Debt and building my credit score again.

jamesy1986

In March I had £3350 of unsecured debt. I now have I used Noddle to check out my credit score and it was 1/5, the lowest it can go. I now have £2150 unsecured debt by throwing almost all the money I have at it bar what I need to live on, have give up drinking, smoking, etc to do this. While I was unemployed I was unable to make many payments and missed a few monthly payments down the line, I take full responsibility for this, to a certain extent, some has been outside my own control.

I then noticed that my fathers credit card debt and bank account (with overdraft) are on my credit score, we share the same name and address, but I sure as hell wasn't born in 1955! He's now aware of this. This technically adds £8000 of debt to my credit score.

Callcredit had investigated it after I made them aware and MBNA have claimed the information is accurate, so they won't change it. We wrote to MBNA who told us it was accurate, they refuse to change it, and told us to change my address. The address listed is the family home and I refuse to change it to keep a bank I'm not even a customer with happy. Its not happening.

We have been in contact with the financial ombudsman and a solicitor that works for the city council to sort this out but it is taking a very long time.

I have missed payments in the past; I was unemployed on and off working for an agency, and was rejected for a better credit card deal to help me pay the debt off, and I'm guessing my fathers credit on my report had a huge effect on this. Something else I'm not happy with as my debt situation had a very detrimental effect on my well being, due to high interest rates.

I have read on the main site that going on the electoral register will help, and I'm printing off the forms to send away tomorrow.

What I'm most concerned about is paying £500+ a month into my own debt, assuming that my fathers credit info will be gone from my report, will not particularly help my credit rating as it is in lump sums over the course of maybe.. 5 to 6 months. How long would it normally take to get my rating from a 1 to say... 3 or 4 out of 5? I am currently unable to get any sort of loan regardless of my income, and after I paid off my current debt I was hoping to get a small ring to pay for an engagement ring. I have a steady income of £1200 per month in a full time permanent job.

Any ideas? I'm not sure how credit scores can go up.

tlh858

Your 'credit score' is a meaningless number invented by credit agencies primarily so they can sell you products. Lenders don't use it and won't even see it.

You need to get the information corrected, pay off the debts and get yourself on the electoral roll - all of which you are doing already.

jamesy1986

They've left their mark in my credit report whenever I've tried in the past though.