my chances of a mortgage? help...

oddone

Hi,
I am looking for some advice. I have been living abroad for 6 years and have just moved back to the UK. I am looking for a mortgage of around 80,000. I will be able to pay a deposit of around 7,000. I earn 24,000 p.a. However, my credit history is limited; firstly cos I haven't been in the UK for ages and have no credit built up here. My bank said this shouldn't be an issue as I have had my job for over 6 months. Secondly however, I have found out that I have 2 unsettled defaulted credit cards- I had given a friend the money to pay them off while I was away but obviously that wasn't a good friend. The credit cards show a default date of 2001. I want to pay them off but am scared of having another default date for another 6 years if I do. Which one is worse for the mortgage advisor?
My bank verbally said they would give me a mortgage even though they only gave me a basic bank account but now that I have found out about these credit cards I don't know what to do.
Any help would be great.

MortgageMamma

first thing you need to do is go to the credit reference agencies and put a notice of correction on your file. https://www.experian.co.uk and https://www.equifax.co.uk. there is also another one called callcredit but don;t know there link. secondly you must go to the police and report this theft, as that is basically what it is. If you know where this friend is confront them and ask what happened. when you get your credit report you need to check it to make sure this "friend" did not use your identity whilst you were away. If they did it is fraudulent and carries a prison sentence. The next task is to build your credit rating back up, which could take a while. Take furher advice on your mortgage as different lenders view ccj's and defaults differently. Good luck