Credit Report

Goodison95

I have just been refused a mortgage. I have viewed my credit report with Experian and Equifax.
I defaulted on a credit card nearly 6 years ago. The balanced was settled the month after I defaulted. Since then I have never missed a payment on any credit cards, bills or anything.


Now my Equifax report is not showing my default, its showing my last payment incident was 56 months ago which they have marked as ‘amber.


Experian on the other hand have splashed red alerts all over my report.
One is the defaulted account, which they say will be off my record In February.



The second is that I’m not on the electoral roll. We have just sold our flat and moved in with relatives while we find somewhere to buy. We registered on the electoral roll as soon as we moved in but they will not update their records until December. Why should that be a negative on my report? Its not my fault they do update the reports on a regular basis


And the third is that I have taken out new credit within the last 6 months. This new credit is my mobile phone that I upgrade every 2 years, now how is that a negative?? You have to pay your bills on time to qualify for the upgrade but I am being punished for it



I just think its very unfair. Ok, I defaulted on a credit card nearly 6 years ago but they do not take in to account that I have never missed a payment on anything since. And the mobile phone issue is a joke. Very unhappy!!!

sourcrates

Unfortunately acceptance criteria for mortgage lending has tightened up conciderably in recent years.

Any negative info, especially a default, no matter how old, will drag you down.

Once the default drops off your file, and the electoral role updates, try again.

[Deleted User]

Ignore the mobile phone bit. That's the CRAs opinion - not anyone who lends money.

Re the ER - what have you done to try to get this updated? Although councils may only provide annual updates, the CRAs will often update manually if you provide evidence.

As to the default - it is what it is. Its impact will be much reduced by now, particularly as it's settled and soon will be gone completely.

National_Debtline

Hi Goodison95 and welcome to MSE,


I can understand how frustrating this situation is. Your credit file will have been checked by a computer against the banks' algorithm to see if you qualify for the mortgage. It won't see the red or amber alerts, that the credit agencies show, but if your file doesn't meet the rules it will become a case of 'computer says no'. The reasons that the bank declined your application may differ to what the credit agencies are saying are the problem, so you should call them and ask why you were declined.

The electoral role has a big impact on your file, so I would suggest you wait until after December before reapplying. Please be aware that several searches for credit, without any credit being issued, can also be negative, so be careful how many more you apply for at the moment. The searches only stay on for 12months.



Did you get as far as doing an affordability check with the bank? This is a big focus too.

Laura
@natdebtline

Goodison95

I have a letter from the council saying i am now registered on the electerol roll but Experian will not update my recored until December

Goodison95

Hi Laura, we didnt get that far! It was just a big fat no! Hopefully that wouldnt be a stumbling block. We are on above average wages (just about!) and we paid our debts off when we sold our flat, so we have very little outgoings