Cleared my credit cards

tinymcfc

Hi people,

Looking for a small bit of advice, I had a few credit cards recently all maxed at £1400, £1100 & £500. I have just cleared them all after struggling to pay them, and finding myself only paying the minimum thus being hit with interest taking my balance higher than when I made a payment! So I've taken my savings and paid them all off. The only thing I have now is finance on my TV which is due next month (£700) which I'm not sure where that is going to come from, and my normal rent, bills etc. Other than that, I'm debt free.

I had a few problems when I was younger and I just didnt pay for things and my credit score took a nice blow. However for the past year or so, I've been uptodate on all my payments, phone bills, catalogues, credit cards, finance on my car etc, and the score has improve somewhat. The only default registered on my credit file is one from Next from 2003 which says 'satisfied' which I presume means I cleared it off? Is there anyway I can request that to be removed of is it the mandatory 6 years?

Anyway, after clearing all my credit cards etc, how long will it take for me to see an impact on my credit file, if any? Will clearing them all off at once have any bearing on my score? What other things can I do to improve the score (if anything) other than making my payments on-time each month?

Thanks in advance.

beanielou

Just wanted to say well done on clearing the credit cards.
Well done you!