Rant!! 6yrs of sub prime 'leprosy'

hairbrain05

Grrrr.... I'm usually a very optimistic person but am getting sick of being 2nd class citizen!!! :mad:

I have problems on my credit report, mostly due to the very unexpected & early death of my ex partner resulting in late payments:embarasse . Despite 2yrs of meticulously ensuring no late payments, never having a ccj or being BK I'm saddled with the sub prime rate for FOUR more yrs.

Gee whizz, it seems the worst off people are stuck in catch 22 of paying the price of high rates or getting no credit at all. Where in this world can anyone live without credit!?

Ahem.. rant over. Thank-you :embarasse

Snaggles

Hiya. Firstly, I'm very sorry about your bereavement.

With regard to the late payments, were you actually issued with a default notice? If so, then yes, unfortunately the default will remain on your file for 6 years. You can put a Notice Of Correction on your file to explain the circumstances that lead to the default, but unfortunately that wont guarantee that the default is discounted.

If it was just late payments, your file shows 36 months worth of payment history, so your credit-worthiness may well improve in another 12 months.

I had a late payment a few years ago which affected my score, but as soon as it disappeared off my payment history, my score jumped back up again. Hope it's the same for you.

hairbrain05

Thanks Snaggles, we did get a default in 2005 & I have added the note. Onwards & upwards I guess! I'm trying really hard to ensure no further damage is added & if anyone knows of any other ways to build my score I'd be really grateful. Aware of the usuals - direct debit payments, no late payments etc etc. Again I guess time is main factor!

bathgatebuyer

It's horrid that you're in this situation - what gets me about a credit file is that it doesn't tell you much behind the reasons for the missed payment. I mean, if your partner dies or is ill, you're reduced to one income and struggle by making payments. That's not going to happen again in life is it? But still, the banks and lenders make you a pariah because of this particularly awful set of circumstances.

My own probs started because my Dad was seriously ill. I gave up work to look after him (or more accurately my employer at the time said, "it's him or us"), cue 7 months of pretty much having to pay two mortgages, a car loan, no benefits, no insurance payouts, no council tax benefits..............and a damaged credit record.

Is my Dad going to die again in the near future? Probably not! Is my credit history so damaged that it's likely to be another year or two before I can be accepted for another car loan and save me from spending cash just to keep my 8 year old heap on the road? Yes. I'm now probably no more of a credit risk than someone who's been employed in the same job for 20 years, after all, people live and anyone can die or become ill. And unless you have tens of thousands of pounds in savings to cope with it, you're stuffed.

marc5180

I really feel for you, i was in the same situation (bad credit) about 8 years ago. I couln't get any credit at all. I even got refused a mobile phone it was so embarassing. You have just got to make sure you dont miss any payments and eventually you will start to be able to get credit again. I applied for my credit report on line last week and i got 988 of 1000 which is a better score than 80% of the people in the UK so it will get better but it will take time.
Good luck:beer: