Best ways to improve credit rating?

jenniewb

I have a poor credit rating. Not only am I on a low income but in 2009 I took out a DRO owing to my losing my job in late 2008 through ill health and all of a sudden being unable to keep up with my payments.


I have since then not taken out any new credit, been up to date with all of my payments (apart from one where I had stupidly forgotten to update my direct debit details with a company but then paid the missing payment in full as soon as I found out).


But my credit rating is still very low. I am not sure how to improve this. Someone said to get a mobile phone but I am always turned down, same with a credit card and I have tried subscription payments to other things (grasping at straws here) to show I can pay things back but it has made no difference. As I said, all my payments (utility bills, Council tax etc) have been on time.


I am not sure what else to try.

HappyMJ

Have you cleared all of your debts from the DRO yet?

If you have then you should be able to get a credit builder credit card with a small (around £200) credit limit. Every 2-3 months keep applying for a new credit card until you get the best rates and good credit limits. Remember to close off the old ones at some point as holding a credit builder card can damage your long term credit rating.

jenniewb

HappyMJ wrote: »

Have you cleared all of your debts from the DRO yet?

If you have then you should be able to get a credit builder credit card with a small (around £200) credit limit. Every 2-3 months keep applying for a new credit card until you get the best rates and good credit limits. Remember to close off the old ones at some point as holding a credit builder card can damage your long term credit rating.

The DRO from my understanding, clears 5 or 6 years after it was placed, meaning this or last year (August) it should have cleared.


I have already got a credit card which I keep up with all payments with, have not ever had a late payment. I don't have any other credit anywhere.


Looking in the past on websites like Equifax it appeared as though my DRO was listed as a bankruptcy rather than a DRO. I saw this back in 2011 when looking at my credit file to check for any fraud.
Though a DRO is like a mini bankruptcy, it's not as severe yet it was listed as severe with Equifax. I did take this up with Equifax at the time who told me they agreed with there being a fault and said it would be rectified, but despite telling me it would be altered it was not. I had taken a free trial at the time to see all this and am no longer able to get another free trial to check if things have since been changed and resent having to pay them to fix a technical fault on their end after I have already several times explain to them the problem. I also don't know how many other credit file listing companies have done the same and wrongly listed a DRO as a bankruptcy.

YorkshireBoy

jenniewb wrote: »

...resent having to pay them to fix a technical fault on their end after I have already several times explain to them the problem.

Pay the fee...it's £2, so shouldn't break the bank! Then if you find they haven't done something they said they would, deal with it. If they have done it, then what's £2?

I also don't know how many other credit file listing companies have done the same and wrongly listed a DRO as a bankruptcy.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, you should order your £2 copies from all 3 CRAs...then you WOULD know...what other lenders see when they're searching for, and declining, your applications.

jenniewb

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Pay the fee...it's £2, so shouldn't break the bank! Then if you find they haven't done something they said they would, deal with it. If they have done it, then what's £2?At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, you should order your £2 copies from all 3 CRAs...then you WOULD know...what other lenders see when they're searching for, and declining, your applications.

Thanks- I didn't realise it had been dropped to £2! Last time I did a trial they wanted £10 or £15 (can't remember exact amount) to continue the subscription. I also have been told that some credit file listings are only for the eyes of business, i.e we can't check those, only the commercial versions such as Equifax and that businesses wont just use the consumer versions. Also am not sure, given my experience if they'd change the reports anyway as I'd spent so long emailing and phoning Equifax to get them to change things and despite saying they would, they didn't.

YorkshireBoy

jenniewb wrote: »

Thanks- I didn't realise it had been dropped to £2! Last time I did a trial they wanted £10 or £15 (can't remember exact amount) to continue the subscription. I also have been told that some credit file listings are only for the eyes of business, i.e we can't check those, only the commercial versions such as Equifax and that businesses wont just use the consumer versions. Also am not sure, given my experience if they'd change the reports anyway as I'd spent so long emailing and phoning Equifax to get them to change things and despite saying they would, they didn't.

For as long as I can remember the statutory report has been £2.


Re what lenders see, I don't know how it's presented, but it's exactly the same data you can see when you view your own report. Data only becomes information when you do something with it. It's entirely possible the CRA will provide information to some lenders, but I'd wager most large lenders will just take the raw data and produce from it their own information.

chuckley

how long have you had the cc? is it a decent limit? and have they increased the limit at all?

I personally wouldn't go down the mobile contract route. they're all a waste of money and the 'NECESSARY' 24 month d/d.

I'd just stick with the CC you have if the other sub primes are saying no.

jenniewb

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

For as long as I can remember the statutory report has been £2.


Re what lenders see, I don't know how it's presented, but it's exactly the same data you can see when you view your own report. Data only becomes information when you do something with it. It's entirely possible the CRA will provide information to some lenders, but I'd wager most large lenders will just take the raw data and produce from it their own information.

Odd! I m not sure why I was charged £15 (I remember it being around this as I had to chase them to claim it back after I had cancelled it and was mistakenly charged). I will look in to this again, thank you.


I was told by a credit card company/bank and a broadband company when I was applying that they get their information from several credit file companies but only one (Equifax in this case) was available for me to see and that it wouldn't always be so easy to change things because some information is not for my eyes.

chuckley wrote: »

how long have you had the cc? is it a decent limit? and have they increased the limit at all?

I personally wouldn't go down the mobile contract route. they're all a waste of money and the 'NECESSARY' 24 month d/d.

I'd just stick with the CC you have if the other sub primes are saying no.

I've had the CC for about 9 years now. Limit is £500 and it isn't allowed to be increased.


It's a bit weird I still have it because the conditions of the DRO are that I am not allowed to use the banks I took out the DRO with. I took out the DRO with my current account and a loan I had been living off. I didn't need to include the credit card so didn't but the bank account I had was with that same credit card.


Once it had cleared I was aware I was still being sent CC statements and spoke with the bank, they told me I was still allowed to use it. I explained the DRO as I was concerned it would affect the status of the DRO and any payments made would be taken as payment for the amount I'd claimed for the DRO but after calling several times, each time I asked the bank they said it was still OK to use the card.
At the same time I was seriously struggling. I was ill and waiting for social security (the wait was 8 months to begin after my job ended and I ended up having to get my MP involved to speed things up). I was in a position where I either used the credit card or went without food. So I used the CC between borrowing from friends and relatives. I did pay it off when the social security back-paid but this was years ago now, I can't think that would follow me nearly 6 years later.


I kept the CC as I had thought it was an easy way to work on my credit score; keep it paid off but keep using it, it would all help. It seems to not have helped at all as my score is still rubbish and I can't take on any new credit to work on anything else! I was told that after 6 years the DRO wouldn't have such an impact but it's now beyond 6 years later and I can't see any clear way to make the score any better.

MadMat

I was in a right mess a couple of years ago, to the point where I was struggling to even get a sub-prime card.

Getting the first card was the key, use that within your limit, pay on time and get some green ticks on the credit report and it will all come together in time. I still have one CCJ showing on my credit report, but have just been offered a limit increase on my barclaycard to £6.5k - two years after being refused a card at all . . . . I started out with a Luma card and a £200 limit

Mat

chuckley

9 years and no increase. pretty shocking!

what's your eligibility on the calculator? any of them in the 90-95% bracket?

have yu applied quite a lot in the last 6 months?