Rebuilding starts now!

sunshine84

I'm the first to admit I've been a [STRIKE]bit[/STRIKE] lot of an idiot in the past, getting into a hell of a payday loan mess. I'm far from proud of it, but now I can say they're all paid off and market as settled/satisfied on my credit reports.

Now as you can imagine, these defaults gave my credit score a massive hit which is something I want to rectify asap. I know there's no overnight solution, and I'm not going to say they shouldn't be there, but I want to do as much as I can to minimise the impact these will have.

All these defaults are at least 2 years old, and none were for a massive amount (I've read mixed reports on how much the size of defaults matter). I also have a larger one for £800 for an old tsb overdraft which drops off next March.

I'm tempted to get a credit card to help rebuild my score. I know the numbers don't mean a lot and it's more the recent history, but aside from my mobile phone contract, I've no other credit accounts. Obviously I know the sort of card I'd be accepted for will have a huge interest rate so it goes without saying I'd pay it off in full every month.

Im just wondering, will a few defaults still showing for 3yrs+ yet, will having a credit card and using it responsibly make that much difference?

[Deleted User]

Yes. You need to build a good credit history, and it's the best way to do it.

sunshine84

Thanks! Just waiting on my statuary (sp?) Report from experian to come through to make sure that has nothing untoward on it, then will apply for a card.

Hopefully that'll start do make an improvement & I can eventually apply for a mortgage. Know I may well be waiting a while yet!

Ben8282

Your credit report unfortunately will have several things untoward on it.
The defaults will remain on your credit report for 6 years from the date of default.
The payday loan history will have a negative effect.
Suggest you try applying for one of the cards for bad credit and see what happens.

sunshine84

Yep I know? I just meant nothing on it I wasn't expecting. I got it today and everything's as expected. A few defaults but they're all from early-mid 2013, and I've just scraped on to the 'fair' rating.

If I was to be accepted for a card, would spending say £50-100 on it be enough to start getting a bit of decent credit history on my file? Paying it in full & on time obviously! How long before things start to improve? Guessing I wont see a huge difference til those stupid defaults fall off?!