Credit Bureaus

RG2015

2021BJ said:

sourcrates said:

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

Yes, although the site is rather let down by giving credibility to credit scores.

A shame really.

Quote by a financial geezer called Martin Lewis:

"Everyone should take time to manage and boost their credit score..."

See the link below.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

Surely it is better to give all the facts rather than deriding anyone daring to mention credit credit scores without simultaneously trashing them. Then anyone carrying out research and due diligence can make up their own minds. 

sonofmerton

RG2015 said:

2021BJ said:

sourcrates said:

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

Yes, although the site is rather let down by giving credibility to credit scores.

A shame really.

Quote by a financial geezer called Martin Lewis:

"Everyone should take time to manage and boost their credit score..."

See the link below.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

Surely it is better to give all the facts rather than deriding anyone daring to mention credit credit scores without simultaneously trashing them. Then anyone carrying out research and due diligence can make up their own minds. 

as i said here the other day, in my business dealings, one company used their internal score of upto 150. another won't lend if they have more x number of debtors in a certain area already. both have no knowledge of your or anyone else's 'score'.

i am signed up with experian etc to check on any possible fraud activity. all scores vary widely from month to month with no change in my credit finances. my bank account balance goes up yet my score goes down on one and up on the other two. total baloney. plenty of emails trying to flog me cheap credit card and loan deals though.

companies see no score and look at what debts you have v income plus their own in house reasons. what you owe v income you get is the only thing anyone should be looking at.

someone on facebook a while back was in over happy mode because their 'score' was 998. i found it amusing they were then turned down for the loan they were after. it turned out they had a couple of defaults despite their 998 score. 

martin lewis although very good is certainly not the messiah some think. there are several things i would like to interview him on, including 'Everyone should take time to manage and boost their credit score'. 

[Deleted User]

RG2015 said:

2021BJ said:

sourcrates said:

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

Yes, although the site is rather let down by giving credibility to credit scores.

A shame really.

Quote by a financial geezer called Martin Lewis:

"Everyone should take time to manage and boost their credit score..."

See the link below.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

Surely it is better to give all the facts rather than deriding anyone daring to mention credit credit scores without simultaneously trashing them. Then anyone carrying out research and due diligence can make up their own minds. 

It's well documented (including on the sticky thread at the top) that scores are fictitious. No-one needs to do any research or make up their own mind - the scores mean nothing. No lender ever sees them (as the CRAs admit themselves). No finance application is every agreed or rejected based on the score you see.

Martin would do well to stop going on about scores as well, the CRAs would love for us to become like the US where your score is real and rules your life, we do not want that to happen

RG2015

Deleted_User said:

RG2015 said:

2021BJ said:

sourcrates said:

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

Yes, although the site is rather let down by giving credibility to credit scores.

A shame really.

Quote by a financial geezer called Martin Lewis:

"Everyone should take time to manage and boost their credit score..."

See the link below.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

Surely it is better to give all the facts rather than deriding anyone daring to mention credit credit scores without simultaneously trashing them. Then anyone carrying out research and due diligence can make up their own minds. 

It's well documented (including on the sticky thread at the top) that scores are fictitious. No-one needs to do any research or make up their own mind - the scores mean nothing. No lender ever sees them (as the CRAs admit themselves). No finance application is every agreed or rejected based on the score you see.

Martin would do well to stop going on about scores as well, the CRAs would love for us to become like the US where your score is real and rules your life, we do not want that to happen

The very first link on the thread that you have quoted is back to Martin Lewis's quote that we must take time to manage and boost our credit scores. So the first document on your evidence suggestion contradicts your assertion that credit scores are fictitious.

Don't get me wrong, I also believe that credit scores are meaningless. However no matter how loud you shout things like well documented or fictitious it does not make it true.

 And there is always need for people to do their own research and make up their own minds.

ratechaser

God help us, almost every thread on this board descends into semantics about credit scores.

Yes they are 'real' in that CRAs have created them. No, they are not important, because they are not used in lending decisions. On the margins, we COULD perhaps agree that they serve some purpose as being an indicator that something has changed with your credit file - if there is a big drop.

Does that cover it, and apart from gently reminding future one-post wonders about the 'file' being more important than the 'score', can we take this as read for future threads? And feel free to drop Martin a line if you want to educate him... 

[Deleted User]

RG2015 said:

Deleted_User said:

RG2015 said:

2021BJ said:

sourcrates said:

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

Yes, although the site is rather let down by giving credibility to credit scores.

A shame really.

