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

elgeno

Hi Everyone.

I recently got married. My credit history is not so good and would like to keep my wife history unbleamished. We do not share any bank accounts or the mortgage.
The only bill with both our names on it is the Council Tax bill. Would this affect my wife??
If so how can i rectify this.
Thank you

Moggles_2

elgeno wrote: »

I recently got married. My credit history is not so good and would like to keep my wife history unbleamished. We do not share any bank accounts or the mortgage. The only bill with both our names on it is the Council Tax bill. Would this affect my wife?

No, if you share a financial product (eg. mortgage) with someone else, then you are financially linked to them and your affairs could affect their credit rating, but simply receiving council tax bills addressed to you jointly, has no effect whatsoever.

nasha_2

Hello,
(Not sure if this is posted in the right section, am relatively new to this so please go easy on me.)
I wonder if anyone could help with my current situation,
Upon checking my credit file I have noticed that an account which I am paying off via direct debit has marked me as defaulting every month for around 9 months even though it clearly shows that it is being paid every month. Why is this and is there anything I can do about it? I am looking to buy a house and know that I wont be touched with this on there.
I really appreciate any advice given.
Thank you in advance

izools

nasha wrote: »

Hello,
(Not sure if this is posted in the right section, am relatively new to this so please go easy on me.)
I wonder if anyone could help with my current situation,
Upon checking my credit file I have noticed that an account which I am paying off via direct debit has marked me as defaulting every month for around 9 months even though it clearly shows that it is being paid every month. Why is this and is there anything I can do about it? I am looking to buy a house and know that I wont be touched with this on there.
I really appreciate any advice given.
Thank you in advance

Once an account has been defaulted, it cannot be "un-defaulted", so although you are now repaying the money owed, the default marker shows to reflect the fact that on the "Default Date" the creditor ended the agreement because you failed to keep to the terms and conditions for a prolonged period of time.

Your payments will reduce the balance of the default and once it is paid off it will be marked as "Satisfied".

Default markers are removed from your credit file six years after the original default date whether or not the debt has been settled.

Hope this makes sense

milliemonster

I think the lenders are just making it up as they go along.

I posted on here last week aboutwhay our credit rating was so low and was given some great advice and have since paid off 3 of our overdrafts (only 2 remaining now!)

So despite nothing adverse on our credit files, electoral roll info ok, I checked callcredit and everything is fine on there so have seen all three files now, we were refused a Halfax bank account last week ( would only offer us a basic account even though I requested NO overdraft), never been refused a bank account in my life, and to top that, we were in the middle of switching our electric to British Gas but they phoned me to say they would only do it if we gave them £100 as a security deposit which we would get back after a YEAR, so I politely refused.

Ok, so as it stands, even though our income is over £4k per month and outgoings are £2k including debt repayments, no late payments, nothing adverse, no arrears etc, it seems our high level of debt to credit limit is going against us (aswell as the overdrafts), this is what Experian told me when I phoned up.

Experian have said I need to get my personal level of debt to below 70% of the amount of credit available, which I am working on (it is 87% at present).

So can someone tell me then, if our rating is so dire, we can't get a bank account or change our electric, WHY HAVE NATWEST JUST INCREASED MY CREDIT LIMIT FROM £9k TO £13k????????

izools

Your credit file makes you look like a risk to potential lenders because your "Limit to Debt" ratio is high, a major sign of "Debt Stress" even if you aren't under any.

Natwest increased your limit based on how you run your Natwest Credit Card account, and not based on your national credit report - two very different things

Katy_M_2

Hi All

Sorry if I'm going over old ground here but I'm not sure what to do for the best -

I quite often read that it's not good to always be maxed out to your credit limit - but also read that it is better to reduce your available credit limit whenever possible.

I have a credit card and an overdraft which I am constantly chipping away at - I am currently using about 86% of my available credit.

As I chip away at my debt, I would rather decrease the limits so that I am not tempted to spend again - but I worry that this will affect my credit rating as I will constantly be at the top end of the limit.

The reason I am being so careful about my credit rating is that I eventually want to transfer the balance of a loan onto a credit card with O% to save some of the interest on my loan and to allow me to over pay some months.

So do I leave my limits where they are - or reduce them as I go along?

Thanks in advance - Katy xx

milliemonster

Katy - read my post above, Experian have advised me to NOT reduce my credit limits as I pay things off and keep my overdrafts as they are even if they are paid off as reducing them would reduce my 'available credit' and this would be detrimental to my credit rating.

They have told me to get my available credit to under 70%, I think once you do this you can start reducing your limits but I would always make sure that you are still within 70% of your limits even though you are reducing them if that makes sense

Katy_M_2

milliemonster wrote: »

Katy - read my post above, Experian have advised me to NOT reduce my credit limits as I pay things off and keep my overdrafts as they are even if they are paid off as reducing them would reduce my 'available credit' and this would be detrimental to my credit rating.

They have told me to get my available credit to under 70%, I think once you do this you can start reducing your limits but I would always make sure that you are still within 70% of your limits even though you are reducing them if that makes sense

Oops!! I totally didn't spot your post - am having one of those days! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Ok so the answer is C - all of the above then lol ! I'm trying so hard to reduce my percentage - (am getting way too obsessed with spreadsheets at the moment - almost to the point of OCD! )

Thanks for your help :)

milliemonster

Katy_M wrote: »

Oops!! I totally didn't spot your post - am having one of those days! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Ok so the answer is C - all of the above then lol ! I'm trying so hard to reduce my percentage - (am getting way too obsessed with spreadsheets at the moment - almost to the point of OCD! )

Thanks for your help :)

Hey I know that problem!!! I am a spreadsheet queen lol!!!