On another thread it says you do not have a credit file or score in the uk???

Ant_Wish

What does this mean?? I definitely seem to have one.

Cycrow

I think you have misunderstood. You do have a credit file

Its the credit score that you dont have

nyermen

Hi, As Cycrow said, the point is that you have a credit file containing a history (generally 7 years or so) of Financial behaviour. Addresses lived in over the period are normally linked to give a full picture, unless there is an information gap so older addresses are unknown. This is often why they ask for all addresses lived at in the last 7 years...

Then, when applying for credit, the creditor calculates a credit "score" at that time, using their own model different from other creditors, by considering that history (and other factors such as Job, age, etc etc etc), to determine an arbitrary number for them. This number normally falls into bands used for assessment, such as "Reject", "Refer" (Have a human look at it), and "Accept".

That credit score becomes redundant very quickly for the creditor, as things change (credit history is updated for example).

This why it's well stated that you don't have a credit score. There is a slight confusion on this, in that some credit agencies (eg. Experian), calculate a score using their own arbitrary model they've invented. This they show to you if you subscribe etc. They also try to sell that number on to other creditors as a service, but in reality I don't believe many take it into account (Complex bit - the bottom feeders may do, but mainstream creditors such as banks have to explain their models to the regulator, hence they build their own they control, they can use it for Basel Internal Model assessment to reduce capital requirements, and other reasons...)

nyermen

I should add, I've helped develop scoring models for several institutions, and every single model has been totally different to others. They also vary by product.
I have a generic Mortgage one that is a few years old - I may post the main model (I doubt anyone cares about the statistical proof behind the model) as an example if people here want a look. Of course, it's totally specific to the customer I built it for...

takman

nyermen wrote: »

I should add, I've helped develop scoring models for several institutions, and every single model has been totally different to others. They also vary by product.
I have a generic Mortgage one that is a few years old - I may post the main model (I doubt anyone cares about the statistical proof behind the model) as an example if people here want a look. Of course, it's totally specific to the customer I built it for...

I would be interested in seeing this.

shortcrust

takman wrote: »

I would be interested in seeing this.

and me!

nyermen

Done - posted as a new topic, hope it's of some interest to someone. I'll try and answer questions that I can, I just have to be careful as while I'm okay to post the information I have, I can't reveal the institution.

Peter