Best steps for credit file recovery?

jysmystry

Hi all,

After a marriage breakdown a good few years ago now I found myself struggling financially. I went from a married man with two incomes to a single parent of two kids on one income. So now i have two amazing kids to whom i am the world and we have a million happy memories.....but i also have 11 defaults, £20k of debt that im paying off at £1 a month and a basic bank account and i haven't used any credit in some time...

At the time i contemplated bankruptcy, i wish i had done that as id be three years past it now, but i didn't and possibly foolishly but more because i simply couldn't have afforded the BR fee i went with token payments of £1 to all my creditors which i have been doing for the past 3 years now. They of course defaulted me at various times throughout this. I work and have done throughout but my income pays our living expenses there are no luxuries.

However those defaults are now quite old and im starting to think maybe i can improve my credit rating a bit and maybe get myself some options to make it easier clearing the debts I managed to get car insurance on a monthly payments rather than all upfront, i have a contract mobile now not payg etc..

I have no idea what the best thing to be doing is now. I seem to have a 100% chance of getting a bad credit credit card and i wondered if that would be a good idea to use for fuel each month then pay off in full and do that for a few years? I also seem to have 80-90% chance of getting a balance transfer credit card...i have an argo store card that i used to buy my kids beds etc with and the 0% interest rate ends in december this year with £300 approx left to pay (i pay them £35 a month and have done flawlessly).

Is it better to get the guaranteed bad credit CC and build up a history of good conduct on it or take that *0% punt on the balance transfer to clear the argos card so i dont pay interest then use that card after the 0% deal ends for small things and pay it in full each month thereafter? Id have an extra £35 a month then to use to clear the other debts then.

Im not sure which is best...i dont want to apply for the 0%, get refused and tank my credit file even more for the next year

Any tips or advice on the most sensible course of action?

Willing2Learn

How old are the debt accounts? Have you submitted CCA requests for eligible accounts? Are you in a position to offer settlements for these accounts? How are these accounts recorded on your three CRA files?

Getting a credit card for bad credit, using it for budgeted monthly fuel and grocery costs, and then paying off the statemented balance in full each month is best way to manage the card. Have you checked your eligibility for the CapitalOne balance transfer card?

MovingForwards

Go with a sub-prime credit card, you will get a small limit and will have to show you can manage that.

If you try for a mainstream company and get knocked back, your self-confidence will take a tumble.

WTL is asking the right questions about your debts.

jysmystry

I have signed up for the credit club and i will get my report next month from equifax with that, i tried to sign up for the free trial but it wouldnt let me, i must have done it in the past.

I have just checked clearscore though, it doesnt show half of my creditors. They show as a series of late payments leading up to a red "no payment" marker then they show nothing after that. It doesnt say default but they are down as closed accounts

The latest closed account is from may 2018 and they go back to around 2016 so they defaulted at various points, many were energy companies and virgin broadband etc

I don't dispute any of these debts, and all except hsbc and barclaycard have been sold on to debt collectors, although barclaycard shows as a £0 balance but they contacted me a few months back for an annual review of my income and outgoings. Do you think its worth doing a CCA on them?

I am not in a position to make any sensible offers to pay them, at all. Unless they are likely to accept £15 for an £8k payment haha. Maybe the DCAs for the debt collectors for the energy companies might one day.

I do appear to have a good chance of the cap one 6 month 0% card...is that a good idea you think? Outside of closed accounts my credit file is desolate, it shows my argos card and my bt broadband and past addresses and nothing else

Willing2Learn

For the free CRA reports:
MSE Credit Club = Experian
Clearscore = Equifax
Credit Karma = TransUnion

If it were me, I would seriously consider the CapitalOne card as even if the limit is low and the 0% APR window is only for six months duration, it will save you money. Once the six months is done, and you have used this time to reduce debt as much as possible, then you may find yourself eligible for a different 0% offering.

A CCA request will determine whether your creditors of eligible accounts have the correct compliant paperwork. If they are not able to provide you with the correct paperwork, then the account becomes unenforceable. You would then have the choice of whether to use this as leverage for low settlement offers, or alternatively to withhold further payment to accounts that do not have compliant paperwork.