Quote by a financial geezer called Martin Lewis:

"Everyone should take time to manage and boost their credit score..."

See the link below.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

Surely it is better to give all the facts rather than deriding anyone daring to mention credit credit scores without simultaneously trashing them. Then anyone carrying out research and due diligence can make up their own minds. 

It's well documented (including on the sticky thread at the top) that scores are fictitious. No-one needs to do any research or make up their own mind - the scores mean nothing. No lender ever sees them (as the CRAs admit themselves). No finance application is every agreed or rejected based on the score you see.

Martin would do well to stop going on about scores as well, the CRAs would love for us to become like the US where your score is real and rules your life, we do not want that to happen

The very first link on the thread that you have quoted is back to Martin Lewis's quote that we must take time to manage and boost our credit scores. So the first document on your evidence suggestion contradicts your assertion that credit scores are fictitious.

Don't get me wrong, I also believe that credit scores are meaningless. However no matter how loud you shout things like well documented or fictitious it does not make it true.

 And there is always need for people to do their own research and make up their own minds.

No, it's just Martin, perhaps unintentionally, spreading misinformation. A lot of what he says is simplified down for the mass market to make it understandable, doesn't mean it's factual.
It's not about shouting anything, it's stating a fact
To quote from Experian

Why have I been turned down for credit
A lender’s specific requirements. It’s worth noting that lenders make the decision, not credit reference agencies like Experian. Every lender or credit provider has a different set of requirements and criteria – there’s no universal ‘pass mark’ for credit scoring, so you should ask the lender why you were refused.

CRAs don't make the decision to lend to you. So how they score you is irrelevant

Bankrupts start on 999 but no-one would lend to a newly discharged bankrupt. The forum is littered with people talking about their high score and being rejected for credit. A similar number will have people with low scores getting credit.

Also from Experian

Why should I improve my credit score?
When you apply for credit, the company will calculate your credit score to decide whether to lend to you. It’s usually based on:
Information from your credit report
Your application details
Data they already hold on you, if you’ve been their customer before
Each company may have a different way of calculating your credit score, depending on what information they have access to and their lending criteria.
Credit reference agencies (CRAs) like Experian also calculate their own versions of your credit score. You can get an idea of how companies may view you by looking at your free Experian Credit Score. And don’t worry, checking your score won’t affect it.

From the horse's mouth - the score is meaningless as lenders use their own scoring system and the Experian score is freely admitted to be only how they "may" view you.

Or Equifax

The credit score you get from CRA’s uses the information shown above and is indicative of how a lender will view you when you make an application for credit. The Equifax Credit Report has a traffic light system which helps you see at a glance what areas are good or having a negative impact on your ability to get credit in the future. When you make an application for credit most lenders will use this information from all or some of the CRA’s to calculate their own score, which will also include additional information that you have provided on your application form that is not held in your credit report e.g. how long you have worked with your current employer, whether you work full time or part time and how much you earn. Based on all of this information the lender will then make their decision on whether to approve your application.

Again, confirms lenders use their own scoring system based on the information which isn't included in the scoring system provided by the CRAs. 

If I won the lottery and had no credit cards as I could pay by cash and lived on a boat touring the world, I would have a poor score, yet 99.9% of lenders would approve, based on my bank account

RG2015

The OP was asking a question. They deserve an answer and not repeated derision and mockery.

Doesn't anyone believe that they deserve even a modicum of respect?

sonofmerton

RG2015 said:

The OP was asking a question. They deserve an answer and not repeated derision and mockery.

Doesn't anyone believe that they deserve even a modicum of respect?

the op has been given the truth nothing more nothing less. 

RG2015

sonofmerton said:

RG2015 said:

The OP was asking a question. They deserve an answer and not repeated derision and mockery.

Doesn't anyone believe that they deserve even a modicum of respect?

the op has been given the truth nothing more nothing less. 

2021BJ said:

I'll give you your score for free if you want.
35.
Hopefully that has satisfied the need to see a made up "score" for a bit.

This does appear to a bit more than the truth, nothing more, nothing less.

[Deleted User]

RG2015 said:

The OP was asking a question. They deserve an answer and not repeated derision and mockery.

Doesn't anyone believe that they deserve even a modicum of respect?

Why move the goalposts? The OP has been answered repeatedly (and factually) that the scoring system is a gimmick and that they shouldn't worry about it, nor focus on getting it to go up to get credit (as it isn't used to determine that). The problem is well meaning people jumping in and giving misleading information that the score is somehow important and confusing matters.