Equifax - Caution on file, Not Sure Why?

donnap83

Checked my file yesterday using the 30 days free thing. It has a 'dashboard' giving a summary of your file. Mine is Yellow, for caution. I have no defaults etc, or late payments, but I do have several dormant bank accounts that i no longer use. I did go to the banks in question last year to close them, but after checking the credit file, they appear to still be open. Will this affect my CF?Also, thinking about it, I have a joint bank account with my mum, who has really bad credit. We have it because my mum is disabled so can't always get out, so she will transfer money into the account so i can get her shopping. We've since discovered that we can do a bank to bank tranfer instantly (it used to take 4 days) so will be closing that account. As it stands, will being financially linked to my mum with this account affect my credit rating?Thanks in advance!

MoneySaverLog

donnap83 wrote: »

Also, thinking about it, I have a joint bank account with my mum, who has really bad credit. We have it because my mum is disabled so can't always get out, so she will transfer money into the account so i can get her shopping. We've since discovered that we can do a bank to bank tranfer instantly (it used to take 4 days) so will be closing that account. As it stands, will being financially linked to my mum with this account affect my credit rating?Thanks in advance!

Yes, a joint account will cause the two of you to be financially linked at the CRA. That will almost certainly be the reason for the caution indicator show up affect your credit rating.

Take no notice of the scores though, they mean nothing. It's just the info on your file that you need to be concerned with. Do the debts show up on your file?

donnap83

By debts, do you mean hers? If so, no. Thank god. I've closed one, just got to go in to Natwest with mum and close that one as well.

MoneySaverLog

Then you should not be linked together, if it's a joint savings account I do not believe these get linked, it's only if it's a current account or has credit facilities.

Other than that the other things to consider are:

Are you on the electoral role at your current address,
how long have you lived at your current address
Previous addresses, the same as above if less than 6 years
Outstanding loans / credit facilities not necessarily how much is owed but the credit limits on any cards you hold
Previous payment history over last 6 years / CCJ's Defaults, missed payments, Debt Management, IVA, Bankruptcy Court records.
Previous bank accounts/credit facilities shown as settled that have been closed, remain on your credit file for 6 years from when they are closed.
Your D.O.B
Your income
Your outgoings
Whether you are single, married, divorced, seperated
Are you a homeowner, tennant, living with parents other
If you have a landline phone number (They like to be able to know they can contact you)
How long you have been in your current job
Who you work for
What you do for a living

All this information the CRA do not necessarily have, and is supplied on your application for credit. All this information gets scored by the company and hence the score provided by the CRA's cannot be the same as that for a credit application. Whilst one lender will approve you, another may not - it all depends on their criteria which will vary.

A lot of this will not apply to you, and is by all means not an exhaustive list

premierfella

My credit position sounds very similar to yours Donnap83.

I'm asssuming you are seeing the same online dashboard that I see - if its just the credit agreement icon that is flagging amber I wouldn't be overly concerned. Mine has always shown as amber - even after cleaning up dormant accounts - and I have only ever been refused credit by Amex (which I put down to their credit scoring system being somewhat quirky given that I have a flawless record).