on what type of customer that creditor wants, their calculator will generate a score based on how closely your information matches their "Ideal customer".

If you are slightly off, they may offer you a low limit / high APR, of you're way off, they may decline you.

You may be declined because your credit history / application information suggests you won't meet payments, or you may be declined not because you pose a risk, but because you are simply not the type of customer that creditor / bank is looking for.

HSBC for example, declined my mother for even a current account even though she is a home owner, living where she is for 21 years, she has an experian score of 900, and poses no risk to any bank or credit card company. Perhaps they didn't want her as a customer because the data she provided ties in with the data troublesome customers that make a lot of complaints provided on their application form? It's a possibility, and some creditors look at other statistics like this.

RBS on the other hand, approved her for two credit cards, an overdraft, a mortgage, and a loan. She has by no means accepted all of these offers of credit (especially glad not the mortgage, as the base rate plummeted six weeks later!), but it's interesting to see that one bank offer her the world when another, nothing atall.

She has a £500 Overdraft with RBS, and two credit cards with them totallying £5,200 limit, was offered the mortgage but turned it down as the base rate was on it's way down at the time. HSBC's offering? Umm... cashpoint card. Riiiiiight.

No one piece of information will affect your ability to obtain credit, but the overall picture a creditor sees.

The reason the Experian and Equifax scores shouldn't be trusted, is because:

1. This is just the CRA's interpretation of your eligibility to credit. Other creditors will put a different weighting on different pieces of information.

2. The CRA's don't know your income, expenditure, marital status, and employment status when calculating the score. Creditors do.

Creditors will never reveal to you what pieces of information they consider more important or less important, if they did then customers would be able to manipulate the application forms. Creditors often pay six or seven figures for their own score sheet to be developed, based on their needs.

Some creditors consider lots of available credit to be a bigger problem than say for example the odd missed payment, whereas other creditors will look very badly upon missed payments but not mind a customer that has lots of unused available credit, for example. The list is endless.

jakesuk

Hi - I'm sorry if this has already been covered but I haven't seen anything.

I am wondering if all credit report searches have the same adverse effect on your credit rating. ie. If an electricity supplier carries out a search does a credit card lender view that as one more search on your file?

Also - British Gas is now reporting payment and credit history to CRAs. Is this positive/negative/indifferent ? (assuming timely payments!)

Thanks in advance!

Moggles_2

jakesuk wrote: »

I am wondering if all credit report searches have the same adverse effect on your credit rating. ie. If an electricity supplier carries out a search, does a credit card lender view that as one more search on your file?

If there are no credit facilities involved, I expect these are unrecorded enquiries (made to check identity, for instance, or quotation searches). These are not seen by other lenders.

It's the number of searches classified as credit checks that matter. Too many credit checks in a short space of time could certainly have an impact on your credit rating, but each check drops off your file after 12 months, so the effect is fairly short-lived

Moggles_2

jakesuk wrote: »

British Gas is now reporting payment and credit history to CRAs. Is this positive/negative/indifferent ? (assuming timely payments!)

Unless credit facilities are involved (eg. mobile phone), your payment histories with utilities are not normally reported to the credit reference agencies, provided that you are not in arrears. In other words, utilities neither help nor harm your credit history, if you always pay up on time.

That said, British Gas has begun to report new customer accounts to the CRAs in the last couple of months. (Obviously, BG needs a customer's permission, so only new account holders are affected.) This could be an advantage to those who are aiming to build a credit history.

Protus

Hi all,

I'd like to know how a credit history is created from the start? Very confused:eek:

I'm new to the country with no bank account, and have only recently registered myself onto the electoral roll, which I've been told will only be updated and reported to the C.A's after 1st Dec.

Now question is: 1. Should I wait to get onto the register before applying for a basic bank account, (or does that not matter i;e no credit checks.) Or perhaps get the creditbuilder for green ticks & then after my 4th month apply for a decent current account?

I'm presuming being on the electoral roll itself does not create a history but the basic bank account might? Or in my 3rd option, would it be the creditbuilder that creates this after my 1st green tick?