Experian/Equifax/Callcredit

Fitzkepp

Hi all,

Just a quick question for you folks maybe a bit further down the line than myself - within the next 6 months we'll have enough deposit saved to apply for a mortgage and buy a house. It's been a long process of eliminating debt, settling accounts etc and I've had Equifax on my internet favourites bar for what seems like forever!

Anyway, having signed up for all three and trying to break down any issues in the records I've come to the point where the score on all three is excllent/very good and thus feel comfortable I've got things lined up.

My question is, does it matter than the three companies have different selections of credit records for me? Equifax has everything fine, for example, but Experian don't show up any of my Barclays accounts or the tail end of a Tesco loan about to be paid off in full.

Is the important thing the score, or is attention paid to the correlation between different credit agencies when a bank is assessing your application for a mortgage?

kingstreet

The CRA score is irrelevant. Indicative at best, misleading at worst. It will not guarantee you a mortgage.

Some lenders only supply information to and take information from one CRA, so it's normal. Don't worry about it.

Fitzkepp

kingstreet wrote: »

The CRA score is irrelevant. Indicative at best, misleading at worst. It will not guarantee you a mortgage.

Some lenders only supply information to and take information from one CRA, so it's normal. Don't worry about it.

Ok great, thanks for the response. It's difficult to know how much store to set by these companies estimates of your finance - it can be a bit soul destroying sometimes when fighting against incorrect info. I think I can call the battle won now then.

amnblog

Set zero store to these companies estimates of your finances.

It is a marketing exercise to get you to subscribe to 'improve your score'.

Pay everything every month in full and on time and your credit file takes care of itself.

whunt18885

In my limited experience I would echo what the other's have said, Credit Scores are only 1 part of a mortgage application. Assuming you have no history of bad debt, no history of payday loans/CCJ etc and you are on the electoral register your credit score won't be a issue. My score was 800 (not the best by any means), I got a mortage straight away no probs.

Mortgage lenders according to my broker are more concerned these days about affordability rather than simply multiplying your wages or checking your credit score. I only earn £14k a year but because I only spend £300 a month (backed up by bank statements) I got a mortgage of £70k with £10k deposit for a new £80k flat.

Avoid any unusual spending over the next few months as this will also raise questions and you should be fine. Defo check that you are on the electoral register tho as this is a big negative if not.

Fitzkepp

Thanks both of you, this is certainly a bit of an eye opener. To be honest it was from a buyers guide on this site that I decided to get my "house in order" and ensure all three reported positively.

The only negatives I have against me are 1 monthly payment late on my old Barclaycard in Jan 2011, and 2 payments late on an old Natwest overdraft from my student days in Feb 2010. Other than that everything else is fine, been on electoral roll for 4+ years at my current address.

I think I need to go through this exercise with my wife though, as she's recently changed her name obviously - but other than that has pretty much never had a credit agreement. No credit cards, overdrafts, car loans, nothing. Most she's had is an o2 phone contract. Need to ensure her name is correct on the electoral register come the time of application and it's correctly associating her with her old name.

LeeSouthEast

To specifically comment on your point of "one has x, two have y" and so on... remember not all institutions report to all agencies. If something is on one but 'missing' from another and you've got all your addresses correct and so forth, it's just simply that lender doesn't report to that agency.

Don't get too hung up on this. Yes it's important to make sure the underlying data is right, which it sounds like it is and you have. Forget the scoring nonsense. If you pay your bills, don't borrow too much, don't apply for too much, and don't carry too much, the credit referencing part of your mortgage application will be the least of your worries

My stupid mortgage advisor switched mine and my partner's dates of birth on the application but it still went through (and the searches were still correctly recorded ... although caused me momentary confusion!)