Credit Rating...

yoda84

Hi Guys,

CREDIT RATING: 378
Back in August 2008 I viewed my credit report at www.CreditExpert.co.uk and was shocked to find I owed £115 from a previous phone contract which had now defaulted. I paid the amount straight away. At the time I was behind on my current phone bill (2months) so I made an effort to repay that amount in full and since August 08 every payment payment for my phone had been made on time and I have not gone over my overdraft limit & have no applications for credit.
CREDIT RATING: 424

Since 2005 I haven't been on an electoral register (moved around alot as a student) but when i moved into my new house (01/10/2008) I contacted the local council and got on the register. At this point the local canvasing was taking place so I wouldnt show up on the register until Dec 08. During this point my credit rating didn't change and I was expecting it to increase when the details were updated. I checked again this month and i'm now listed as being ON the register, so I ordered my credit rating again, only to find it was still 424.

The only thing on my credit rating that is showing I owe money is my overdraft, but this is an agreed overdraft (£2000) and I never go over my limit. One other thing I have noticed is that ORANGE have not updated the report since November 2008 (although I have contacted creditexpert.co.uk to chase this I have not heard anything back).

Can someone please help here i'm really at a loss as to what I can do to improve my rating, i'm not actually looking for credit anywhere but i don't understand whats wrong!

Thanks
Darren

MrsTinks

Well firstly the rating is just really an internal thing at experian or equifax - however it WILL increase gradually with time - it's not enough to not have missed payments on things. You have to have credit (ie credit card) and be spending on it AND be paying it for a while to prove you can manage credit.
Also the default on the old bill... when was this from? It will stay on your account for 6 years from the date of default regardless of whether you have settled it. It won't have as bad an effect as if you hadn't settled it but it WILL be there for a while to come I guess, just marked as "settled"

bellrooster

If you order your credit score form equifax they go through all the different aspects of your report and whats doing well and whats not so good, then it gives you a better idea of what you need to do to build your credit!

yoda84

Hey Guys,

The defaulted account is from a Vodafone account that ended in December 07 and was defualted and i paid it in full and is now marked as settled as of Aug 08.

My friend has suggested getting in touch with my current bank and seeing if I can apply for a credit card with a low limit and/or high interest rate, and use the card for monthly things like food shopping and pay it off in full straight away, thus using the credit card but not incuring any interest and proving I can handle the debt.

Is this worth a shot?

Thanks again guys,
Darren

MrsTinks

Yes getting a low limit card with possibly a high interest rate and using it regularly and paying it off will help rebuild your history. Be prepared for things to take a while to rebuild though

bellrooster

yeah it's a good idea to get a 'credit building card

Capital One, Barlcays Initial, and vanquis are all good, and with your score I think you should be successful. I would try barclays initial first as it has a lower interest rate.

I would remember though you have to use it each month and then pay it off each month.

I do this with my barlcays initial, I use it for my weekly shop, and keep my weekly shop money separate so I know I've the money to pay it off each month and my credit score is slowly building!!

though I noticed it did say on my report that your score will get better once you've had a credit account and managed it well for 36 months! So now is a good a time as any to start repairing credit!

yoda84

Hi,
I don't mind if it takes a while and to be honest i don't Need any credit yet but i want it to be of a decent enough level ready for when I do need it in the future, just hope my bank will give me a card even though my rating is super bad!

Darren

yoda84

Hi Bellrooster,

Thanks for the advice on the cards, i think i'll try Natwest as i've had an account with them for about 5 years now

Also if for eg I get a a CC and do my monthly shop on the 2nd, can i then ring up and pay the balance in full on the 3rd, thats ok yh?

Cheers
Darren

GeorgeUK

Yoda, did you receive a notice of default? There are certain steps that they must take before issuing a default on your credit file. Not sure if it makes much difference to you, but you could send a subject access request (SAR - cost £10) to whatever company placed it on your file and if the default notice is not included in any documentation they send you, you may be able to get the default removed.

I think the consumeractiongroup site may have more detail on this, but thought it might be worth mentioning.

yoda84

Hi GeorgeUK,

I rememebr getting a letter saying we are passing this debt onto our debt collectors but i'm 99.9% sure i never got a letter saying anything about it being defaulted. thanks for the advice i'll look into it (once i've been paid and can afford hte tenner lol) and see what happens.

Darren

bellrooster

yoda84 wrote: »

Hi Bellrooster,

Thanks for the advice on the cards, i think i'll try Natwest as i've had an account with them for about 5 years now

Also if for eg I get a a CC and do my monthly shop on the 2nd, can i then ring up and pay the balance in full on the 3rd, thats ok yh?

Cheers
Darren

I'm not sure about that one to be honest! I think that in some cases it would take more than 1 day for whatever you've bought to be on your credit card account. I know that it takes a couple of days with my Barclay card.

As far as I know if you paid it off a few days after spending it, then that should be fine.

The only thing I will say, which doesn't realy apply to you as you're trying to rebuild your credit rather than get more credit, is that some lenders don't like to lend to people who pay off their cards in full and on time as they can't make money from you!! but like I say, it doesn't make any difference to you!