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

milliemonster

They are usually updated monthly, but some accounts can be 3 monthly before they are updated

kjfc100

I have just checked my credit history for the first time with Experian. It is fine apart from I have 37 (!) linked addresses. This is partly due to me moving every year while at Uni, and then my parents moving while I was there. However, seven of them are from 2002, and some are duplicated because of mis-spelling by Vodafone, who passed them on to Experian in the first place.

Can I ask Experian to remove these addresses because they are more than six years old?

Thanks in advance.

whats4supper

I've applied to 2/3 different credit card companies over the past year or so, been refused by all of them not entirely sure why.
I would like to shift around £7000.00 from one credit card (Virgin) who are charging me interest (£80/month) to another 0% BT one.
Im worried that if i apply to these credit card companies they'll also refuse me and i'll be stuck in the dreaded cycle.
Can anyone advise me where to go from here and how to improve my credit rating?
Cheers
Whats4Supper

manda351

My boyfriend has a default with T Mobile on his credit report which has been paid off with a debt collection company for around £400 however it still shows as outstanding on his credit report and as we have a joint account this is affecting my ability to get good deals on a credit card. Is there anyway to get this removed now it has been paid off or to get it to show as £0 outstanding?? Please help. Thanks

izools

kjfc100 wrote: »

I have just checked my credit history for the first time with Experian. It is fine apart from I have 37 (!) linked addresses. This is partly due to me moving every year while at Uni, and then my parents moving while I was there. However, seven of them are from 2002, and some are duplicated because of mis-spelling by Vodafone, who passed them on to Experian in the first place.

Can I ask Experian to remove these addresses because they are more than six years old?

Thanks in advance.

The presence of linked addresses has no impact whatsoever on your credit score, even if they are spelled incorrectly.

It is the data contained at those addresses that is important. So if you have a link to an address at which you have an unpaid credit card then this will be affecting your score, but if this is the case, then no, you can't have the link removed (for obvious reasons!)

I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you've entered all the addresses you've lived at over the last six years you'll get all the relevant data

izools

whats4supper wrote: »

I've applied to 2/3 different credit card companies over the past year or so, been refused by all of them not entirely sure why.
I would like to shift around £7000.00 from one credit card (Virgin) who are charging me interest (£80/month) to another 0% BT one.
Im worried that if i apply to these credit card companies they'll also refuse me and i'll be stuck in the dreaded cycle.
Can anyone advise me where to go from here and how to improve my credit rating?
Cheers
Whats4Supper

Have you obtained a copy of your credit report? Can you see if your credit report shows any record of any missed payments, defaults, and if you are on the electoral role?

You might have been turned down due to adverse data you were unaware of, or a discrepancy in your address vs electoral role, or too many recent searches, or too much available credit, or a too greater debt to income ratio, or because you've moved job/ house recently, there are a plethora of contributing factors, so I would recommend scrutinizing your credit report and also post up about anything you can think of that might be of concern to a creditor - i.e. unused credit cards with high limits and / or owing more than about 40% of your annual salary

izools

manda351 wrote: »

My boyfriend has a default with T Mobile on his credit report which has been paid off with a debt collection company for around £400 however it still shows as outstanding on his credit report and as we have a joint account this is affecting my ability to get good deals on a credit card. Is there anyway to get this removed now it has been paid off or to get it to show as £0 outstanding?? Please help. Thanks

If the debt was cleared it should be updated to show satisfied with a nil balance. Has he called T-Mobile to query this?

It would probably be best to write to T-Mobile's data controller.

The address to use would be:

T-Mobile UK Ltd
FAO Data Controller
Hatfield Business Park
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL10 9BW

Quote the account number & mobile number, explain how much was paid and when, try to provide proof of payment in the form of a bank statement, credit card statement, cheque stub, or online banking print off, whatever you have availeble.

Say in your letter that the data is in breach of the data protection act 1998 in so much it does not accurately represent the up to date balance of the account and is having a defamatory effect.

Say you provide 28 days for the account to be marked as satisfied and if it is still not after this time frame action will be sought through legal and regulatory bodies.

Re: Affecting your credit score unfortunately even once the default is settled you will both have some difficulty getting mainstream credit. The older the default gets the easier it will be but as a rule of thumb, even if the default is satisfied, you will probably get turned down for prime credit facilities until it's at least three years old.

You can't ask for the default to be removed in full as it is an accurate representation of the account status at the time. Unless T-Mobile never sent a reminder and / or default notice in writing, in which case it might be worth disputing

I recently managed to get Three to remove a satisfied default from my OH's report by claiming they never sent reminders or a default notice and after some back and forth, posturing, bluff and so forth it got removed, so can be worth a punt

kjfc100

Brilliant. Thanks izools :beer:

RobH1974

What the?????

I defaulted on a Barclaycard Visa back in 1996/97 when I was young and stupid. I have now got myself back on a good playing field credit wise (mortgage, bank account and visa card (with Barclays)) and am up to date and have not missed payments for the last 9 years. However on my Equifax credit report it is showing this default as registered in 2007 ??? Is there some statute of limitations meaning something over 6 years old should not be on your credit file??
My experian credit rating is excellent but only good on Equifax.

izools

RobH1974 wrote: »

What the?????

I defaulted on a Barclaycard Visa back in 1996/97 when I was young and stupid. I have now got myself back on a good playing field credit wise (mortgage, bank account and visa card (with Barclays)) and am up to date and have not missed payments for the last 9 years. However on my Equifax credit report it is showing this default as registered in 2007 ??? Is there some statute of limitations meaning something over 6 years old should not be on your credit file??
My experian credit rating is excellent but only good on Equifax.

I would print that paticular part of your equifax report and sent it along with a letter to Barclaycard's information officer. The address being:

Barclaycard
Data Controller
1 Churchill Place
London
E14 5HP

In your letter, cite the information from the ICO that states data must be fairly processed, and accurate.

Explain in your letter that the data is unfair because it is having undue negative impact on your ability to obtain good value credit, undue because the date is incorrect.

Also explain for the same reason (date) it is inaccurate.

Provide barclaycard 28 days to rectify the issue to prevent it being escalated to the ICO and any other applicable regulatory / legal body.

Good luck!