Turning 18... credit score

cymruchris

Malkytheheed said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

Malkytheheed said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

NatalieAGC said:

cocacola02 said:

Thanks for everyone's posts been a great help, i am dedicated to building a great report for the future i always intend to pay any of my accounts on time in full each month.

Good for you! Many will tell you scores mean nothing but to build good credit file then scores matter ,,,

Wrong.  The score provided by the CRA means diddly-squat.  It's not even a reliable indicator to yourself of your credit-worthiness, it will go down in response to any change in your credit circumstances, good or bad.

To the OP - the other advice you've been given so far is spot on.  Any form of credit that you obtain and service correctly will start to build a solid history for you - phone contract, credit card, whatever.  Essentially, any prospective lender is looking for evidence that you can borrow and repay responsibly.  If you are able to get a credit card (your own bank is a good place to start as they already know a bit about your finances), that's an easy way to start to build a history.  Use it for everyday spending, stuff you'd buy anyway, and make sure you always pay it off in full, on time, every month.  The APR is irrelevant as you won't pay any interest if you pay in full every month.  A Direct Debit is the simplest way to make sure you never miss a payment.

well...... while far from accurate, and the fact that lenders dont see your score....

Doesn't mean they mean "diddly squat". 

I have an excellent credit file and as such have 3 excellent scredit score values. Someone I know has a trash credit file, and as such has 3 very low credit scores. It's not rocket science.

But I agree people shouldn't focus on the scores themselves as they fluctuate and lenders dont see them. 

Meanwhile Billy Bankrupt who owes nearly 6 figures in debt also has a 999 score and excellent rating....

A forum favourite yes. I often see the "bankrupt 999 score" argument. Yet I've never actually seen any evidence of this. It's all anecdotal...

My score during and after bankruptcy was never 999 - nowhere near it - always at the low end. I do wonder if there's any ACTUAL evidence of a bankrupt getting a score of 999, as data is held on file for 6 years. When someone goes bankrupt there's bound to be credit accounts in some shape or form that will be included (otherwise why go bankrupt?) - and there can't be many people that once bankrupt then don't touch another financial product - not one - for the next 6 years. So I'm with you - I don't actually think the 999 bankrupt score is actually a thing - it's just something people like to bandy about as though it's a fact. There's a chance that an ex-bankrupt through good financial management might be able to achieve a reasonable score by the time they are past 6 years - but certainly not a 999. (Will now wait for someone to say 'well my mate down the pub told me that his friend's brother's father-in-law got a score of 999 after only a year of being bankrupt)

easterbunni

Malkytheheed said:

easterbunni said:

Malkytheheed said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

NatalieAGC said:

cocacola02 said:

Thanks for everyone's posts been a great help, i am dedicated to building a great report for the future i always intend to pay any of my accounts on time in full each month.

Good for you! Many will tell you scores mean nothing but to build good credit file then scores matter ,,,

Wrong.  The score provided by the CRA means diddly-squat.  It's not even a reliable indicator to yourself of your credit-worthiness, it will go down in response to any change in your credit circumstances, good or bad.

To the OP - the other advice you've been given so far is spot on.  Any form of credit that you obtain and service correctly will start to build a solid history for you - phone contract, credit card, whatever.  Essentially, any prospective lender is looking for evidence that you can borrow and repay responsibly.  If you are able to get a credit card (your own bank is a good place to start as they already know a bit about your finances), that's an easy way to start to build a history.  Use it for everyday spending, stuff you'd buy anyway, and make sure you always pay it off in full, on time, every month.  The APR is irrelevant as you won't pay any interest if you pay in full every month.  A Direct Debit is the simplest way to make sure you never miss a payment.

well...... while far from accurate, and the fact that lenders dont see your score....

Doesn't mean they mean "diddly squat". 

I have an excellent credit file and as such have 3 excellent scredit score values. Someone I know has a trash credit file, and as such has 3 very low credit scores. It's not rocket science.

But I agree people shouldn't focus on the scores themselves as they fluctuate and lenders dont see them. 

I have an excellent credit history.

Experian scores me at the max of 999

Clearscore scores me above average

Credit Karma think I am scum and score me as "fair".

There is exactly the same info on all three reports

There must be some data on your credit file that credit karma doesn't like. Maybe your credit history isn't as good as you think.... 

Credit Karma has an issue with my credit utilisation, which is exactly the same as reported in the other credit reports, but they don't have an issue with it. As I said, my credit history is excellent, if not actually perfect, in terms of no defaults, no late payments, no going overlimits, no missed payments etc and is reported the same across each agency, so, I ignore CK's "score" because it means diddly squat to me.