Experian showing excellent score which can't be true

[Deleted User]

If you’re paying the balance in full each month then it makes no odds

msallen

Willing2Learn wrote: »

... my credit history stored within my credit file hasn't changed, except for eight searches and 6 new credit accounts.

?!?!?!? :rotfl:

Edi81

If your score from Experian is so great ask them for a credit card.

Oh, you can’t as they don’t lend money!

As others have said it’s all about HISTORY - electoral roll, paying on time, staying within limits. Keep to this and you’ll soon build a good credit history. This will then convert into the individual lenders internal scores being better. Of course these internal scores are not disclosed due to commercial sensitivity.

spikyone

One thing to be aware of that others haven't mentioned is that the maximum on Noddle (Callcredit) is 710. On Clearscore (Equifax) it's 700. On Experian it's 999. So it isn't possible to say that a particular number is good, even if it actually meant anything.
Noddle seem to assign their score in a particularly bizarre way; the difference between them telling you that you're "fair" or "excellent" is only a handful of points. 610-ish is "good" and 620-ish is "excellent". Noddle are just trying to flog you stuff that you don't need.

If you're looking to get a credit card, most of the free sites offer a credit matching service that will let you know your probability of acceptance, which is far more useful than their random number.

Terry_Towelling

Eternal1 wrote: »

I think I'll just stick to under 20% just to be safe, I don't even need the money my credit card offers me anyway but I just want to build good credit.

!!! wrote: »

If you’re paying the balance in full each month then it makes no odds

@Eternal1, just to reinforce what @Gary Dexter says, if you pay the balance in full your balance will be zero and the balance to credit limit ratio will be less than 20%.

The possible issue with the balance to availability ratio is where you don't pay in full and carry a balance from statement to statement. But even that would not make any difference to you with a tiny £200 credit limit.

Stop worrying about your credit score, use the card to its optimum and pay in full each month.

SnowTiger

Eternal1 wrote: »

Well I've just found this article by Experian

https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-utilization-rate-affects-credit-scores/

"Your utilization rate is an important indicator of credit risk. To calculate your balance-to-limit ratio, divide the balance by the credit limit for that account. To calculate your total utilization compare your total balances to your total limits.

A high utilization rate is a sign that you may be experiencing financial difficulty and is a strong indicator of lending risk. As a result, high utilization hurts credit scores and can cause lenders to be reluctant to extend additional credit."

Sounds pretty logical, I think I'll just stick to under 20% just to be safe, I don't even need the money my credit card offers me anyway but I just want to build good credit.

Fair enough. Experian were spot on with your "excellent score" that led to you getting a credit card with a massive £200 limit. :rotfl:

Prospective lenders will see you as an excellent risk when they see you only spend up to 20% of your £200 credit limit. They will be extremely impressed that you keep your borrowing to £40 a month.

In a few months lenders will be fighting each other to get their hands on your annual spend of up to £480. Long-term 0% balance transfer offers here you come.

Don't forget: if you put more than £100 of spending on your credit card you're "experiencing financial difficulty". Experian says so, so it must be true. :eek:

Yep, all "pretty logical". What would we do without Experian to guide us?

Eternal1

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

@Eternal1, just to reinforce what @Gary Dexter says, if you pay the balance in full your balance will be zero and the balance to credit limit ratio will be less than 20%.

The possible issue with the balance to availability ratio is where you don't pay in full and carry a balance from statement to statement. But even that would not make any difference to you with a tiny £200 credit limit.

Stop worry about your credit score, use the card to its optimum and pay in full each month.

Ah ok I understand now, thanks for the reply.

SnowTiger wrote: »

Fair enough. Experian were spot on with your "excellent score" that led to you getting a credit card with a massive £200 limit. :rotfl:

Prospective lenders will see you as an excellent risk when they see you only spend up to 20% of your £200 credit limit. They will be extremely impressed that you keep your borrowing to £40 a month.

In a few months lenders will be fighting each other to get their hands on your annual spend of up to £480. Long-term 0% balance transfer offers here you come.

Don't forget: if you put more than £100 of spending on your credit card you're "experiencing financial difficulty". Experian says so, so it must be true. :eek:

Yep, all "pretty logical". What would we do without Experian to guide us?

No need to be snarky, I'm just quoting what Experian said about credit utilisation and I thought were reputable and specialised in credit cards etc and on the face of it not appearing to be dependant on your credit would surely look appealing to future lenders but Terry Towelling cleared that up.

Just a tip if you're going to provide help to people, maybe try not being sarcastic because I guarantee there was a time in your life when you never knew / understood these things properly either.

Cheers guys.

[Deleted User]

Experian are reputable in selling snake oil. That's all

Terry_Towelling

Think logically about it and ask yourself two questions, 'Why did all these credit score providers pop up?' and, 'What's in it for them?'

Well, they can make us feel good about both ourselves and about them when they so kindly show our scores rising and they can flog products to us and then make our scores go up again, so that we think, 'Oh, better do a bit more of whatever-it-was to make the score higher still and we can feel like really accomplished individuals'.

If, God forbid, our score goes down, we'll panic and try to buy even more stuff through them to get it back up again.

They may have some utility in helping you find suitable credit products but, really, it's all about selling.

xnoxxnox

I find the credit club from this website moneysavingexpert.com itself good. It shows the !!!!!!!! experian score, and then it shows "out of our sample of best credit cards, you have good chances to get - 20% of them" and then you go like "huh? ok". And then you dig into some of the offers and you see great things from one bank with 80% chance, and a few other banks at 0%. Some don't want to give you purchases, some don't want to give you cashback.... but others do. And then over time, you notice how all of those things flip-flop.

There are many variables at play - what type of a deal it is, and if they want to give it to you and at what credit limit, and how do you compare to their existing portfolio of clients. It is quite cyclical. They all do affordability assesments. Hence most of the time, it's not you but them. I.e. I got an unexpected reject, got angry, applied to two different lenders - and boom they both not only accepted me, but even on better terms than the reject one. Probably because I was not "risky" or "safe" enough for them, to bring the mix of their client base to whatever that bank's management wants to achieve at that point in time.

I do monitor clearscore, noddle, MSE credit club - to cover all three credit agencies, and to spot any lies, mistakes, or out of date information. Also all three offer "exclusive" offers for this card or that card. Often from the same banks that run promotion. Oh so it is X months, 0% with 5 gbp cashback - nice; wait and if i apply through MSE it's 25 gbp cashback -> bingo, same card otherwise but with a slightly better sweetener.

Note they must accept more than half of applicants for the advertised headline deal... meaning they make the money on the other half. The trick is to fluff oneself to be in the headline deal and earn the company little fees. I hope it goes well for you, and hopefully soon enough "your account will be reviewed" and credit limit increased. Note that loyalty does not pay.... next credit card you apply for in like 12-18 months will probably offer you higher limit to "make you switch".