Banks & Internal Credit Scores

Gibblet

Hey there!

Just a quick question - Ignoring a general credit rating (which doesn't apply to people like me who are 'offshore') how does one build up a great internal credit rating?

Obviously, there's the normal things like avoiding bounced DD's, Un-authed OD's etc but what can be done to build a positive score?

pjread

I expect all you'll get is educated guesses. I worked in banking but that was years ago, and not branch-side or risk/underwriting, so take what I say with as much of a pinch of salt as anything else!

That said, it is probably safe to assume that what you'd want to see (as the bank) is;
* Turnover/usage - not just a stagnant/static balance and no transactions
* Generally, a month-on-month balance increase (credits greater than debits)
* A relatively 'healthy' balance (not necessarily massive, but leaving £8.50 in an account and adding 5p a month probably won't help much)

I'm also fairly certain they get regular CRA feeds - not sure how that works for someone 'offshore', I guess for a non-UK address they'd just go on account conduct. But if your account is registered with a UK address I'd assume they'd still check that - and if it's a blank (no electoral roll or other accounts) that might not help.

BugsyBrowne

You'll find the majority of customers have decent internal scores with banks as it's not hard to achieve.
Don't bounce cheques, keep within your planned overdraft if you have one, make sure your DD's are paid, etc etc.

wiseshark

Internal Scores, my own personal view.

1 Excellent, best you can be.
2 Very good.
3 Good.
4 Ok, where most customers are.
5 Ok and as above.
6 Not so good.
7 Concerning. Invite customer in for a chat.
8 Very worrying, thinking about closing the account. Snotty letters.
9 Do not want customer. Account terminated. Sell debts to agency.

chambta

Keeping a few quid in a savings account generally doesn't hurt either.