Pulled my credit for the first time... Found some alarming stuff

LowCreditSteve

Hey all,

I'm in my late 20's and just signed up to clearscore and found I have a score of 241 which I understand is terrible... I've not really looked at my credit history before, but I'm starting to save for a mortgage and I'm aware this may be an issue at some point.

I know I have had some debt collection companies chase me in the past (5+ years ago) but all of this was paid off. I've never had a credit card, my phone contract is a SIMO deal, I have cheap used cars, I've always bounced around the country living in house shares all over the country so I've never had to pay council tax or household bills (it's usually included)... I've never used credit... I understand all of this is not great.

I've found some stuff which does not belong to me on my report. These are:

• CCJ that belongs to my father
• A financial connection to my mother (which says I have a loan with her, I don't)

Me and my father have the same name and used to live at the same address. In 2008's crash he lost his business just as I turned 18, he put some stuff in my name and got a phone contract in my name for a christmas gift for my sister which he never paid for (it went to collections, it was paid off in 2012ish).

Because of this I fully expected my credit to be awful and want to fix it over the next 3-5 years as best as I can... But that CCJ is not mine and it's a clear error. I've spoken to him about it and he knows what it is which is a start I guess.

How do I go about challenging this? The CCJ is dated 2015.

[Deleted User]

You need to correct the errors. Dispute them with each of the CRAs where it appears. Remember to check all three.

However, if you were aware of the accounts your father opened in your name, you will be stuck with those. If you weren't, your only option would be to report it as fraud and naming him.

Don't worry about the score, which may drop further when the errors are corrected. 241 isn't terrible. It simply has no meaning in credit terms.

Start building positive credit with a credit card, but use it correctly.

LowCreditSteve

Thank you for the response! I will look into challenging them.

The stuff my dad opened has been dealt with AFAIK. Nothing is showing up anyway so I assume it's gone/sorted.

Clearscore have suggested the same with a credit card, I'll be sorting it this week and get the ball rolling in the right direction.

PRAISETHESUN

The accounts opened in your name are technically identity theft, but unless you're prepared to report it to the police as such then you will be stuck with them on your files for the time being. If what you say is true about everything being paid off, then it's just a matter of time as these accounts will drop off your files after 6 years. For the things that are incorrect however, then as above you will need to dispute them with all 3 CRAs (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

Once these have been corrected then you can start looking to re-build. You'll be limited to sub-prime lenders, but as long as you manage yourself well and pay the cards off in full and on time then it shouldn't be an issue. Your aim is to demonstrate that you can manage credit responsibly, not to increase your "score" or "rating". None of those numbers are ever seen by lenders and are not used as an indication of creditworthiness in any situation so focus instead on building good credit history.