Poor credit score due to bad finance in the past

BunnyToon

Hi all,

I moved to the UK 5 years ago and managed my finance really poorly the first 3 years I was here. I fell into the short terms loan cycle as well as credit card debts while spending more than I could afford in London clubs. A much better paid job, a financially responsible fiancee and a lots of regrets pushed me to tackle my financial problems and get back on track. I increased my Aqua credit card debt to stop taking payday loans (I still need to eat and pay rent & travel card every month) and am very at peace with my finance now and sleep MUCH better. My earnings are in the London average (office job).

My fiancee and I share rent 60/40 (because I earn a bit more), I don't deprive myself and we go for shopping, dinners, movies... living a normal life while I make sure I spend what I can afford and not more. I still manage to have an extra £200-300 in my account at the end of the month which I save up for future gifts or holidays as well as repaying my outstanding credit card debt (which amounts for about £2000, with a minimum monthly payment of £70).

While I'm relieved I put these issues behind me, my credit score is still on the low end of POOR (570 on Noddle) due to numerous credit checks. As we're planning on going for a mortgage in the next couple of years, I'd like to bring this to a more acceptable level. I've stopped applying for credit altogether and registered today on the electoral roll. I'm still paying between £100-200 of my salary every month towards credit card debt (and not only minimum amount) which I'm aiming to bring back to £0 in a year or so.

I'm getting married this year and making some mortgage and potential baby plans for next year so if you have any advice or story on how to get from poor to good credit score, I'd love to hear them.

Many thanks,

daniel86_2

Whether you credit rating will improve will depend on the account states on you credit file. Once closed or defaulted data stays on 6 years. Do you have any defaulted accounts on you file including closed accounts?

Multiple credit searches can affect your credit score if they are hard searches ie as you have applied for credit. Experian recommends you limit this to 2 or less within a size month period.

Also look at clear score which offers a free monthly credit report from Equifax as not all agencies report all accounts.

[Deleted User]

Ignore the score. No one sees it but you.

Carry on as you are - use the card, clear in full each month if you can, don't go overlimit or miss a payment. Time will do the rest.

BunnyToon

Thanks for your answers, I only started showing interest in my credit file a few months ago and I come from a country where there is no such equivalent

I had a couple of missed phone bills and late short loan payment about 4 years ago that were settled very quickly. Most of the times I borrowed more to pay my debts (which really is a vicious circle) but in the end I didn't default my account (I had a single one) and my bank never really bothered me with my financial issues despite going overdraft around the 15th every month.
The main burden seems to be the multiple and repeated credit searches.

Thanks for your advices, I'll keep clearing the credit card balance progressively and hopefully that should improve my credit file. I like the fact that all data stays here for a maximum of six years, it means that in a few years, I'll be able to put all this fully behind me and there will be no trace of it.

Andrewka

Hi, BunnyToon
I had bad credit score before, but then accidently found tips on how to save some money. It was really useful so I have started to save more money. After some period, I paid off some so my credit score number increased from 580 to 630.