Need help understanding my credit score.

Beepeear

I tend to check my credit score at least once every couple of months, the last time I checked (using Experian) my credit score was 935/999 which I was pretty pleased with. Today I checked on ClearScore, for some reason my score on there was awful, I only scored 220/700.

I then checked on Experian once again and it remainds 935/999. I own a credit card, which I pay back monthly without fail. I have missed one or two insurance payments but paid them back as soon as I realised the following day. I have an ongoing dispute with the DVLA after I sold a car and the new owner didn't pay the tax on the vehicle. I sent the new owners form off but didn't hear anything back from them.

Any idea as to why the scores differ so drastically? and which one is a more reliable representation of my credit score? thanks all

dr_adidas01

Its because that score number is just made up and doesn't mean anything at all as no lender ever uses it. What matters is the history on your credit report is correct. There are 3 main agencies in the U.K. Experian, Equifax and a TransUnion and they each have there own method of calculating a fictitious number.

None of these numbers can be used a a reliable representation.

Beepeear

dr_adidas01 said:

Its because that score number is just made up and doesn't mean anything at all as no lender ever uses it. What matters is the history on your credit report is correct. There are 3 main agencies in the U.K. Experian, Equifax and a TransUnion and they each have there own method of calculating a fictitious number.

None of these numbers can be used a a reliable representation.

Oh right? So is it not something to worry about? I've always thought a good credit score would be the difference when it comes to mortgages, loans etc.

Hasbeen

Beepeear said:

dr_adidas01 said:

Its because that score number is just made up and doesn't mean anything at all as no lender ever uses it. What matters is the history on your credit report is correct. There are 3 main agencies in the U.K. Experian, Equifax and a TransUnion and they each have there own method of calculating a fictitious number.

None of these numbers can be used a a reliable representation.

Oh right? So is it not something to worry about? I've always thought a good credit score would be the difference when it comes to mortgages, loans etc.

Advertising hype. As pointed out your score is meaningless only you can see it.

Check the 3 main agencies and concentrate on your credit Report info.

Fighter1986

The score is largely meaningless however your clearscore score being so low does suggest there's something lurking on your Equifax file that is considered derogatory.

You need to actually review all the data in all the subsections of your credit file and understand what's there - electoral role data, previous searches, account history, etc.

Things that will cause your creditworthiness to suffer:

Court judgements
Defaults
Arrears
New accounts
Accounts near their credit limits
Multiple credit searches in a short timeframe

Sometimes banks / lenders / etc make mistakes too. You may need to write to them if they've made a mistake, e.g. marked an account in arrears if it wasn't.

You might also find you have a debt showing that isn't yours or related to an account that you just honestly forgot about.

Let us know what you find

Beepeear

Fighter1986 said:

The score is largely meaningless however your clearscore score being so low does suggest there's something lurking on your Equifax file that is considered derogatory.

You need to actually review all the data in all the subsections of your credit file and understand what's there - electoral role data, previous searches, account history, etc.

Things that will cause your creditworthiness to suffer:

Court judgements
Defaults
Arrears
New accounts
Accounts near their credit limits
Multiple credit searches in a short timeframe

Sometimes banks / lenders / etc make mistakes too. You may need to write to them if they've made a mistake, e.g. marked an account in arrears if it wasn't.

You might also find you have a debt showing that isn't yours or related to an account that you just honestly forgot about.

Let us know what you find

Just had a quick check through ClearScore. It appears that I do in fact have a Barclaycard credit card account open, doesn't have any outstanding balance on however. The only other thing I found was under the 'loan' section, which is premium credit who deals with my car insurance payments, nothing else stands out.

Edit: I also signed up to a new mobile contract in early March, which shows on ClearScore that EE did a check on my credit and it may have lowered my score. Nothing else stands out to me though

MinuteNoodles

Beepeear said:

Oh right? So is it not something to worry about? I've always thought a good credit score would be the difference when it comes to mortgages, loans etc.

If you look through this board and the Loans and Mortgages boards you'll find lots of people asking why when they've got perfect 999 scores they can't just get a mortgage, some can't even get a mobile phone contract. That is proof if it were ever needed that the score is pretty much worthless.

PrudentPeter

I wouldn't be too concerned if i were you. My score was rated poor by most of the CRAs before I applied for my mortgage and i was still approved. Lenders are much more interested about whether you have acted in a financially sound way and that's all that counts really. For example my score was low because i had never taken out credit before, and a couple of credit applications hammered my score. The fact i never missed a payment was more important to the bank in question.

Fighter1986

If you've only one credit card with no balance owing, are registered to vote, and have only made one application for credit in the last year, don't worry, you're doing great.

Lenders don't see that "score", they only see the raw data about your credit history. They come to their own conclusions based on the contents of your credit file, the data you provide on the application, and what kind of a customer they want onboard