Confused (but delighted!!) about my credit score!!

Pandora_2

Hi all,

I've just checked my credit score and report and I was absolutely delighted but totally baffled by the fact that it said I had an amazingly high score and would be likely to get any credit I wanted! :rotfl:

What confused me is that I have over £10,000 worth of debt on old credit cards, a loan and an overdraft which all defaulted about 12 years ago (when the balance came to around £20,000) and these are all with debt companies and I'm paying off a small amount on each one each month so assumed I would have a terrible credit rating.

I have done a bit of research and discovered that the defaults would have dropped off my credit file 6 years after they were issued (which explains why I've been able to get mobile contracts and an overdraft on my bank account) which is marvellous, and all it's now showing is a perfect payment record with my phone contract, various utilities and with my bank.

Now, here is where I get a bit unstuck. Currently there is no record of my debts on the report, but some of the smaller ones are close to being paid off and I was considering offering partial settlements to try and get rid of them. However, will the settlement of an account (either fully or partially) then show up on my credit report and how would it impact it? Obviously a partial settlement wouldn't look as good as a full one, but I just wanted some sort of idea of the impact or if they would even show up at all.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice

burlington6

Your score means nothing so don't be happy about it

mistakehappens

Come on ---don't kill his buzz man

see how happy he is

Pandora_2

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Decor58

Creditors make money from your debt so having debt and always paying on time is a good thing to them!

As long as you are able to keep paying on time and you're on the electoral role etc your score should be quite good.

Also worth noting that there is more than one credit reference agency so the companies that you have loans with may not use / talk to the credit reference agency you checked.

It is worth checking all three though don't bother with their subscriptions, they're a complete waste of money as you can get a simple report for just £2 (or use cashback site and you can get paid to view it!) do a search on the main MSE page for "credit report" for more information.

Pandora_2

I used a cash back site to get my credit report for free.

I know the number means nothing and it's the information in the report itself that matters.

That's why my question was asking about if old debts would reappear once settled. No mention of what it would do to the actual score, just would they reappear and what would it look like on my report and would it have any impact.

I'm guessing you guys didn't bother to actually read my post though and just wanted to jump in and make fun of me. Thanks. No wonder people with debts get depressed when they ask for help and are treated like that.

HappyMJ

Pandora wrote: »

I used a cash back site to get my credit report for free.

I know the number means nothing and it's the information in the report itself that matters.

That's why my question was asking about if old debts would reappear once settled. No mention of what it would do to the actual score, just would they reappear and what would it look like on my report and would it have any impact.

I'm guessing you guys didn't bother to actually read my post though and just wanted to jump in and make fun of me. Thanks. No wonder people with debts get depressed when they ask for help and are treated like that.

Old debts will not reappear on your credit report.

The only way they would appear is if you stopped paying them and they took you to court. As the debts are so old that is very unlikely and they will most probably be written off.

If they can't get the original credit agreement you signed they cannot take you to court. As it's 12 years old that is very very unlikely. As the debts have already defaulted and 6 years have passed you've got nothing to lose if you just stop paying them anything at all.....

so....That's what I would do.

fatbelly

Pandora wrote: »

However, will the settlement of an account (either fully or partially) then show up on my credit report and how would it impact it? Obviously a partial settlement wouldn't look as good as a full one, but I just wanted some sort of idea of the impact or if they would even show up at all.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice

Entries disappear six years after they are defaulted or settled, whichever happens first.

If it's 6 years plus since the entry defaulted, then it will not reappear if you do a partial settlement.

JSco

Hi,

My understanding is that debt management companies don't report to credit ratings agencies, only the actual lenders do. You've mentioned that all of your debts are with debt companies so that will be why they aren't showing. I'm not 100% sure what would happen if you are able to arrange partial settlements but I doubt it would cause then to pop up again in your credit report.

stevenhp1987

Once an account has defaulted it only stays on your credit report for 6 years (even if paid).

After that 6 years it cannot go back on, regardless of whether it has been paid after that or not.

So for your accounts that defaulted 6 years ago - you are completely safe to simply offer partial settlements as it will not affect your credit report and other lenders will not see it.

With how old they are, they may be willing to accept, but it depends on how much is left and how much you've been paying them.