Credit Improvement

tommy6000009

matttye wrote: »

They might let you do that but it would be up to the company. I think it's unlikely they would but no harm in asking.



It's still allowing you to check on your credit file.

The only time I would say it's potentially worth the money is before a big credit application (a mortgage) so that you can keep an eye on your credit files in the run up to the application and make sure there are no surprises. It's definitely not worth paying just to keep an eye on the score.

You can also just pay £2 and receive your statutory credit report in the post, but of course it takes time to receive it by post.

Well I want to get a mortgage and this is the biggest reason for me wanting to sort out my credit rating. I have to admit being stupid in the past. If I felt somebody did something wrong, then I didn't pay it. That's why I got a default, Orange tried to charge me a ridiculous price after my phone had broken, wouldn't send me a replacement or fix the previous one and then somehow sent me a bill the follow month with calls I'd made, even though my phone was unusable. Of course, being older and wiser now, that was a mistake, to have a default for a low sum of £140.

I've also had a credit card in the past and didn't pay it.

I don't wish to blame anybody but myself and accept that I should have a bad score but I'm now willing to put it right, if there is anyway to do so.

matttye

tommy6000009 wrote: »

Well I want to get a mortgage and this is the biggest reason for me wanting to sort out my credit rating. I have to admit being stupid in the past. If I felt somebody did something wrong, then I didn't pay it. That's why I got a default, Orange tried to charge me a ridiculous price after my phone had broken, wouldn't send me a replacement or fix the previous one and then somehow sent me a bill the follow month with calls I'd made, even though my phone was unusable. Of course, being older and wiser now, that was a mistake, to have a default for a low sum of £140.

I've also had a credit card in the past and didn't pay it.

I don't wish to blame anybody but myself and accept that I should have a bad score but I'm now willing to put it right, if there is anyway to do so.

Once you're on the electoral roll your chances will be greatly increased of being accepted for credit. Apply for a bad credit credit card, put your usual purchases on it throughout the month and set up a direct debit to pay in full each month. Make sure you always have enough money to pay your card off in full so that you don't pay any interest.

I've used credit cards now for about a year and a half and haven't paid any interest at all as I always pay them in full each month. Even this month when my bill was £900, ouch

Doing this is basically a free way of improving your creditworthiness.

modder25

tommy6000009 wrote: »

Well I want to get a mortgage and this is the biggest reason for me wanting to sort out my credit rating. I have to admit being stupid in the past. If I felt somebody did something wrong, then I didn't pay it. That's why I got a default, Orange tried to charge me a ridiculous price after my phone had broken, wouldn't send me a replacement or fix the previous one and then somehow sent me a bill the follow month with calls I'd made, even though my phone was unusable. Of course, being older and wiser now, that was a mistake, to have a default for a low sum of £140.

I've also had a credit card in the past and didn't pay it.

I don't wish to blame anybody but myself and accept that I should have a bad score but I'm now willing to put it right, if there is anyway to do so.

How old is the default and is it now settled or not?

The advise I have had on here is that although a default in itself is bad, a settled one looks slightly better and the older it is the better too.

If you didnt pay the credit card then have you not got a default or being chased for payment for that too?

modder25

And I am doing the same as matttyre is doing with his credit card, although not to the same £££s... ouch, I couldnt afford that each month haha

matttye

modder25 wrote: »

And I am doing the same as matttyre is doing with his credit card, although not to the same £££s... ouch, I couldnt afford that each month haha

It's a one off at that price, had a holiday, my next year's car insurance and my fiancee's birthday presents on it which wouldn't normally be on my monthly spend

Experian_company_representative

The scores we provide to consumers, and to many lenders, accurately measure the risk of lending money to people. Analysis shows that having a 5.5 year old CCJ says little about your creditworthiness today, especially if your more recent credit behaviour is positive. What you have to bear in mind though is that some lenders implement policy rules alongside these risk scores, so might decline an application where the customer's had a CCJ or default at all, because that is their policy. So you have to take account of this and check the lender's website to make sure you do meet their general eligibility criteria.


James Jones

AMG762

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

The scores we provide to consumers, and to many lenders, accurately measure the risk of lending money to people.

Hi James, I never knew Experian provided scores to lenders. Could you clarify are they the same scores that the public get to see or do these other scores include more information like salary amount, employment status, home ownership etc following an application for credit?

thebritishbloke

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

The scores we provide to consumers, and to many lenders

This is the first time this has ever been mentioned, can you elaborate on what score exactly gets passed on to lenders?

tommy6000009

modder25 wrote: »

How old is the default and is it now settled or not?

The advise I have had on here is that although a default in itself is bad, a settled one looks slightly better and the older it is the better too.

If you didnt pay the credit card then have you not got a default or being chased for payment for that too?

The default was six years old last month. Think the credit card is over six years also but it didn't show up on Experian.

modder25

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

The scores we provide to consumers, and to many lenders, accurately measure the risk of lending money to people.


James Jones

I think there is going to be a lot of people on here that will be asking for clarification on what scores you actually provide to lenders.