Experian File - score dropped 716

kimi1977

Ok thanks for replies, so the arrears is essentially a default in its self.

kimi1977

Question, if you lose 700 points for not paying in full for 5 months, how many points would someone lose for CCJ or not paying anything or ignore all debts? Having had a score of 900+ for many years, the score seems a bit comical/unreal in terms, almost like virtual gaming points.

[Deleted User]

You'd lose 400 points plus one life and a yellow card.

lufc7

You maybe over thinking this. You failed to make a FULL payment for those 5 months that is fact. These 5 missed payments themselves are sufficient to have a large and sufficient negative impact. I would expect you overall CRA profile to improve overtime if you maintain your payments from now on and those missed payments slowly become historic. You will be able to see straight away if that account has been defaulted. There will be a default note on that account with a date it was issued. If there is no statement it will be missed payment markers only.

kimi1977

Yes there are 5 missed payment markers

Superscrooge

kimi1977 wrote: »

Question, if you lose 700 points for not paying in full for 5 months, how many points would someone lose for CCJ or not paying anything or ignore all debts? Having had a score of 900+ for many years, the score seems a bit comical/unreal in terms, almost like virtual gaming points.

Don't get obsessed by that three digit credit score number. The only person that ever sees it is you! Experian only give out your Credit History. Other CRA's might give you a higher or lower score, so the actual number is meaningless

Every credit provider will view your credit history differently. Some may have an automatic policy of 'No lending if any defaults shown' Others may be happy to accept a default if it is more than three years old and shown as satisfied.

Because every lender and every credit reference agency views your credit history differently your credit score doesn't matter. Just concentrate on your Credit History.

kimi1977

Thanks I logged in today and it has gone up by 14 points in 1 day, so as you correctly suggest not to obsess over something that is always changing like a weather vane.

The marker they have is (3) which indicates 3 months late payment.

The key page which explains each marker shows 1-6 and (!) is used as a default, there is no default marker showing on my account.

m4rc

The best advice is to cancel the £14.99 a month you are paying them to make a number up for you, save the nearly £180 a year and forget about it. Pay your bills on time, don't apply for too much credit and you will find over the next year or so your credit history (not score) benefits, so when you next apply for credit things should be a little easier.

Your score went up 14 points, it could go down 50 next week and up 200 the week after, it honestly makes no difference at all and won't help or prevent you getting credit. The number has to change fairly often or you wouldn't keep checking and they wouldn't keep you interested, and they really want your money each month. The only person who can see that number is you.

If it helps I have moved recently so am not yet showing on the electoral roll and I have some fairly new credit, I get the free check with Barclaycard so I had a look out of interest and apparantly my credit rating is actually zero! That was he week before last, last week I had a credit limit increase on a card and upon opening a new bank account was given an overdraft. Not really something that should happen with zero credit rating - just shows its all rubbish. Equally there are people on here with a score of 999 who get declined for credit, so it matters not.

The important thing is to save the money, over a few years that's a holiday!

HornetSaver

The important thing is to settle the account in as normal a way as possible once you're completely back on your feet (sounds like you're back to full payments, just a question of sorting out the arrears?).

As has been said above, some lenders might shy away from you for a period of time, but others with similar rates for similar products might see that set of marks as a potential positive* two or three years down the road, provided that they otherwise have good reason to be confident that you will pay them back eventually.

* In the sense that if they consider you as someone with the potential to have a blip but have no reason to question that you'll pay them off in full, that potentially means higher returns. Not trying to suggest that defaulting is ever a good idea, merely that a one-off incident that was reigned back in and eventually paid off in full won't necessarily mean years of hell trying to get credit.

pvt

kimi1977 wrote: »

Have received no default.

But the words you quoted are "a defaulted or delinquent account". Your account is certainly delinquent by the sounds of it.

And stop trying to rationalise these made up scores - they're nonsense designed to make you feel there's something you need to fix and hook you into buying their snake oil.