Building credit history back up

Jay_g_3

Hello guys, a little help if I may!

The last 5-6 years have truly messed up my credit history. I'm 23 years old, part of it's my fault, part of it is my ex employee (never paid me on time, always wrong, always below minimum wage etcetc( which ended up with me missing payments on bills, and subsequently they was cancelled (talking insurance policies, mobile contracts etc), plus he odd payday loan, one of which I still owe.

That's 'all' I have, no CCJs or anything. I am now in a much better , position (still at home, earning about 40k a year); and I want to tackle it head on.

My credit score (experian) is currently 494/very bad. According to experian I owe £3993. The positive and negatives I have are:

1 Positive factors
The balance of your unsecured lending indicates a lower risk
» See more
3 Negative factors
You have recent missed payments on your credit report
You have an account regarded as defaulted or delinquent
You have a significant number of recent searches on your credit report

First question, a lot of my "older" debt has seemingly disappeared off of my credit report, debt which is between 3-5 years old. Is this a good or bad thing?

I also now have a vanquis card, with a limit of £250. I intend to near-max it each month, then pay it in full each payday, is this a good idea/will it make a positive impact?

I ideally want to go and get a car in the few months, I do about 30k a year, and the cheapy cars I keep buying are not up to the test, so I wanted to buy something a few years old, used for around 15k. I know my credit history will stop that (finance of course), how can that be approached? Is there a way I can near on make sure I get approved?

It near on depresses me that my past could affect my future so much (ie car finance, mortgage etc), even though I now earn a lot more money and can easily pay for what I need/would like, but my past will otherwise 'scare' creditors, even though that was due to my ex employer!

Thanks a lot in advance!!

Jay

Tixy

Hi

First question, a lot of my "older" debt has seemingly disappeared off of my credit report, debt which is between 3-5 years old. Is this a good or bad thing?

Good if you want to apply for credit and the potential lender uses experian.

I also now have a vanquis card, with a limit of £250. I intend to near-max it each month, then pay it in full each payday, is this a good idea/will it make a positive impact?

Better idea would be to use it for up to £100 worth of purchases, not near max it. You need to ensure your payment is made after the statement date and before the due date.

I ideally want to go and get a car in the few months,I know my credit history will stop that (finance of course), how can that be approached? Is there a way I can near on make sure I get approved?

It sounds very unlikely you would get accepted for that level of debt in a few months. But you'd need to provide more details of what your report shows. The dates of the default/delinquent account. What accounts do show and what missed payments etc. How much of the outstanding debt you will have paid off by the time you apply - will it be all of it.

It would also be advisable to get copies of your file from the other 2 agencies as you do not know which agency a potential lender would search.

Realistically I would forget the idea of credit until your file has signficantly improved and its been more than a couple of years since your last payday loan and any late payments.

As you earn a good salary and have low outgoings couldn't you save up a few thousand in a few months and buy a reasonable car outright.

rockm87

have your tried doing a SOA and trying to get the debt under wraps?

It took me a while to sort my credit file out, just takes good behaviour. not applying for new credit, switching old debts to new (0% deals) and just keeping on top of payments.

rockm87

i can see i totally wrote that wrong, i meant dont apply for too much new credit!