A little help with defaults please

khughes18

Hi,

Was just after a bit of guidance with my credit situation if able,
I have recently checked my Experian credit score to find I'm currently in the excellent bracket with a score of 968, however, I have four old defaults(two settled) from 2008-2009 where my ex wife and I fell behind with accounts(not mortgage) after she lost her job and entered a DMP.
We have long since divorced and all that remains for myself are two of the originally defaulted accounts totalling £12k of which she has to pay me half as part of the divorce settlement.
I am no longer on a dmp and have long since been making monthly payments much greater than the original agreed amounts which will result in one of the accounts being paid off in less than a year and the final one in less than two years.
Since this time, I have had several healthy credit accounts with no issues whatsoever which I'm guessing is the reason why I have a score of 968.
I was just wondering how can I have this score if my file has four defaults on there?(the defaults will start dropping off next year with the last one going in 2016 going by the 6 yr rule)
I was also wondering what my best options are as my current partner and I are looking to move house and as she has a clean credit history,
What are our chances of getting a mortgage now via a good broker as I have heard conflicting things and know of people who have been bankrupt being successful in getting a mortgage.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Tixy

Hi

khughes18 wrote: »

I was just wondering how can I have this score if my file has four defaults on there?

Some would say that the mystery of a credit score.
Credit scores are the credit reference agencies opinion on your file and with experian it appears that items older than 3-4 years are largely ignored when it comes to how they calculate the score they will sell to you.

In reality many lenders will look at the whole history shown on your credit file and unpaid defaults, even old ones, are likely to cause you an issue getting credit and especially a mortgage (you may be able to get a mortgage but it will almost certainly affect the ltv you can borrow and the APR you are offered).

Are these debts joint accounts? are you still showing as financially linked to your ex? if so then negatives on her credit file can also affect your ability to get credit (but won't impact on your score).

As to the new house / mortgage if you wait until the defaults have gone or are fully paid you are likely to be able to have a wider choice of more competitive mortgage products to choose from.
If you can't then I would speak to a broker with a copy of your credit file. If you have a fairly decent deposit / don't want too high an ltv then you may well find a mortgage lender willing to lend to you. You perhaps could then remortgage in a couple of years to try to find a more competitive mortgage rate once your file has cleared up.

matttye

Ignore the Experian score - it doesn't mean anything and lenders don't get to see the score. They will score you based on their own internal criteria.

I think you'll struggle to get a decent mortgage and you'll have to get something on the 'sub prime' market if you can't wait until the defaults drop off.