Worried about credit report, Virgin Media credit account

stephenong85

I'm looking at getting a mortgage with a small deposit of 10%. I checked my credit score earlier his month and it was 906, which is 'good' so seemed fine, my girlfriend who will be joint on the mortgage is 'excellent' 980.

The other day I logged in to Experian before I cancelled my trial and mine had dropped considerably to 863. I was a bit baffled why this had happened and then realised it was because I switched my broadband from BT to Virgin.

BT had never been classed as a credit account so kind of thought Virgin would be the same, now my new credit account with Virgin has caused my score to drop into 'fair', which is not so good.

I had no idea this would happen and would've stuck with BT, who apparently aren't classed as a credit account because they don't run through cable lines?!

I rang Virgin, they didn't have an answer to my problem and hung up on me twice after asking if i had a mobile account, so no help there.

Has anyone had this happen, is it possible to get the credit account removed if say I cancel virgin, i havent even sent the contract yet! Or is it more hassle than it's worth? will the difference make much difference in terms of mortgage products available to us?

HENRY78

Don't worry about it. Wont affect your mortgage application in any way.

ncfc1980

Do you have any defaults on your file? Is it just a standard up to date account? Wouldn't have thought it matters a great deal if it's paid on time each month. Credit scores from CRA's certainly mean nothing to lenders, they don't see them.

stephenong85

No defaults,
The virgin account is brand new, i haven't even had a bill yet or signed the contract, just switched last month as cheaper than BT and didn't realise it effected credit rating.

Experian says my score has fallen because,

'opening 1 new credit account in past 6 months'

&

'average age of credit has dropped to 46 months'

HENRY78

You really have nothing to worry about. Chill.

Malmo

No one in the UK has a universal or central "score". The scores sold by Credit Reference Agencies are marketing features for consumers - they are not seen or used by commercial (e.g. lenders) or public organisations (e.g. councils). Do not focus on ratings & scores. Lenders evaluate & score applicants using their own internal criteria.

Best to have a read of this MSE article for general tips & information about how credit profiling works and how to boost your general credit worthiness.

For mortgage purposes, you should obtain copies of all 3 Credit Reference Agencies reports. There are 3 Credit Reference Agencies in the UK. Lenders and other organisations may report to or search 1, 2 or all 3 agencies. Therefore, you will only get a complete picture of your credit history by reviewing data held by all 3 of the below:
1 - Experian
2 - Equifax
3 - Callcredit

Noddle is a brand AND a front end for data held by Callcredit.
Clearscore is a front end for data provided by Equifax.