Why is my credit rating so bad ?

Confused2009

I only have 1 credit card which I recently opened 3 months ago with aqua.
They gave me £300 limit and I use it for rail fares then pay in full.
It was at £150 then I paid the full amount off.
I have no defaults no ccjs and I'm on the electoral roll for 5 years.
It's only 1/5 on noodle.
How can I improve it ?

Gaz83

*You* don't have a credit score.

The score that Noddle have allocated you will improve with time.

It's poor because you are an unknown quantity to a creditor. You have no credit history. They don't know whether they can trust you yet.

CalumHeath

Your credit rating is a figure that fabricated by Noddle in order to sell you services to "improve" it.

Noddle does not make lending decisions and lenders do not see your rating; it's worthless.

Don't worry about it.

boo_star

CalumHeath wrote: »

Your credit rating is a figure that fabricated by Noddle in order to sell you services to "improve" it.

Noddle does not make lending decisions and lenders do not see your rating; it's worthless.

Don't worry about it.

True but a very recently opened credit account with a low limit wouldn't look good to most lenders.

With time it'll improve.

CalumHeath

True but a very recently opened credit account with a low limit wouldn't look good to most lenders.

What does or does not look good to lenders is subjective and it still has nothing to do with the 'rating' Noddle give you.

With time it'll improve.

Yet it'll still make no difference whatsoever.

It's your credit history that matters. Potential lenders will see how you manage your account(s) and make a decision on that.

The fact that you've got 1/5 or 5/5 from Noddle will never ever be seen by anyone and nor will it be factored into any decision-making process. You might have 5/5 and nobody ever lends you another penny or you could have 1/5 and still be given tens of thousands of pounds worth of credit - it's totally irrelevant what number Noddle decide to give you.

This is explained daily on this forum.

cakeforbrains

Confused2009 wrote: »

I only have 1 credit card which I recently opened 3 months ago with aqua.
They gave me £300 limit and I use it for rail fares then pay in full.
It was at £150 then I paid the full amount off.
I have no defaults no ccjs and I'm on the electoral roll for 5 years.
It's only 1/5 on noodle.
How can I improve it ?

Continue using the card and paying it back in full. Don't go near the limit. Always pay on time. After another three months or so they may increase you limit. If they don't, ask them to, but not by too much.

Stay on the electoral roll, that's great. Have you got a contract phone? That'll add another account that will look good as long as you conduct it perfectly.

Don't take payday loans (some people do this with the idea it'll improve their file by adding more satisfied accounts - it won't as payday loans make the borrower look desperate).

And yeah, just wait. It's something that needs to be built up. Is there anything you particular want a 'good score' for?

boo_star

CalumHeath wrote: »

What does or does not look good to lenders is subjective and it still has nothing to do with the 'rating' Noddle give you.



Yet it'll still make no difference whatsoever.

It's your credit history that matters. Potential lenders will see how you manage your account(s) and make a decision on that.

The fact that you've got 1/5 or 5/5 from Noddle will never ever be seen by anyone and nor will it be factored into any decision-making process. You might have 5/5 and nobody ever lends you another penny or you could have 1/5 and still be given tens of thousands of pounds worth of credit - it's totally irrelevant what number Noddle decide to give you.

This is explained daily on this forum.

You'll notice I didn't refer to credit ratings once.

Thrugelmir

Confused2009 wrote: »

I only have 1 credit card which I recently opened 3 months ago with aqua.
They gave me £300 limit and I use it for rail fares then pay in full.
It was at £150 then I paid the full amount off.

Tells a lender absolutely nothing about you as a borrower. Credit history takes more months if not years to build.

CalumHeath

OP:

Confused2009 wrote: »

How can I improve it ?

boo_star:

boo_star wrote: »

With time it'll improve.

boo_star:

boo_star wrote: »

You'll notice I didn't refer to credit ratings once.

OP asks how to improve credit rating.
You say "with time it'll improve"
You didn't refer to anything else.

It certainly read like you were telling the OP the irrelevant credit score they were worried about would improve.

CalumHeath

Anyway, OP:

Lenders do not see your credit score and those that give credit scores do not make lending decisions.

Lenders do, however, see your credit history which is (should be?) an accurate record of credit accounts and how you managed them, and applications for credit.

Your eligibility for any credit is not solely based on one factor (and certainly not a score or rating); any combination of the following factors might be taken into consideration by a potential lender:

- amount of existing debt
- amount of existing available credit
- history of settled accounts
- history of incurring defaults
- number of recent applications for credit
- age
- whether single, married, widowed, separated or divorced
- whether home-owner, tenant or living with parents
- whether you're on the electoral register
- current employment status
- length of time with current employer
- salary

This is by no means an exhaustive list and how each credit-provider assesses you is different; some companies may not consider many of these factors (Payday lenders), some may consider even more (mainstream lenders, mortgage providers). Certain factors may not carry any weight and some might dictate the decision-making process completely - you'll never know.

Ultimately, it's up to each company whether they want to provide credit facilities and on what terms. They have no obligation to lend to anyone nor explain or justify their lending criteria at any time. It's not based on a score or rating.

The best thing you can do is work with the credit card you have; use it, wait for the statement and pay it off in full. Demonstrate your ability to manage credit accounts over time. Don't apply for more credit in close succession and never apply for payday loans or the like; keep you borrowing to reputable sources such as high-street lenders.

Stick to these rules and you won't go far wrong.

Good luck.

DCFC79

All the score/rating is is how the reference agencies see your score and that's it, the reference agencies aren't lenders so have no way of knowing if a lender will lend to you, offer you a credit card eg if its 999 it no way is guaranteed you will get accepted by all lenders.