Electoral roll woes

KMILTON13

So I registered for the electoral roll at my recent address and the 2 apps I use for credit score (clearscore and Experian) one has updated but the other hasn't, my local council have said I was added to the list as of 1st of July, is there a reason why it could be taking so long for clearscore(Equifax) taking so long to update this information, also will this cause me issues with applying for credit cards as I have tried to apply for a pre-approved capital one card to bump my score but the website has frozen up on me on multiple occasions.

[Deleted User]

If it's only been two weeks since you registered, you wouldn't see it yet on a free service such as Clearscore. I'm surprised that your council has even sent in the updates so quickly.

If it doesn't appear within a couple of months, chase it up. Remember to also check TransUnion.

Ebe_Scrooge

As ZX81 says, it can take a while for the ER information to filter through to all three CR agencies.  I'd be surprised if that in itself was cause the Capital One website to freeze, though.

As a slight aside - don't pay any attention to your score, it's neither seen nor used by any lender.  Being registered on the ER is an important factor that's used in lending decisions, but the score churned out by the CRAs is totally irrelevant.

PRAISETHESUN

Most updates take 4-8 weeks to be reflected on your credit files, depending on how far through the monthly reporting cycle they are made. As the changes were only made ~2 weeks ago, it'll still be a while. You can always lodge a dispute with the CRAs and provide proof of your new enrollment (the letter from your local council) and that might get it updated sooner, but it's probably easier just to wait and chase it down the line.

[Deleted User]

KMILTON13 said:

, also will this cause me issues with applying for credit cards as I have tried to apply for a pre-approved capital one card to bump my score but the website has frozen up on me on multiple occasions.

It may cause issues with applying for a card if the lender checks the CRA that hasn't updated yes

However, good news - your "score" is utterly meaningless. I assume you read the post at the top that is clearly marked and explains your score is irrelevant, no lender ever sees it and no decision on lending is based on that magical number. Lenders rate you internally based on the data on your file, hence the ER not updating is worth waiting for before applying.

If you are applying for a card purely to affect the fictitious score, don't bother, it is irrelevant, only apply if you need one.

KMILTON13

Deleted_User said:

KMILTON13 said:

, also will this cause me issues with applying for credit cards as I have tried to apply for a pre-approved capital one card to bump my score but the website has frozen up on me on multiple occasions.

It may cause issues with applying for a card if the lender checks the CRA that hasn't updated yes

However, good news - your "score" is utterly meaningless. I assume you read the post at the top that is clearly marked and explains your score is irrelevant, no lender ever sees it and no decision on lending is based on that magical number. Lenders rate you internally based on the data on your file, hence the ER not updating is worth waiting for before applying.

If you are applying for a card purely to affect the fictitious score, don't bother, it is irrelevant, only apply if you need one.

I was under the impression that if say I wanted a mortgage down the line it would be taken into account, more to check if I'm capable of paying things back on time, I'm not well versed in the whole credit thing as I never needed to be, I had enough to pass checks for stuff like mobile phones etc... But I figured mortgages and car finances would be more thorough when it comes to checking up on you.

Ebe_Scrooge

KMILTON13 said:

Deleted_User said:

KMILTON13 said:

, also will this cause me issues with applying for credit cards as I have tried to apply for a pre-approved capital one card to bump my score but the website has frozen up on me on multiple occasions.

It may cause issues with applying for a card if the lender checks the CRA that hasn't updated yes

However, good news - your "score" is utterly meaningless. I assume you read the post at the top that is clearly marked and explains your score is irrelevant, no lender ever sees it and no decision on lending is based on that magical number. Lenders rate you internally based on the data on your file, hence the ER not updating is worth waiting for before applying.

If you are applying for a card purely to affect the fictitious score, don't bother, it is irrelevant, only apply if you need one.

I was under the impression that if say I wanted a mortgage down the line it would be taken into account, more to check if I'm capable of paying things back on time, I'm not well versed in the whole credit thing as I never needed to be, I had enough to pass checks for stuff like mobile phones etc... But I figured mortgages and car finances would be more thorough when it comes to checking up on you.

Hopefully this may help clarify a few points.

Firstly, the "score" issued by the CRA is nothing more than a marketing gimmick, they hope to sell you products to increase your score.  It's not used nor even seen by any lender.  It goes up and down in line with the temperature and wind speed.  Ignore it.

Lenders will, however, look at the data contained within your credit file, and feed that into their own internal scoring algorithms.  The scoring criteria are different from lender to lender, usually very complicated, confidential and commercially sensitive - so you'll never know what a particular lender's "perfect customer" is.

Certain things, however, are common across most lenders.  Being on the ER is a good thing.  Address stability is a good thing.  Defaults, late payment markers, CCJs, are bad things.  A history of running a credit card properly is a good thing.  This is often the simplest one for most people to influence - get a credit card, use it for everyday purchases (food, petrol, whatever), pay the statement in full every month without fail when it arrives.  It doesn't matter what the interest rate on your credit card is - as long as you pay in full every month, you won't be charged interest.  And it doesn't really matter how much you spend on the card every month, the key thing is to always pay in full every month (just don't go spending more on the card than you can afford).  This demonstrates a pattern of responsible borrowing and repayment, which lenders like to see.

Hope this helps to clarify things a bit :-)