Maximizing credit rating from very bad situation

jermaindefoe

I really hope that someone will be bale to assist me as I have finally grown up and want to become a person who has control over their life

It’s taken a while but I have finally grown up. This is my problem;

When I was 18 years old I took out a credit card and got many overdrafts (all of which I spent on drugs and booze) Ultimately (as I lied about my job to get the card and overdraft) I was unable to repay the debts. Further to this, I was such an idiot that I refused to and got many letters about repayments and so on. All this has seriously affected my credit rating; I predict it is as bad as a credit rating as you can get without being bankrupt.

I am currently a student but have got work for the next year part time cash in hand which I’m going to use to pay this debt off with, I’ve worked out that within 10 months I can have it paid off at £70 a week. I am currently paying the minimum which is £40 a month, which isn’t increasing my credit rating. The first problem is that I am being paid cash in hand by my girlfriend’s dad. When I go in to the bank and say I want to start paying this off shall I tell them about that and will it effect me (if so how, and what can I do)

Secondly, when they give me my new revised payment how much extra shall I pay? I want to pay it off quickly, but ultimately I want to maximize the credit rating increase as much as possible, there are reasons for this, mainly because I want to be a normal person without worrying about a mortgage in the future but secondly because I want to go to university next year and I need to be at least back to a balance of £0.00 with a half decent credit rating.

I no that I am my own worst enemy but I really want to turn my life around. I’m 22 now soon to be 23 and going to unit is one change but being financially stable is another.

Thank you for your time

Ricki

RAS

Jermaine

Well done for facing up to this and starting to sort it. You are twenty years ahead of lots of folks. and it does not sound as if you are talking about a huge amount here?

Credit rating take time to sort out. It takes a full six years for stuff to fall off the end of the credit check.

So for starters, get your credit checks done after reading Martin's article http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score. You may get them free, or be able to get paid to get them via www.quidco.com. That will tell you what your sell by date is and it may not be as bad as you thought.

There are ways to improve things in the mean-time. Number one is make sure that you are on the electoral roll. Number two is do not make lots of applications for credit one after another.

It may also be worth posting up your Statement of Affairs as people may knwo ways of improving your debt clearance or finding some extra dosh.

On this last issue, here is a list of survey sites and click per view sites, that might enable you to get some extras for free- useful for present buying and girl friends. Also look at the freebies board as you might get cinema tickets for instance. And check out the mystery shopping sites, as there could be free meals or days out.


Hi there these are all sites I use, to earn money/points. They are all things you can do from home. They won't earn you hundreds but every little helps.

Also there is the mystery shopping thread. This might be good for you, as you only do a brief walk through a shop, or have a meal etc and then write a report on it.

Best of luck
chev

www.lightspeedpanel.com - this is a survey site, where you get points which turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

www.ciao.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts ie no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

www.yougov.com - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

www.mytns.com - again this is a survey site, but it pays you in points that convert into Nectar points at Sainsbury’s.

www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, ie they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got a £10 voucher through this week (only been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, of www.moneysavingexpert.com which gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them.

www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (ie if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. Eg Lloyds was offering £120 cashback on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.

jermaindefoe

on moneyworries.co.uk i got a score of 622/1000, i dont want to apply for credit, tis not that, its just i dont want to have a problem in the future, and i no i cant get an overdraft now, which would be helpful in the future,

do you think that credit rating is a load of rubbish? i mean 622/1000 = 62% thats not to bad???

cant be right?

Larumbelle

Hi jermain

I can't speak for that survey's accuracy, but it can only really give an estimate. The only way to know for sure is to check the files themselves, as already detailed. An SOA is always helpful as we can suggest practical ways to help you. It sounds as though you have thought seriously about things and want to sort them already, and that is half of the battle.

Check your files, post an SOA and we can take it from there.

If its any comfort, my OH had strikes from all four of the major banks, and to be honest his behavious could have been classed as fraud. That was all down to drugs and booze. His rating was abysmal. He now has a great rating. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a little time and effort!

I'm not judging you, but I take it that the drugs and stuff is all behind you now?

Good luck x

bathgatebuyer

jermaindefoe wrote: »

on moneyworries.co.uk i got a score of 622/1000, i dont want to apply for credit, tis not that, its just i dont want to have a problem in the future, and i no i cant get an overdraft now, which would be helpful in the future,

do you think that credit rating is a load of rubbish? i mean 622/1000 = 62% thats not to bad???

cant be right?

Mine's is 435 so I wouldn't worry too much!!! If you don't make any mistakes from now on, it should get better when you make regular payments towards any accounts you have, appear on the electoral register, etc, etc. Anyway, within a fwe years, these will be off your credit records anyway.

Make a good effort to keep your credit record clean from now on ad you should be fine when these gradually come off your record.

jermaindefoe

silvercharming wrote: »

An SOA is always helpful as we can suggest practical ways to help you. It sounds as though you have thought seriously about things and want to sort them already, and that is half of the battle.

Check your files, post an SOA and we can take it from there.

i tried taking the free experian one but as i have thrown my card away i cant do it as i dont have the 3 digit number off of the back and i dont have the expiery date either

neither of the above is on my bank statment? all i no is the account hs been frozen? jeeeez i want to be a real adult!

Larumbelle

jermaindefoe wrote: »

jeeeez i want to be a real adult!

Hey me too!

Seriously, you seem to be doing okay.

It's worth calling experian and explaining that to them. They'll be able to sort alternative proof of identity. But don't get too hung up on it right this minute. What's important right this minute is that you're sorting an action plan to get your debts cleared relatively quickly.

jermaindefoe

thanks for the help, ill get a check done and come back with the results, mean time ill try and pay it off asap and if the banks ask wehre ill get the money from ill say parents lending me it yeh?

Larumbelle

I'll make no comment about working off the books other than to say

1) I've never known a bank to question where the money comes from to pay off a debt, as long as it appears. For all they care you could have magicked it out of thin air.

2) Plenty of people's parents do indeed bail them out.

jermaindefoe

im going to apply for this

http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/o...perReport.html

do you think i should get the £2 or £11 one? ill post the results on here when i get them yeh?

Larumbelle

The two pound one will be fine. When you get it, post the the info and a SOA on this thread.