Barclays/Credit scoring?

oaktree500

Hi all,

I'm on the verge of getting out of debt after finally paying off my low limit credit cards, via balance transfer offers and now consolidating other larger debts into one manageable loan, after struggling my way through some of this stuff for a long time. (Long story, old level of debt around £12K, now down to just under 5K and is much more managable/not eating into my budget for the month as it was before.)

My question/position is:

I'm with Barclays bank. My current plan is make payments on my existing loan, and eventually switch to a more reasonable loan via my bank, which would offer a better interest rate.

Currently, my credit score is sitting at about 380, and I would assume will go up once the payed off items are added to my file, and my regular payments on my current loan are included. Right now, Barclays won't even look at me, with good reason due to a past history of bad credit etc.

Is there a "ideal" level my credit score that would contribute to myself getting credit from them? Or is it just a "they make their own rules" kind of thing?

If anybody has experience with Barclays/loans etc, and can help me out, that would be great.

Cheers,

Oak

Willing2Learn

Hi Oak,

Instead of consolidating the loan, why don't you try and apply for a money transfer card at 0% for 36 months?

Edit: Ignore your credit score. Lenders don't use your credit score. Lenders score you against their criteria and policies by only considering the data recorded within your credit file, plus the data you provide in your application.

[Deleted User]

oaktree500 wrote: »

Is there a "ideal" level my credit score that would contribute to myself getting credit from them? Or is it just a "they make their own rules" kind of thing?

No. Because your credit score isn't a real thing, it can be any number and you may or may not get credit.

Lenders will look at your credit file and assess that for risk.

Affordability is also likely to be a key factor in your case.

chirpychick

I dont think the credit score really means anything mine and my husbands are 999 with Experian and Barclay!!!8217;s refused to give us an overdraft! You!!!8217;d probably be better off looking into the MSE money club and seeing what you!!!8217;re most likely to be accepted for and working out which option and company is best for your circumstances.

oaktree500

Ok, thank you all, that is handy to know.

From what I've read here: You credit score number can be anything and it won't effect what deals certain lenders may give you? Wow, I did not know that! I presume they go off of information on the file itself; Payments/late payments/overdue loans and/or credit?

It's not a massive deal overall, I have this loan currently for 4 years which has paid off all my direct debt, so I can manage it more effectively (was paying out £400+ a month in debt/charges, now 'only' £209 a month, so better....but could also be much better lol) And I can pay more to get it done sooner etc, which I will be planning on doing as well. My idea was to switch to a lower interest loan after 6 months - 1 year to potentially save me some time/money, but it's not the end of the world, as I'm in a far better position than I was, and making regular payments on time will look good on my credit file, I presume?

I will check out the MSE money club as well, thank you for letting me know about that.
EDIT: I currently have ClearScore, is that just as good or is MSE better?

Whilst I am here, does anybody have any suggestions/ideas that may assist me paying this off sooner? IE when I'm able to apply for one, could I switch to a lower % credit card or by simply just paying more when possible?

Willing2Learn

oaktree500 wrote: »

From what I've read here: You credit score number can be anything and it won't effect what deals certain lenders may give you? Wow, I did not know that! I presume they go off of information on the file itself; Payments/late payments/overdue loans and/or credit?

Yes, that is correct. A lender only uses the data held in your credit file, added to the data you supply in any application

oaktree500 wrote: »

It's not a massive deal overall, I have this loan currently for 4 years which has paid off all my direct debt, so I can manage it more effectively (was paying out £400+ a month in debt/charges, now 'only' £209 a month, so better....but could also be much better lol) And I can pay more to get it done sooner etc, which I will be planning on doing as well. My idea was to switch to a lower interest loan after 6 months - 1 year to potentially save me some time/money, but it's not the end of the world, as I'm in a far better position than I was, and making regular payments on time will look good on my credit file, I presume?

Yes, regular payments do look good on you file, as long as they are always on time.

oaktree500 wrote: »

I currently have ClearScore, is that just as good or is MSE better?

They're just from different Credit Reference Agencies. MSE Credit Club is from Experian, Clearscore is from Equifax, and you should also check out Noddle as that is from CallCredit. It is a good idea to check all three reports regularly to ensure all the data held is correct

oaktree500 wrote: »

Whilst I am here, does anybody have any suggestions/ideas that may assist me paying this off sooner? IE when I'm able to apply for one, could I switch to a lower % credit card or by simply just paying more when possible?

As in my previous post, my preferred option is a money transfer card Consolidation loans rarely end satisfactorily. In fact, it often leads to increased debt...

oaktree500

Willing2Learn wrote: »

As in my previous post, my preferred option is a money transfer card Consolidation loans rarely end satisfactorily. In fact, it often leads to increased debt...

Awesome, thank you for that info. I'll sign up to the other places note to get the full report on my credit!

Re the above: Due to previous issues with debt, the best transfer card I could ever get was 9 months. In terms of the loan, If I take it to the full 4 year term, it will cost me more, but right now the lowering of payments/consolidating of OTHER debts (two large debts, and another credit card that had high interest) seemed like something I could do to at least take the pressure off, for the time being.

I presume you can't transfer a loan onto a card of that nature? Although I expect you could pay it off using a similar CC, but I'm not sure on if that'd incur interest etc. My current idea is to make continues payments on my loan, then see if I can switch to something lower interest in the new year, thus saving me potentially another 2 years. I can also "overpay" which reduces the amount/interest and pay off sooner also.

Whilst not the best situation to be in, it's a step up from where I was, and I'm now starting to be actually offered credit as opposed to being completely ignored.

Willing2Learn

A money transfer card allows you to transfer money from the card into your nominated bank account. Once in your bank account, you can transfer it over to your loan and pay that debt down.

If you are only getting a nine month offer on a money transfer card, you could always accept that. Then in 9 months time apply for balance transfer card at 0%

oaktree500

Willing2Learn wrote: »

A money transfer card allows you to transfer money from the card into your nominated bank account. Once in your bank account, you can transfer it over to your loan and pay that debt down.

If you are only getting a nine month offer on a money transfer card, you could always accept that. Then in 9 months time apply for balance transfer card at 0%

Ok, that sounds awesome. I was not aware of this.

Also: after signed up to the MSE Money club, I can see my score on there is "low". This is apparently most likely due to minimal/non-existent savings, but I also noticed it mentions my partner a whole lot, as we have a joint bank account as well. Is it worth Not having that account any more? We use it to both transfer money into for bills/rent, but I can see from the notes that her financial situation may also be bringing mine down because of this link?

Willing2Learn

That is a difficult question to answer. Having a joint account is a sign of trust and it may look like you don't trust your partner anymore...But yes, if you broke the link, I *think* it may improve the way potential lenders assess your credit worthiness.

oaktree500

Willing2Learn wrote: »

That is a difficult question to answer. Having a joint account is a sign of trust and it may look like you don't trust your partner anymore...But yes, if you broke the link, I *think* it may improve the way potential lenders assess your credit worthiness.

Yep, totally understand.

I don't think we'd be against the idea as it means my personal rating would go up, meaning we can (as a couple) move on quicker. Once I have more available money, I can assist clearing her debts as well (smaller than mine, but she earns less etc) and long term that may help us both.

I'll float the idea out there and see what she thinks.