Default account affecting credit rating

helpme1853

Hello.
To cut a long story short, i lost my youngest daughter who was disabled, to pneumonia, and my husband to cancer 3.5 months after my daughter. My income was immediately halved and i had no-one to share the rising bills with, plus i had 2 funerals in close succession, and on top of that my car packed up, so had to get another (second hand) as i cannot walk far due to spinal problems. All in all, i was in a mess financially and emotionally. I tried to manage a large loan and my bills, but in the end was advised by my therapist to ask stepchange for help, which i did. I also called the bank to explain.
Since then my account has been in default, despite stepchange paying the bank each month.
I desperately need to move near my only remaining family, as i have no-one here now, but cannot afford a house near them, as my current house is worth less than a house nearer them due to currently living in a cheaper area 5 hrs away from family. Ive looked at shared ownership but due to my credit rating now being bad, these are not an option. 
My question is, is there a way of clearing my credit rating, before 6 years? At the time of them explaining this credit rating, i was grieving for both my daughter and husband and was panicking about my bills being paid so nothing was sinking in really It just feels like im now trapped
Id welcome any advise please.
Thank you

MyRealNameToo

Your credit history is just a record of fact, there is no way to expunge it beyond the passage of time. That said there is more weight put on more recent history than more distal so a perfect record over a few years may balance out the sins of the past, probably not sufficient to qualify for super-prime offerings but potentially well enough to get better than sub-prime offerings. 

helpme1853

I also meant to say that if i sold my current home, and paid off the debts completely with the proceeds would i then be able to go for a shared ownership home? Or woukd i stilk have bad credit? I cant imagine being stuck here for another 5 years

Isthisforreal99

Sorry for your loss and the dificult time you are having.

The reality is lenders are required to report the facts and the facts were you did not meet your contractual requirements so unfortunately there is nothing you can do. If you are in a position to clear any arrears and maintain your contractual payments then this would help - but not in the short term.

MyRealNameToo

helpme1853 said:

I also meant to say that if i sold my current home, and paid off the debts completely with the proceeds would i then be able to go for a shared ownership home? Or woukd i stilk have bad credit? I cant imagine being stuck here for another 5 years

Depends how the payments have been marked in recent months/years... if its been an arrangement to pay, not paid etc then clearing the debt will improve your status a little but lenders will still your recent issues and be less likely to lend again. 

Would need to see the exact requirement of any shared ownership scheme. 

helpme1853

Okay Thank you so much for your replies.