Should I close an account with chequered history

jameschristianmartin13

I have an account with Lloyds which whilst I've been out of work has been in and out of an unarranged overdraft for about 5 months. The account is now in order with regular money going into it.

I also have a NatWest account which has never been overdrawn and has always remained in good standing with regular money going into it.

I'm now looking to close an account and just keep the one for everything - I would maybe only just prefer the Lloyds account as I'm on first name basis with all the staff in my local branch.

BUT, if I close this Lloyds account down which has a chequered history, will it look better on my credit file showing as a closed settled account? Or should I keep it open as an active account and use it from now onwards - but by doing so, will it worsen my credit history with it having a chequered history? Is it better to just close it and have it settled?

paragon909

jameschristianmartin13 wrote: »

I have an account with Lloyds which whilst I've been out of work has been in and out of an unarranged overdraft for about 5 months. The account is now in order with regular money going into it.

I also have a NatWest account which has never been overdrawn and has always remained in good standing with regular money going into it.

I'm now looking to close an account and just keep the one for everything - I would maybe only just prefer the Lloyds account as I'm on first name basis with all the staff in my local branch.

BUT, if I close this Lloyds account down which has a chequered history, will it look better on my credit file showing as a closed settled account? Or should I keep it open as an active account and use it from now onwards - but by doing so, will it worsen my credit history with it having a chequered history? Is it better to just close it and have it settled?

lol, First name basis means nothing to someone in an office somewhere in London or something who could close, freeze or stop you from getting a bank account with any bank.... Just keep the accounts open, you never know when you might need them...

10pence

This information should have been added to this thread:LINK

Reason is that it's really all one and the same.

In the other thread you mentioned failed upgrades for this account, the defaults with the Capital One card wouldn't have helped your credit report but also the unauthorised overdraft (OD) would have had an negative impact on both your credit report and internal score card with the Lloyds bank, which will explain why it failed to be upgraded and why they probably never ran a credit check for the upgrade either.

You need to get your credit report and discover the dates when both the defaults for the credit card and unauthorised OD will 'fall' off - this is six years from the date it happened.

Most financial institutions only focus on the most recent entries on a report, however if you have a default in some circumstances you can request the credit reference agency (ies) to add a 'Notice of Correction' if the defaults were through good reason such as unemployment, ill health.

However, you could still have issues with Lloyds for some time until your internal score with them improves.

YorkshireBoy

Closing down an account with a recent "chequered history" may give the impression to others searching your credit file that the bank closed it because you couldn't run it properly!


So if you're going to close it, at least wait until you have proved that this blip is now well and truly behind you!

planteria

interesting point YB..

at the same time james, i think i would just retain the account you want to retain, and transfer the other one, and not worry about the 'history'. i don't think there is anything you really need to hide or be concerned about.

System

I don't see anything about a formal default with your Lloyds cash account. You'll find that lenders are less interested in late payment markers the further back in time they are.

Most decisions are automated; it's likely nobody will "think" anything about you closing or keeping the account open.

stclair

The older the payment history is the less important it becomes.