Credit rating advice

norwichred

I hope this is the right forum. Apologies if not.

I need some advice on credit rating. I was not a very good boy in the past and had some debts.

I have recently moved in wiith someone - we have lived together for eight months. I had an Achilles operation and was on crutches. I fell on the sofa and broke it, so we went to DFS for a new one and got turned down for credit. This persuaded us to look in our credit records on Experian.

Mine was very poor, and her's was poor.

It would appear hers was poor mainly because she is originally Hungarian and has been here only seven years. She therefore has had no credit apart from a mobile phone (up to date) and a credit card which she has never used. She has also never been on the electoral role before she moved in with me, but is now. What is the best way for her to increase her credit rating?

She does have a dormant credit card with HSBC which she never used so is dormant. Should she reactivate this and use it?

I, I am afraid, am more complicated. Most things are in my name - car loan, sky, utility bills etc etc. All our current bills are up to date and paid.

I have a few debts that are showing up on my record as default and are within the six year period. I am wondering what is the best way to deal with them to improve my credit rating. It is my understanding that after six years they won't affect my credit rating. Is this correct?

a) NatWest. when I banked with NatWest I was stupid and they kept giving me overdrafts and then converting them to "consolidation" loans and then continuing the circle. I owe them £3k on total, in two accounts, and both are due to disappear from my credit report in July and August next year. Should I contact them to make an arrangement or leave it to "drop off"?

b) Scottish Power. Looks like I owe them about £500 and this default is due to drop off in July 2017. Again if I start making payments will that help my credit rating or will it still look bad for me if I do? Should I contact or leave it?

c) Virgin Media. I had a dispute with them in 2011 and they agreed to let me leave with no penalty. However, having checked my report today I have discovered that they are still recording it as a default account and are demanding £400. I rang them and they are denying they ever let me leave (they did - it was done through the CEOs office). What is the best way to deal with this?

d) Lowell - I have three debts with this company, one for £160 (six years expires 29.10.2019), one for £324 (31.01.2020), and one for £128 (22.11.2019). Not happy about the final one (three messing up the end of my contrac)t, or the middle one (EDF messing up the end of my time with them) but I'm not stupid enough to believe I would win in any argument with them. So what's my best way to deal with these? Would small regular payments help my credit rating?

I also have a "low credit rating" credit card with Capital One with a £200 credit limit. Should I maintain this at around 50% of the credit limit? At the moment it's kept at around 86%.

We have multiple bank accounts, none of which are overdrawn, never have been and never will be.

I am sorry for the long convoluted post and would be grateful for any help you can offer.

The bizarre thing about this whole credit rating thing is I had no trouble getting a loan for a £12k car before Christmas but I can't get a fully featured bank account or a sofa.

I need to address this!

sourcrates

Hi,
You can do things like making sure all your bills are paid on time, be on electoral roll, stable address history etc, etc, but in reality, if you have defaults, the only healer is time, the further back in time a default is, the less impact it will have, however your credit will be screwed until all defaults have dropped off your file, settled or not !!!

norwichred

Yeah, we're taking care of the rest of it. I've lived here five years, and we're on the electoral roll.

So it's not going to make any difference making offers to pay? Even the two from the last year? (Three and EDF). I assume it would be sensible to make an offer on those? If we cleared them would they still be a negative on my record?

Would it make any difference if we paid these monthly, or in one go? Or would it still be a default regardless?

My partner's chief issue on her file is a lack of credit so that's why I asked about her credit card? She's never defaulted, but her rating is poor due to a lack of credit.

Must be some way she can improve it? Otherwise she can never improve it?

sourcrates

She could get the card reactivated yes, a good payment history would help.
Defaults will drop off your file after six years weather accounts paid or not, makes little difference as a default is a default, period.
Are you been chased for these debts ?

If not, stay under the radar, if you are, then make an agreement to pay, won't really affect your credit file either way.

norwichred

Interesting - I am very grateful for your help.

So basically there is actually no incentive to actually pay debts and clear them? I can see what you're saying, but it does seem a bit bizarre and not much of an incentive to be good.

Lowells do call the flat occasionally, but I have never confirmed the number is correct or that I am who I am, if that makes sense?

I do see from my credit report that debts older than six years (there was another one from NatWest a year older) do show but they don't show as defaults. So they are not taken into account?

sourcrates

Only downside is they could take court action against you, Lowells can be especially litigious at times, it used to be only larger debts went to court, but increasingly they opt for this course of action with smaller debts too.
Could be your accounts are yet to be defaulted then, can happen at any time for non payment.

norwichred

Ah I hadn't thought of that

Maybe wait to see if they take it that far and if they do make an agreement?

sazaccount

Hi,

Sorry I can't really advise on the debt front, but its properly best that you were declined, on the sofa front, I would look at facebook or freegal there's normally ones going quite cheaply or free to pick up!
xx

norwichred

Oh, we'll buy the sofa for cash next week anyway - it was going to be an interest free deal.