Last minute shock in mortgage application - credit score?!

RichfromtheHudd

Hi all
I've long come to MSE for advice and usually managed to find help in how others have solved their problems. I'm hoping you can again. 

I've just been going through the motions trying to get my first mortgage after we had an offer accepted on a house last week. We have 20% deposit (which in London is a considerable about of money) and are both high earners (in excess of £45k pa), so we were astonished when we found out today that the lender we were planning to go with (Nat West) had turned us down because of our credit score. 

What's more frustrating is that the two of us have been conscious about credit scores for years and have accounts with MSE Credit Club (for Experian), Credit Karma (for TransUnion) and Clear Score (for Equifax). All three have shown we have excellent scores so we've never been worried about this aspect of our application.

But our mortgage broker has just introduced us to Check My File which claims to check all the main agencies and then compiles its own score. Perplexingly, Check My File rates us both far lower than the agencies separately do. My partner has a 'poor' rating with them despite having 996/999 with Experian and 517 with Equifax. It has fallen 200 points in the last month for no apparent reason. I'm slightly better off, with a 'fair' rating despite having 989/999 with Experian and 665/710 with TransUnion. 

We've both now queried our scores with Check My File but our broker has said that we are really going to struggle to get a mortgage and it could take a month to get our scores updated if they prove (as I think they are) to be wholly wrong. 

Has anyone else been in this situation before and know how we can get out of it? I'm in utter despair as we've found the most amazing house and just don't know how this has happened.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can offer
Richard

[Deleted User]

Don't worry.  The credit scores you see are entirely made up.  They're not seen or used by lenders and no use as a guide to your credit worthiness.

NatWest turned you down because you failed their internal scoring, not the made up CRA ones.  You just need to ensure that the data on all three of your credit files is accurate.

If your broker is suggesting that your scores are a factor, you need to switch brokers as a matter of urgency.

haras_n0sirrah

The scores mean nothing - it is the information within it that is important
As above approach a broker. I have in the last two days placed two clients who were told by other brokers they would need to go to an adverse lender with high street lenders.
The information within the report is key, not the score.
If you want a second opinion some of us who post here are brokers. We are not allowed to approach posters but posters can pm us if they would like assistance

RichfromtheHudd

Thanks, the only adverse thing on my credit file is a current account that has been dormant for many months. The only reason I opened it was to move money out of my savings account more easily so it's hardly ever been used. I can't see how that's penalising me so much on Check My File.

Why do you say that the issue is the broker? I've so far had really great help from him (via Habito) so I'm nervous about switching now. This is my first time so apologies for the newbie question, I just don't see how switching broker is going to get a different answer from the same lender.

haras_n0sirrah

I am saying a dormant account doesn't mean waiting a month. I have just placed a client with a 3k satisfied default and 2 missed credit cards payments with a 15% deposit on the high street.

Thrugelmir

While credit scores have no direct bearing. A low score is triggered by something on your files or even by a lack of, i.e. electoral registration. What has the lender seen that it dislikes?  Have you talked this through in depth with your broker as they've presumably seen the detail. 

RichfromtheHudd

This is the thing, we've done everything we need to to get good scores: electoral roll, credit cards paid off in full every month etc.
Our individual scores are high/excellent, but this random service called Check My File is marking us down for no apparent reason. I'll check again with the broker but may have to switch if that's the only way out of this.

ddonq1412

on that website is there not a thing on it that says how to improve that score.  as i know between lenders not all accounts are sent to them. me personally are setup to all 3 of them free version and watch. also have checkmyfile on a trial. there was an option to  change if others in your finicial connections had a bad rating how that would affect yours. Did you play about with that . as an average rating for your partner would bring your score down.

RichfromtheHudd

Broker says that NatWest won't say why, just that it Failed Credit Score.....

Thrugelmir

RichfromtheHudd said:

This is the thing, we've done everything we need to to get good scores: electoral roll, credit cards paid off in full every month etc.
Our individual scores are high/excellent, but this random service called Check My File is marking us down for no apparent reason. I'll check again with the broker but may have to switch if that's the only way out of this.

Look at your files on Experian etc. Not some random service. 

amnblog

Nat West run their own score factoring in many things beside your credit profile. You are being lead up the gardens path here as how you are rated by 'CMF', 'Experian', or 'Equifax', or another one else is not causing Nat West to say 'no'.
You simply need to go with another Lender, I understand you might like the Nat West rate as they are currently pricing competitively , but you will not pay too much different with a number of Lenders.
A bit baffled that your current broker does not already have a plan B laid out - I would have.