Credit Expert - Disappointing score

chr24

Good evening folks,

I've been paying £14.99 per month for the best part of a year now to credit expert for access to my report.

I checked it tonight and I'm pretty disappointed to see that my score is in the fair bracket with 777 as a score.

This is an outline of my situation and I hope you could advise on how to make things better:

*No overdraft

* 1 Credit card kept for emergency use generally, however when used try to pay off in full the following month. It has a very small limit on it to avoid running up any debts

* 1 mobile phone contract which never missed any payments

* 1 car on finance which has never missed any payments

* I have 2 savings accounts which I have standing orders set up to pay money into both per month to build a deposit for a house

I've always tried to be responsible and stay on top of my finances, but its disappointing and starting to get me down that my score is only in the FAIR bracket and I would like to improve on this.

So.....I am open to suggestions from the forum and experts which is greatly appreciated.

I've read so far that I should cancel my credit expert direct debit and go to Noodle??? - I've already emailed credit expert asking for my profile to be cancelled and direct debit to be stopped to save the money there too.

Thanks folks!

forgotmyname

Thats strange because i scored you 2 donuts and a packet of budget brand chocolate biscuits.

Get into debt more and it may inprove your meaningless score.

Are the savings accounts on the credit file?

The score means nothing. Lenders dont use it and credit expert dont lend you money.

A lender will look at your earnings and outgoings and decide if your a good risk.
They all have their own criteria. So you may not get accepted by some but will with others.

Are you on the electoral roll? Do you have a landline?

Eonel

Congrats on cancelling the Experian direct debit. As you have read elsewhere, the experian score is of very little use as it is only calculated on the debt half of the picture. Lenders criteria will also look at your salary and the proportion of debt vs salary.

You will need to provide salary details if you want this forum to give any useful view of your credit status. How much do you earn? How much is your car loan? how much is your total existing credit - both the used amount and the amount you have available?

Unfortunately, neither Lenders or Experian will care about your savings accounts and balances.

YorkshireBoy

Savings balances don't contribute to your credit-worthiness.


Some thoughts...


Age?
On ER? (at the moment, and continuously over last 3/6 years)
Any financial associates?
High number of credit searches?


Some suggestions...


Use the credit card every month (but only spend you can afford to repay in full the next month).
Get an overdraft facility on the current account (but don't use it!).
Consider getting another credit card (and split your purchases across the two, and use both each month).
Don't get too hung up on the credit score.


My final suggestion would have to stop WASTING £14.99 a month...but you've already done this. However, your mortgage savings balance would have been £180 more if you hadn't started to WASTE money 12 months ago.


EDIT: Actually I do have one more thing to add...If I'd paid Experian £180 over the last year I'd be asking them the question, not strangers on an internet forum. Why didn't you make them earn their money and advise you?

chr24

27 years old

£54,000 per year. live with parents at the moment as I travel a lot with work so haven't bought a house until I felt ready to settle somewhere.

Just signed up to Noodle to find a score of 1/5 on their site too. I just feel so down just now about the whole thing.

I am on the electoral role

Sabbathdei

I thought Credit Expert was £9.99 a month...if they're charging £14.99 now then that really is daylight robbery.

Eonel

Your salary is obviously good - Experian will assume a much lower salary in their logic, potentially giving you a misrepresentative low score.

How much is your car loan?

Does Noodle highlight any problems in your record for scoring you 1 out of 5 ?

chr24

Eonel,

thanks for your reply.

Noodle has shown me financial association to my ex girlfriend and that is the reason why my score is down.

The financial association isn't shown on credit expert and thats why I have not known why my score is so low until now.

We had a house together on a joint mortgage, which she managed to keep when we broke up and I moved back in with my parents. The score on Noodle is 1/5 because it shows late mortgage payments for some time ago which I have e-mailed noodle to dispute and change. On top of that, got in touch with my ex girlfriend to explain this in hope that I can get proof to get to the mortgage lender and rectify my profile.

Do you know much about financial disassociation?
How long it takes to filter through onto your credit file?
The mortgage is settled and she said she will call Halifax to enquire why this has happened and give me any proof from her bank accounts to send away for proof for me if required?

I'm just flabbergasted that a house i stayed in 3 years ago is shown as late mortgage payments before I moved out.

YorkshireBoy

chr24 wrote: »

The financial association isn't shown on credit expert and thats why I have not known why my score is so low until now.

This doesn't make sense.

You said you were disappointed by your low credit score with Experian.

Yet now you say the association hasn't been confirmed to Experian.

So if they don't know about it they can't mark you down because of it!

[Deleted User]

No point focusing on some stupid number it doesn't mean anything at all as others have said already.

If you're able to get credit then what's the actual issue?

tinkerbell28

From what I can make out there were late payments recorded on the joint mortgage before it was taken over by her.

So the joint mortgage is settled....so he can do a disassociation. However if there were late payments on the mortgage before it was settled, that's what's affecting his credit file. Which if they're rightfully there, then only time will heal.