Has exceeding my credit card limit damaged my credit score?

k4tz3nj4mm3r

Recently a direct debit took me over my credit card limit by £15. I corrected it straight away but have now recieved letters saying my account is suspended (since reversed), and that my interest is going up and the new customer interest discount is rescinded. That's ok as i intend to pay it off asap anyway now I've just started a higher paying job but im worried this will have a long term effect on my credit rating. Currently it has a 'fair' rating of 550-ish with the only issue really being  that im using all my credit, which seems to bar me from doing most things that require a check- particularly moving house (rental) and applying for a loan or credit transfer to manage the debt (£5500 over 2 overdrafts and a credit card). Id hoped that after  a few months at my new salary things would change, but have i now extended my time in 'bad credit' jail?

bradders1983

Stop looking at the made up score Experian/Equifax/Clearscore is telling you, lenders dont see it.

[Deleted User]

k4tz3nj4mm3r said:

Recently a direct debit took me over my credit card limit by £15. I corrected it straight away but have now recieved letters saying my account is suspended (since reversed), and that my interest is going up and the new customer interest discount is rescinded. That's ok as i intend to pay it off asap anyway now I've just started a higher paying job but im worried this will have a long term effect on my credit rating. Currently it has a 'fair' rating of 550-ish with the only issue really being  that im using all my credit, which seems to bar me from doing most things that require a check- particularly moving house (rental) and applying for a loan or credit transfer to manage the debt (£5500 over 2 overdrafts and a credit card). Id hoped that after  a few months at my new salary things would change, but have i now extended my time in 'bad credit' jail?

There's no bad credit jail.  And no 'fair' rating.  Just a history of how you manage your credit history.

You can't change the past, so focus on staying on top of your credit in the future. Clear your debts, make payments on time and stay out of your overdraft.

jimbo26

Yes, it will affect your score, but luckily only you can see it so no worries on that score. More importantly, it will affect your credit history, although marginally if there is no other bad history, and will gradually have less of an impact over time. I'm no expert but one slight over-limit incident will no make a huge difference to obtain credit in the future.

sleepyjones

The biggest effect on your score/history from what you've said there is having £5500 over 2 overdrafts and a credit card.
Carrying a balance on a credit card is fine but you need to try and get yourself out of those overdrafts and not be reliant on them.

av15

Lenders usually report to CRAs once per month on the same date every month e.g. RBS might report on the 14th of every month, HSBC on the 24th etc. If, as you say, you brought the account balance within limit straight away, it’s unlikely to be an issue. If you were unlucky enough to exceed your limit on or just before their reporting day, your balance for that month could show on your report above your limit. Have you checked your file to see what has actually been reported? How long have you been consistently in your overdrafts? 

Yahoo_Mail

av15 said:

Lenders usually report to CRAs once per month on the same date every month e.g. RBS might report on the 14th of every month, HSBC on the 24th etc. If, as you say, you brought the account balance within limit straight away, it’s unlikely to be an issue. If you were unlucky enough to exceed your limit on or just before their reporting day, your balance for that month could show on your report above your limit. Have you checked your file to see what has actually been reported? How long have you been consistently in your overdrafts? 

That's not how reporting works.  If you're late, you're late and they will report is as late even if the reporting date is 3 weeks away.

Some lenders won't report it as late if you rectify it within a number of days but you can't rely on that as an absolute, it's essentially a goodwill gesture.

av15

Yahoo_Mail said:

av15 said:

Lenders usually report to CRAs once per month on the same date every month e.g. RBS might report on the 14th of every month, HSBC on the 24th etc. If, as you say, you brought the account balance within limit straight away, it’s unlikely to be an issue. If you were unlucky enough to exceed your limit on or just before their reporting day, your balance for that month could show on your report above your limit. Have you checked your file to see what has actually been reported? How long have you been consistently in your overdrafts? 

That's not how reporting works.  If you're late, you're late and they will report is as late even if the reporting date is 3 weeks away.

Some lenders won't report it as late if you rectify it within a number of days but you can't rely on that as an absolute, it's essentially a goodwill gesture.

Did the OP say they were late with that months’ contractual payment? They went over limit, noticed, brought within straight away. Assumed the direct debit referred to is a CPA on the credit card. Mid period as no mention of statement with balance over limit, rather a letter saying they had lost their promo rate. 

Yahoo_Mail

av15 said:

Yahoo_Mail said:

av15 said:

Lenders usually report to CRAs once per month on the same date every month e.g. RBS might report on the 14th of every month, HSBC on the 24th etc. If, as you say, you brought the account balance within limit straight away, it’s unlikely to be an issue. If you were unlucky enough to exceed your limit on or just before their reporting day, your balance for that month could show on your report above your limit. Have you checked your file to see what has actually been reported? How long have you been consistently in your overdrafts? 

That's not how reporting works.  If you're late, you're late and they will report is as late even if the reporting date is 3 weeks away.

Some lenders won't report it as late if you rectify it within a number of days but you can't rely on that as an absolute, it's essentially a goodwill gesture.

Did the OP say they were late with that months’ contractual payment? They went over limit, noticed, brought within straight away. Assumed the direct debit referred to is a CPA on the credit card. Mid period as no mention of statement with balance over limit, rather a letter saying they had lost their promo rate. 

The same applies for overlimits, if you're over your limit, you're over your limit.  Stop nitpicking.  You were wrong, don't double down on stupid.