Average account age

[Deleted User]

How important is this to a credit score? I am in the process of tying up all the discrepencies, oddities and loose ends on my credit report with a view to apply for a mortgage in 6 months or so.

I have a Lloyds TSB current account that is 4 years old- there is no money in it and no overdraft or debt owed, but apparently I never got round to closing it down when I moved banks. After Lloyds I moved to Santander but was only with them a year or so before I moved again (their customer service was atrocious) and now I’ve been with Halifax for 2 years. According to my average account age on my credit score my Lloyds TSB account is my longest standing account in terms of age- I was going to close it to tie up the loose ends, but I don’t want this to have a worse effect on my credit report than if I just left it open.

What would be the best thing to do in this case?

Tixy

Its a small factor in how a potential lender will assess your file.

For a person with very little credit history its likely to be a bit more of an issue. In your position the old account(s) will still show on your credit file for 6 years from when they were closed, and by then you'll have held new accounts for a longer period of time.