350 credit rating - HELP

Hannahcara92

Hello,

I just did a credit report and this was literally my immediate reaction - :eek: :wall:

By looking at my credit report, the only things bringing my score down is that I defaulted 2 accounts in 2010 and 2012 - which have now been settled and because I have only been on the electoral roll for 2 years - but why is so low because of those two small things?

I have a Capital one card which I pay off in full every month by direct debit which I've had since July 2014. I have been on the electoral roll for 2 years and in 2/3 years I have only one late payment. I have no CCJ's or anything.

I just don't understand why it is so low? I was hoping to get a mortgage in 2016 but I guess that is unlikely?

How can I get it up fast?

I will greatly appreciate your time and help! Oh and hope you all have a great Christmas :rudolf: xx

sourcrates

Credit ratings don't exist, I don't know why people keep banging on about them.
Creditors all have there own scoring system, the number the CRA's try to peddle you means absolutely nothing.

Pay your bills on time, stay within your limits, that's all you need to worry about.

dirtycredit

Mine is 350 on Noddle and believe me I can get credit anywhere! Look how much debt I'm in!

It's meaningless. On experian mine's 947. Just try not to default because the lenders do see this.

DC x

andyfromotley

Hi Hannah,

As you can see we are not huge fans of Credit Scores on here. What you need to worry about it your credit history.
1. The electoral roll - dont worry. Two years is plenty and of course it gets loneger with each and every month.
2. Defaults are a problem on your credit history. If i am considering lending you money i check your credit history, twice you have failed to repay. \ok you may have settled them but i just want people who are going to pay, each and every month, without fail. Nice lovely low risk people. See how you dont fit into that? So you are quite likely to striggle to get vredit or have to pay more as you are a greater risk.

However all is not lost. Your first default will drop off next year making you less of a risk. Getting a mortgage is not off the list all together. Each lender views defaults differently. You probably need a good broker who deals with adverse credit. They will know the best lenders to approach. You will have to pay for this advice of course, but thats fair enough. Check out the mortgage board.

In the meantime just keep on keeping on. Run your finances properly, pay your debts on time and your credit history will reflect this. Always remeber that we are talking about your credit history here, not your credit score which is not a reliable indicator of anything really, some people use it as a general guide to their likely creditworthiness, but others dismiss it completely. Your choice.

Hope this helps.

dancingfairy

Check the others as well for 2 pounds each. The 350 is a pretty random number. No doubt it is meant to guide you as to what that particular company feel your creditworthiness is. Each company you seek credit through will use 1 or more of the 3 credit reference agencies and come to their own decision based on your profile and who they want to target.
The things you can do are male sure you are on this electoral role and stay on there, try not to move house too often (not something you can always control), pay your bills on time each month.
Have you got a monthly mobile contract?
It might be worth having one of those but it depends when you want a mortgage. You don't want too many searches in the 6 months before you apply for a mortgage (preferably none).
Time is a great healer as well, sometimes it's just a matter of how long ago defaults were/ settlements made.
Keep saving as much as possible for a deposit, also have a look at the mortgage rules. I think when you apply for a mortgage they ask for 3 months bank statements so I would avoid things like transferring money around, placing large bets (basically anything that whilst it does affect your credit file is unlikely to o help when your statements are gone through).
Good luck
Df

dancingfairy

I'm sure the credit reference agencies will say they are only a guide and are based on statistics. Personally I wouldn't worry about the number but the general trend/ health of your credit file.
Fix what you can and wait for time to heal.
Df

CalumHeath

Let's suspend real life for a moment and pretend credit scores matter:

You get yours to improve / get better / increase / go up - what do you expect to happen at that point?

B0B

Points are pointless, but the Defaults will be the issue, and a warning sign for lenders

Nojalllen

Can you please explain defaults fully to me please, will they automatically be removed from a credit history or do you have to apply to have them removed ?? Is there any other way they can be removed ???

backinbusiness

Defaults - no way of removing them I'm afraid, if they are a true reflection of your credit history.

These are undoubtedly what are bringing your "score" down.

They remain on your credit file for 6 years from the date of default - they will disappear automatically thereafter.

Sorry.

sourcrates

Nojalllen wrote: »

Can you please explain defaults fully to me please, will they automatically be removed from a credit history or do you have to apply to have them removed ?? Is there any other way they can be removed ???

Hi,

If you fail to keep to a simple contract agreement, such as a loan, a credit card, a catalogue account, in fact most types of consumer credit, and you fail to bring your account back into line, you will receive a "default notice".

This will give you, usually 14/28 days, to bring your account up to date, if you fail to do that, a default will be registered on your credit file.

Defaults show for 6 years exactly, after which they will just disappear from your file, paid off or not, you do not have to do anything in regard to getting it removed.

Your credit file has to be an accurate reflection of how you have conducted your financial affairs.


However, there are some specific ways they can be removed, in the case of a payday loan for example, if the creditor agrees the original loan was not suitable for you, because of say, unaffordability issues, they can, agree to remove the default data from your file, as part of a resolution to any complaint you may make.

Another way to have it removed would be as part of a settlement negotiation with that creditor, making removal of default a condition of settlement.

The third option, is if a default was recorded incorrectly, because you didn't miss any payments for example, or it was due to some kind of fraud.
They can't be removed for any other reason.