US credit score vs UK credit Score 14 April 2022 at 2:54PM in Bankruptcy & living with it 2 replies 173 views

Scot1985

Good Afternoon,

I am a UK citizen who spent 12 + years living and working in the USA.  During that time my family and I were forced to file for bankruptcy.  With a growing family, loss of employment our debt grew to an unmanageable level.  We tried for years to dig ourselves out of debt and even tried a debt management company to clear our feet which ultimately made things worse. 

We recently returned back to the UK and while seeking financial services the topic of bankruptcy came up and wanting to be honest I confirmed that while in the US we filed for bankruptcy.  On hearing this, the services were declined.  My confusion on this topics is due to the fact, that when I arrived in the US, my UK credit score was not recognized and looking at my UK credit report, it shows no signs of my US credit history

Does any activity on a US credit report impact a UK credit score?
Is bankruptcy consider to have international impact or just in the country of origin?

Thanks

Scot1985

[Deleted User]

Your US and UK credit files are entirely different.

Credit scores aren't used in lending in the UK, whereas they are in the US. Here, the scores are purely provided as a gimmick.

Your bankruptcy is country specific, in terms of what appears on your files.  However, anything you declare in response to questions on an application will be taken into account.

sourcrates

In other words think carefully how you answer these type of questions in the future, your US credit history cannot be seen or accessed by anyone over here.

You will likely have a "thin" UK credit file anyway, which will limit what you can get approval for.