Credit Rating Help

Xxchloe

I looked on equifax last night and paid for my credit report.My rating was very poor.Although I have been silly in the past with loans etc I am now getting older and trying to sort my finances out.I have 8 unsettled loans on my account that are all being paid (nearly paid off) I do have one default on my account from Gothia for £70 that I owed to H&M.Could this be what's causing my rating to be very poor?
It is very distressing to know that this will be the case for another 6 years.I am trying my best to sort it all out because I want to get a mortgage and have children but this is massively holding me back.
Any advice?

[Deleted User]

Xxchloe wrote: »

Any advice?

Yes. Ignore the score. It's based on very little, not seen by anyone but you and worth nothing.

You need to focus on managing your credit well - so keep up with repayments, don't overstretch yourself, don't go overlimit etc.

Xxchloe

But if I decide to apply for a mortgage in the future wil they not credit check me?

[Deleted User]

Yes, they will. They will look at your file, see if you have missed payments, how much you owe compared to your salary, etc and generally see if you are a good risk.

But they do not use - or even see - the score that the CRA has given you, as they have their own criteria for deciding who they want to lend to.

Xxchloe

Okay.So they can see that I have a default on my account?
Also,once I've paid off all of my debts will it be a problem having 8 settled accounts on my report?Im sorry for all the questions!

Tixy

How old is the default on your credit file?
It will only stay on for 6years from the date of the default. After that the whole record of that debt will be removed.
So unless the default has only just been registered then it won't be on for another 6years from now.

If you apply for credit before that 6year period then yes they will see you had a default and for how much and whether it is settled or not.

With regards to having 8 settled accounts on your file - that wouldn't be a bad thing for potential lenders to be able to see as such, but it depends on the payment history on those accounts. If all payments were made on time then they would be a positive thing for lenders to see.
The exception to that is payday loans, which are usually a negative thing for a potential lender to see, even if paid off on time.

If you are considering applying for a mortgage soon then its worth getting copies of all 3 credit files (experian and callcredit aka noddle are the other 2) and seeing what shows on all of them, and checking all have you showing as being on the electoral roll, don't have any errors etc.