Help with poor credit file

Nothadoth

Hi guys. I have been dealing with bad credit now for a few years and I can't seam to get it to budge.

Here's an overview at the moment: (CreditExpert)
Score: 788
2 defaults which were paid off in full in winter 2011 (one for £26, one for £205 )
1 CCJ which was paid and satisfied in winter 2011 for £288.

Otherwise I have 6 more accounts in my name but are all in the green and have been since, probably 2011! I am using 43% of my total limit.

How can I go on to improve this? I have had a credit card for £1000 with barclaycard for a year now and have never missed a payment, and paid often in full. However they declined me a credit increase only last week...

Also one last main question - My electoral role suggests my house number is 53/55, but all my banks are put under 53 (and is the number I would normally write)... How much of a difference does this make? (My Linked Addresses section marks it as 53).

Thank you for reading and I hope you can help. I realise I was a bit stupid with my accounts and I messed my credit rating up between the years of 09-11 but I paid them all off and they are such small amounts... Yet for the last 3 years my score just wont budge. Barclays wont even give me any more than my Cash Card account, I've been declined SIM only contracts and now recently my BarclayCard increase. Don't get me wrong, I do NOT apply for much credit. My credit card was my first application for years, and now this credit increase was again my first in a year but was declined. The only other searches which may show up is when I am viewing my report on my Lloyds ID Aware (which seams useless, the score is no where near the same as my CreditExpert one).

Many thanks,
Tom

Experian_company_representative

Hello Tom,

It’s great to hear you are looking at ways to improve your credit report.

Nothadoth wrote: »

2 defaults which were paid off in full in winter 2011 (one for £26, one for £205) 1 CCJ which was paid and satisfied in winter 2011 for £288.

Defaulted accounts will remain on your Credit Report for 6 years, currently these are having a bigger negative impact to your credit report and score because they are relatively young as they only been defaulted for three years, once these defaulted accounts mature in age then ultimately 'drops off' your credit report this can be viewed more positive by lenders and help improve your credit report and score.

Nothadoth wrote: »

Otherwise I have 6 more accounts in my name but are all in the green and have been since, probably 2011! I am using 43% of my total limit.

Well done for maintaining those six accounts, having late/missed payments can impact your credit report and score in a negative way.

Nothadoth wrote: »

How can I go on to improve this? I have had a credit card for £1000 with barclaycard for a year now and have never missed a payment, and paid often in full. However they declined me a credit increase only last week...

Sorry to hear you were refused credit; did Barclaycard provide you with a reason for their decision? If you would like me to take a look through your credit report with you to establish what may of caused this to happen please [EMAIL="uksocialsupport@experian.com"]email me [/EMAIL]your details (name/dob/address) I would be more than happy to help.

Nothadoth wrote: »

Also one last main question - My electoral role suggests my house number is 53/55, but all my banks are put under 53 (and is the number I would normally write)... How much of a difference does this make? (My Linked Addresses section marks it as 53).

This can make a difference to what is being displayed on your credit report, as a lender might have account information behind a different variation of this account, I would be happy to help with this if you wanted to drop me an email with the above details.

Kind Regards
James Jarvis

PaulW922

Oldbiggles wrote: »

Hi!
Is there any way she can overcome this problem?

I would suggest that because she falls slightly outside the 'ideal' (and a lot of people have history of minor bad credit so she is not alone) that maybe a mortgage broker would be a better route. The best ones often come by recommendation. The broker can undertake a credit search and then approach lenders based upon known criteria.

Oldbiggles

PaulW922 wrote: »

I would suggest that because she falls slightly outside the 'ideal' (and a lot of people have history of minor bad credit so she is not alone) that maybe a mortgage broker would be a better route. The best ones often come by recommendation. The broker can undertake a credit search and then approach lenders based upon known criteria.

It was a broker that told her of the problem and turned down her mortgage application.

