Bad credit score not my debt

cmcluskey

Good evening.
Myself and my husband recently applied for a mortgage as a fair few lenders are now doing 90% LTV. Not thinking anything of it we got told we couldn't get one at less that 85% LTV as one of us had a bad credit score? We don't miss payment, don't have much debt etc so couldn't believe it. I signed up for Experian and my score came back at 508! Very poor indeed.

I had recently been having a back and forward with a debt collection agency for a £173 bill that was linked to my old address I had with my ex. I disputed this as I hadn't stayed there in 6 years and provided them with proof. They eventually got back to me stating that the matter as such was resolved and they would close the account.
It is however too late for my credit score which has already been affected. It feels really unfair as the debt wasn't mine and I kept them up to date throughout the process. If I was to go to a lender with these details and a credit report showing everything else is absolutely fine would they take this into account?

Also I can't understand for one default of £173 when my score has dropped so low.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

ceremony

If the DCA has agreed that the default isn't yours, are they willing to remove it from the record?
If not, you could put a notice of correction on your report, and that combined with the correspondence from the DCA may be enough to satisfy some lenders.
Working with a mortgage broker could be a good idea.
How old is the default, by the way?
Don't worry about your score. It's just a fake number. What matters is the record. The mortgage lender didn't want to lend to you because of the default, that's all they looked at. If that's addressed now you should find you're OK for the future.

[Deleted User]

Lenders do not, never have, and never will, see or use your credit "score" - only the data on your file. 
Your problem was with the debt, not the fictional score

sourcrates

Send a written complaint to the DCA in question, tell them to remove all information about the account from your file.

They have 8 weeks to send you a final responce, if you remain unhappy, you can escalate the matter to the ICO.

Fighter1986

As above, good advice. If the debt colleciton agency concede that the debt is not yours they shuold remove the data from your credit file - however, as this should be reported to them as false and inaccurate data, (tell them this), which they have a lawful obligation to resolve under the Data Protection Act - they have 28 days in which to do so, after which you can escalate the matter to the ICO (again, advise them that this is what you will do if it isn't resolved within 28 days).

As a sidenote; who was the mortgage lender in question?

I have some adverse credit history and will be applying for a mortgage later down the line with a 15% deposit and it might be useful for me to know who didn't just completely throw out your application, but instead offered you a lower LTV.

cmcluskey

Hi all! Thank you for all the advice.
I finally got in contact with the debt agency who agreed this 'debt' would be removed from my credit rating. As you all stated the score was irrelevant it was the fact it was adverse credit from a debt agency that gave me issues. I sent another email the debt collection in question, Lowell's, stating that the mark against my name on Experian meant I may lose out on the buying of a house as I couldn't get a mortgage....as such it was removed yesterday and such a massive relief. It appears its unusual for it to be removed this quick and can take up to 6 weeks!

@Fighter1986 my mortgage advisor is through Tenet Group and the mortgage is with TSB. My husband looked into TSB by himself as well and got the same answer that we couldn't get a 10% LTV mortgage but would give us a 15%.

Thanks again!