Why does my credit score keep dropping?

Plantlover66

So over the past year or so, Ive been trying to make a conscious effort to pay off my credit card and increase my credit score and improve my report.

Last year my score was at about 348. This dropped a few months later as I had begun to use my HSBC credit card again and had a balance of around £700. Since then I have set up a direct debit to pay £40 towards my credit card each month and enrolled to the electoral register. I have now got the balance of my credit card down to £500 by making extra payments in between.

In October, I opened up a 0% balance transfer credit card so that I could pay my existing card off without interest. Currently I pay £40 a month and then around £15 interest is taken back. I made 2 purchases and paid both of these off right away. I did this in the hope that it would start to increase my score, but I have checked clearscore again today and my score is now down again at 237.

Can anyone tell me why this might be happening even though I'm doing everything to correct this?

[Deleted User]

Because the scores are fictional and do not reflect any sort of credit worthiness. Ignore it.

If you have a 0% BT card, why are you paying interest?

Plantlover66

Sorry, I haven't made much sense above. Currently I'm only paying interest on my old HSBC credit card (I managed to max this out at university). I took out a 0% barclaycard which is what I made the purchases on and paid off right away.
I missed the 60 days for the balance transfer so have now had to close the barclaycard and will be looking for another 0% BT card instead.

I've heard that the credit score is rubbish but do lenders not look at this at all? and if I don't take notice of my credit score, what is the best way to gauge my credit report to increase my chances of lending in the future?

DCFC79

halexis91 wrote: »

I've heard that the credit score is rubbish but do lenders not look at this at all? and if I don't take notice of my credit score, what is the best way to gauge my credit report to increase my chances of lending in the future?

They cant look at something that isn't view able to them in the first place.

The score is just the agencies way of rating your history, as long as the data is correct, your on the ER at the address plus other factors is all you need to focus on.

Look at your report from the other 2 agencies, your score will most likely be different.

[Deleted User]

halexis91 wrote: »

I've heard that the credit score is rubbish but do lenders not look at this at all? and if I don't take notice of my credit score, what is the best way to gauge my credit report to increase my chances of lending in the future?

No - they don't see it and wouldn't want to.

If you're doing the right things - clearing interest bearing balances in full, staying away from your credit limit, making payments on time - that's what lenders are looking for.

Ebe_Scrooge

halexis91 wrote: »

do lenders not look at this at all? and if I don't take notice of my credit score, what is the best way to gauge my credit report to increase my chances of lending in the future?

They don't look at your score because it's not even visible to them.


All lenders will have their own criteria as to who they prefer to lend to, but the common things they'll look for are :


Are you on the Electoral Roll ? ( it can take a few months after registering for this to appear on your credit file ).
Have you got a history of repaying your debts on time ?
Have you got any defaults / late payments recorded ?
Is your current debt a reasonable percentage of your income ? ( it's often cited that lenders don't like to see more than about 50% of your income as unsecured debt )


Basically, they want to see a history of someone who is obviously in control of their finances, is not struggling to repay their debts, who shows they can borrow and repay sensibly, and who has a good chance of repaying them if they decide to lend to you.


The only other thing is to check that all the information on your report is factually correct. If there are any errors, then you need to raise this with the respective CRA.

Plantlover66

Thanks for all your help guys.

It's eased my nerves slightly knowing that lenders can't see my score!

I currently have an ongoing issue with British Gas (outlined in another thread called "lost debt"), this is the only major issue there is that I would expect to be showing on my credit file at the moment. Not really straight forward to fix though as I'm currently in the middle of a complaints procedure.

From what I've read, it sounds like it's best for me to transfer my credit card limit to a new 0% BT card and keep paying it off. I only received my electoral letter a few days ago even though I registered online months back, so I assume it may take a while for this to update on my credit file.

Apologies for going off subject, but as I mentioned above, I had to close the 0% BT card due to me missing the deadline to transfer. Will this affect lender' decisions when I apply for a new card? Barclays told me I have to wait 6 months to apply again but I assume that is only if I want to apply with them again? Also is it possible that HSBC may be able to give me an additional 0% interest period to try and get my balance down as much as possible rather than me apply for another card.
Barclays suggested this to me, but it seemed like a weird request. Has anyone done this before?

[Deleted User]

It's unlikely that HSBC would want to swap an interest bearing debt to a no interest debt.

Use one of the eligibility checkers to see where best to try.