Credit rating so low, not even eligible for credit building cards

Inshanity666

Hi all,

This is my first post and I'm in dire help. my partner and I, are currently trying to build our credit scores. Due to circumstances over the last few years (work income mess-ups, not applying to UC soon enough etc), we had to rely at times on payday loans and miss some payments to phones etc to be able to pay rent and other bills.

We have tried our best and are now on track after realizing we could receive UC on top of my partner's rent (we were loving on under £1000 a month with £600 rent). We have some inheritance coming in the next 4 years which will be used to purchase a house for us and our daughter. Due to this, we are really needing to increase our score the best we can.

My advice will be hugely appreciated!

Many thanks

[Deleted User]

You don't need to increase the score as that's not a reflection of your credit worthiness or used in lending. You need to improve your credit file history.

What does each of your three files show - in detail? And who gave you applied to?

SnowTiger

Inshanity666 wrote: »

Hi all,

This is my first post and I'm in dire help. my partner and I, are currently trying to build our credit scores. Due to circumstances over the last few years (work income mess-ups, not applying to UC soon enough etc), we had to rely at times on payday loans and miss some payments to phones etc to be able to pay rent and other bills.

We have tried our best and are now on track after realizing we could receive UC on top of my partner's rent (we were loving on under £1000 a month with £600 rent). We have some inheritance coming in the next 4 years which will be used to purchase a house for us and our daughter. Due to this, we are really needing to increase our score the best we can.

My advice will be hugely appreciated!

There isn't a magic bullet.

All you can really do is make sure the information on your credit files is correct.

There are some types of credit that are easier to get. SIM only mobile phone contract and catalogue accounts for example. You could use them wisely to build up positive repayment histories.

Having said that, a £5/month SIM only contract and £200 limit on a Very account probably isn't going to make that much difference.

Time will make the biggest difference. Older information on your credit files will affect you less and eventually drop off.

boo_star

Ignore your make believe score and just apply for the card. The worst thing that can happen is they decline you and you wait 6 months and try again.

SusieT

Ignore the score and look at the history. Your report will be showing payday loans, these are normally seen as for people who are desperate and cannot get money elsewhere so a lender will see red flags with them. You probably have a credit utilisation compared to your income which is another red flag. You need to pay off as much as you can, not take out more credit and wait for the history to show that things are being paid on time, no more credit is being used and that you are managing your finances well. Once the nasties on the history are 3 or more years old lenders will be more likely to see you as a person who can budget properly and will repay what they owe