how to repair poor credit rating

Evans1882

Hi

I have been in debt for a number of years, I used to have a very good credit score until things got too much and i had to default and set up a DMP with the CCCS this was just over three years ago, so during the DMP my payments varied but i allways kept up with it and my creditors where happy.

I did manage to pay off a big chunk of my debt during this time, but it was still just over £13,000. I was very lucky this month when a family member offered to help me out and has loand me the funds to clear the debt, I was also lucky that most of my creditors accepted reduced amounts to clear the debt. I am still in debt but paying family every month not my creditors.

I understand from my creditiors that my credit report will show my defaults as satisfied apart from one who said it would be part satified, my question is in about two or three years time myself and my partner will be looking to buy a house together how can i go about trying to repair my score during the next two/three years, i would of hoped to have paid back the family by then as well.

bottleofred

Hi Evans1882,

Defaults stay on your credit file for six years from the date of the default and then fall off. The fact they are all now settled is good and a settled default after 2-3 years usually does not affect the credit rating so much that a person cannot get a mortgage. However, the disadvantage of defaults are generally that the mortgages you will be offered are generally more expensive than some of the best rates available and it ends up costing slightly more. It usually takes around 6 weeks for your credit file to be updated, so if you intend applying for credit leave it until at least this time period. You will find details of how to rebuild your credit history in the credit cards section on the forum, although my advice would be to only get one of these if you can clear the balance every month to avoid paying prohibitive rates of interest and to show regular payments.

Hannah_10

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/bad-credit-credit-cards

See Martins advice on the link above.

DarkConvict

Give this a read as it would apply to you in the most part - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/677875

Basically you really need to wait for the defaults to come off for the best results. Its 6 years since the default was added not from when they are settled, so depending on when you defaulted it may not be that bad.

Payment history lasts 3 years as well, so 3 years after a DMP is a good time.