Credit Report

declaration

I have been looking for a mortgage and have been declined.

I got my credit report and score from equifax. The score was 415 (which is average according to them), but it also said that I would probably be a good candidate for credit, but it would not be automatic, as my borrowing suggests that I struggle to pay my bills.

This was true up until two and a half years ago when I got a much better job with a salary increase of 20k.

Previous to that I had taken out consolodating loans, but have never missed a payment or been late.

There is one exception to this as I have a default for £2992. I have been paying this off to the debt collection company, and the balance is now half that, and given the default was under unusual circumstances, I am trying to get it removed.

The unfortunate thing is that my report is a fair reflection of my circumstances almost three years ago, but it is a world away from where I am today.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I know I won't get a mortgage for a while yet, but I need to do everything I can to make myself a better prospect to the banks.

Thanks

_Andy_

You don't give enough detail for a meaningful reply - e.g. what is your situation - a first time purchase , remortgage etc.?
How much deposit do you have saved up?
Which lender declined you?

Conrad

My advice

Act like a geeky middle class librarian and your score will rise over time.

EDIT; - People with high scores:

Have land line tel numbers for work and home

Dont smoke

Registered to vote

Are stable - dont change address or job often

Pay debt on time in full and make sure always enough in current account, for example if away on hols

Answer mortgage appl;ication questions in a manner that might increase score (eg - if a a site maintenance guy - put 'engineer')

declaration

Thanks for the replies.

I'm living in a privately rented two bedroom flat that I have the option to buy. It is valued at 120k, and I have been offered it at 100k. It is a new development of nine properties which were all originally for sale, but due to market circumstances, the unsold ones were rented out at high rents. The developer is a friend of mine, hence the discount.

I am a first time buyer with a deposit of 10k (I know I need more!). RBS turned me down.

I have a salary of 53K and have two loans I am paying off, one with a balance of 4k remaining and one with a balance of 10k remaining. I have no missed/late payments.

I have a credit card with a limit of £500, and I cleared the balance today and set up the direct debit to clear it every month. I haven't used it in almost a year, but will start using it again.

Thanks

declaration

UPDATE: I had e-mailed Egg today asking to remove the default notice if I paid off the whole amount. They have declined to do so.

samay007

They would not remove the default notice. As per the contract, you have not paid on time and that's the reason they have put default. you can write a letter to experian, equifax asking that you have settled the whole amount with some proof.

_Andy_

declaration wrote: »

UPDATE: I had e-mailed Egg today asking to remove the default notice if I paid off the whole amount. They have declined to do so.

Quite right - your credit report needs to reflect your account conduct.
You can still pay it off and it will show as satisfied but will still cause you problems.

declaration

I agree too Andy, however there were extenuating circumstances. My whole salary was sent to Egg instead of the monthly payment. When I approached the bank, they reversed the DD. This put me into arrears. After two months, Egg gave me a default notice and passed the debt to an agency.

The default was for the whole amount and not the £100 I was actually in arrears for.

jamesd

You have an unsatisfied default. That's going to hurt you for six years from the date that you finally clear it but it's far more harmful while there's still a balance owed. Settling that default as fast as possible should be your top priority if you're interested in improving your credit score.

A notice of correction is how you comment on your credit report about the circumstances of the default.

Did you immediately make a replacement for the monthly payment? Did you also make the required monthly payments to Egg until the time the default was filed? If you did both then you should have a strong case for getting the default removed from your file after appealing to the Information Commissioner.

Regardless, Egg seems to have breached its Treating Customers Fairly obligation and you should ask them to review their handling of this case and send you a final decision letter so that you can take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Use the FOS and get a decision from them before using the Information Commissioner, the IC comes into play only if Egg doesn't do what the FOS says.

Who caused the whole salary instead of the normal payment to go to Egg? Was it Egg asking for too much money in their DD request? Or a mistake by you or your bank?