Thrugelmir

Nothadoth wrote: »

Otherwise I have 6 more accounts in my name but are all in the green and have been since, probably 2011! I am using 43% of my total limit.

Applying for yet another card or increase in limit when you already have 6 accounts may well trigger a decline upon review. Perhaps review what accounts you hold and the amount you currently owe before taking any other action. Affordable and responsibly lending are the new key words.

Oldbiggles

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

Hello Tom,

James Jarvis

Hi! James Jarvis.
I’ve just read your post. My daughter is in a similar position to Tom, in that her credit rating has a red mark against it due to a small debt that she has since paid in full but now has been told that her mortgage application has been refused because of it.
She has recently sold her house and paid off the outstanding mortgage, with the intention of moving to a smaller property. The flat that she is intending to purchase will be ready next year @ £150,000 and she has a deposit of £80,000 but is now rightly worried about obtaining a mortgage for the balance of the price. After doing all the right things and going around various Building Societies, Banks and Brokers to find the best deal, all of them agreed in principle to providing a mortgage but when she finally decided to go with the broker, it was only then that the problem was highlighted.
Is there any way she can overcome this problem?

Nothadoth

Well the 6 accounts are all: a credit card half used of only 1000, a bank overdraft of 500 (paid up on most recent report), bank accounts in the clear and a next catalogue which is untouched

So I have accounts in my name but they're all green. I only use credit card and overdraft

Thrugelmir

Nothadoth wrote: »

So I have accounts in my name but they're all green. I only use credit card and overdraft

There's one reason why you'll struggle to improve your profile from a lenders perspective.

Nothadoth

So your saying don't use an overdraft?

It's a planned 500 overdraft. I've always used it :-/

Experian_company_representative

Hi Oldbiggles

Oldbiggles wrote: »

Hi! James Jarvis.
I’ve just read your post. My daughter is in a similar position to Tom, in that her credit rating has a red mark against it due to a small debt that she has since paid in full but now has been told that her mortgage application has been refused because of it.
She has recently sold her house and paid off the outstanding mortgage, with the intention of moving to a smaller property. The flat that she is intending to purchase will be ready next year @ £150,000 and she has a deposit of £80,000 but is now rightly worried about obtaining a mortgage for the balance of the price. After doing all the right things and going around various Building Societies, Banks and Brokers to find the best deal, all of them agreed in principle to providing a mortgage but when she finally decided to go with the broker, it was only then that the problem was highlighted.
Is there any way she can overcome this problem?

I would be more than happy to help you and your daughter, if your daughter had any circumstances behind a record appearing on her credit report, she can add a Notice of Correction to explain this, as you've mentioned she had a red mark against a small debt she could add a Notice of Correction to explain this.

As the OP confirmed they had a number defaulted accounts on their credit report, if your daughter's red mark is a default this will only remain on her credit report for six years from the default date, if this is a late/missed payment it will start to have less of an impact to a credit report the older this becomes.

If your daughter would like me to look through her credit report to see if there is anything else she might have missed which could impact her application for her mortgage, she can [EMAIL="uksocialsupport@experian.com"]contact me[/EMAIL] via email.

I would require the same details as asked the OP for to locate her records.

I hope this helps,
Kind Regards
James Jarvis

Quimoi

Nothadoth wrote: »

So your saying don't use an overdraft?

It's a planned 500 overdraft. I've always used it :-/

Totally agree with Thrugelmir on that - I used to regularly use my overdraft (Barclays) and never got offered good rates or credit limit increases on my Barclaycard. A few months of not using it and saving a little and I started seeing pre-approved offers on personal loans and had a 25% increase on my credit card limit.

Don't obsess with your credit score though (from Credit Expert or any other CRA) - they aren't lending you money and lenders have their own acceptance criteria. They are only useful for seeing all of your credit accounts in one place but you can get the same information through getting a statutory credit report for £2 rather than the £15/16 (?) per month normally charged.