Refused joint bank account & credit history "issues"

will-w

Good afternoon all

This is my first time posting in anger, although I have been an avid follower for quite a while.

My girlfriend and I are looking to move in with each other in the next 8-12 months and have recently started saving properly (£1000 in the first month :T).

We decided to open a joint bank account with the co-op last week but were instantly refused.
As I already had a current account with them I called and asked why; the answer was that my girlfriend had failed the credit check.

She contacted Experian for a copy of her credit profile and can now see why the Co-op said no.

In the last 18 months she has:

1. 1 late payment on her car finance (her fault - didn't transfer enough money over in time)
2. 3 late payments on from a mail-order shoe company.
   She stopped using this years ago but let her mum use her account - Her mum obviously wasn't very good at paying on time
3. 6 marks against her profile from Next.
   Next has consistently lowered her credit limit over the last 6 months, to the point where it is now "Zero".
   We figure that as she has had more debt than her allowed limit they have put a black mark against her time and time again.
   I know they state in their T&C's that they will assess the limit every month but... Are they allowed to do this!?!

We are in a bit of a sticky situation now; we were planning on becoming First Time Buyers towards the end of the year but I doubt we'd get a Mortgage with Emma's credit score the way it is.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what we can do to sort it all out?

Bit new at all of this..

Thanks

W & E

notts_phil

Nothing you can really do apart from manage your payments on time for the next few years. Give it a good few years and forget a joint mortgage

jonesMUFCforever

Make HER pay her bills up to date and on time from now.
6 months down the line things will look a lot better.

Pay Next off completely and close the account. If you need clothes go to the shop and pay instantly.
Get her mum to pay off and then your g/f to close the mail order account.

will-w

The mail order account was closed a about a year ago, this was the oldest blemishes on her profile.

Since meeting her I have been encouraging not to use credit accounts and to only buy things if she can afford them, I guess this is going to be a harsh wake-up call

We just can't believe that Next can change her limit without control or notification and then mark against her credit profile!

YorkshireBoy

will-w wrote: »

We just can't believe that Next can change her limit without control or notification and then mark against her credit profile!

So they're not late payment markers with Next then? The report simply shows she was over her credit limit (for x months in a row)?

will-w

To be honest I don't know, I didn't see the report.

She always pays her manual bills on time or a few days In advance..

I'll get her to show me the report and will report back.

All I know is that 5 of them are marked with a 1 and one has a 2 against it?

YorkshireBoy

will-w wrote: »

All I know is that 5 of them are marked with a 1 and one has a 2 against it?

The numbers denote the number of months late she was with her payments.

The 2 signifies she missed two consecutive payments, and that's very bad because she can't pass it off as a 'blip' to other lenders...especially mortgage lenders!

will-w

I've just asked her more questions about it and the Next account had a 6 in red next to it

TrueUnitedFan

will-w wrote: »

I've just asked her more questions about it and the Next account had a 6 in red next to it

WOW. 6? That's pretty bad. I'm afraid it's 6 years until those LPM drop off. Her credit file is ruined for now.

If you can't get a joint account, there's no way you'll get a mortgage together, how long will it be before you can? i really wouldn't know..

jonesMUFCforever

OP don't give up hope - I know that the credit score looks hopeless now but mortgage lending credit score is more lenient as it is secured against the property you buy.
If everything is paid off now and everything on the credit score shows green for the next 6 months not all will be lost.

She needs to be totally honest with you though and you need to make sure that there is nothing else lurking in the skeleton cupboard.