Moneysavingexpert.com/ Your Credit Rating discussion area

Experian_company_representative

superclio wrote:

I've long heard this idea that bad credit at an address 'rubs off' on the other tenants. I'm currently NFA as they say (I'll be off travelling for a long time and won't keep my flat on during this time) and would like to use a friend's address for my mail, bank accounts and stuff. She owns her house, but at the moment I know she will say no as she will think my bad credit will affect hers (I have VERY bad credit as I had to get some IVAs last year). I don't know if this is an urban myth or not, I have heard of it in the past. But if I'm not family, have no similar name, how can it affect her? If I was lodging with her I would be able to use her address, how would it bear any connection with the landlord just because the tenant has bad credit? Also, what difference would it make to her if I went on the electoral roll? Would that make her credit worse? Would her council tax go up?

The truth is, you can only be linked on your credit report to someone else at your address IF you share a financial connection such as a joint loan or even an application for one. Otherwise, information about other people at your address, past or present, will not affect your creditworthiness. Simple as that!

Morrissey_2

Morrissey wrote:

At the moment i am paying out £180 a month on a £6,000 Natwest Loan APR 8.9%, £110 on a 2,500 Liverpool Victoria Loan APR 12.9% and have a CC balance of 1600 (19.9 APR) (never missed a payment in 2.5 years)

I would dearly love to get a £10,000, 10 year Northern Rock debt consolidation loan (APR 5.5) and get my outgoings down to £100 a month while my career picks up (Which it is doing, thank god)

However i have an experian rating of Poor, due to 2 defaults - 1 loan, 1 CC which were both defaulted in 2001 and paid off in Jan 2004. Meaning Northern Rock is no no as would Moneyback Bank, Tesco et al

So:

Will my Experian rating jump straight to Excellent in Jan 2007 when my defaults disapear, due to my flawless credit in the previous 6 years?



Thanks for any help offered

Ive just realized, i didnt pay off my defaulted debt's with any regularity until paying them in 1 chunk in April 2004.
Will these missed payments stay on, even tho the default will have "disapeard"?

pollypig

Hi everyone

I am a new moneysaver (well, trying to be... I'll get there eventually!) and, as part of my process of admitting all debts and making an action plan to get rid, I applied for my creditscore (with Experian so far, on the free trial but I also paid to find out my actual score).
Apart from the fact that two failed applications has reduced my score by 300 points (I know, I should have paid more attention to Martin's article... hopefully my appeal to the bank will be accepted and I will get that loan after all - fingers crossed), I would also like to know what everything means on the credit report! For example, when I was at uni I (STUPIDLY!) had a couple of store cards. These were paid off in full about 3 years ago but are showing on my report as "settled" - does this mean that the account is closed or does it just mean that there is no balance on the account but it remains open? I have just closed a further 2 store cards (only opened to get 10% off in store, never any balance on them!) and a credit card and want to make sure these show as closed on my report. Any advice???

Many thanks!

richiethekid

If an account is showing as settled it means it's been paid in full and closed. It should disappear in 6 years, but whether that's 6 years from the date the account was closed, I'm not sure.

pollypig

Thanks for that - that's a relief! After reading other messages on the forum I thought I had about 10 open credit accounts... hopefully the majority of these will be taken off my credit report in the next 12 months or so and I can start increasing that credit score!

just out of interest, I live with my boyfriend (who owns the house) and pay him rent each month rather than being put on his mortgage. Does that make me a tenant or "other" when applying for credit? does either have a negative effect?

mrlappy

hi i have a quick question about credit cards..
here's my situation.
im a international student and i've been in the uk since sep 2003 (except during summers:) and in that period ive moved 3 times.
i currently have a visa barclay card.with a limit of $1500 (it was 3000 when i first got it)

now i have regrets of lowering the limit as i though at first it was relatively easy to apply another. i have no outstandings and everything is dandy(from the experian report i ordered recently)
i tried applying CC from HSBC but got rejected.
being a student i have no income(getting $ from parents) and i think this is the basis they rejected me.

so i would like to know is how am i able to apply another CC or increase my limit.

UKTigerlily

Where do Experian tell you the number they give you reflecting the risk you pose? I got my £2.00 report & can't see any number?

Tippy_2

Hi
My 18 year old son is off to Uni this year and applied for a Halifax Student Current Account. He was refused because his total credit score was below the approved level for them to offer him an account. He has a LLoyds under 19 account which has never been overdrawn, no store cards etc and no debts. Halifax advised him to register with Experian to get his credit report. He did this and it shows very little except for the Halifax application and his car insurance. He is on the electoral roll. Halifax said they had no discretion on this and suggested he should get his mobile on contract rather that PAYG. I am disgusted that young people with a responsible attitude to money are penalised in this way. Can anyone suggest a way he can improve his credit score asap without running up debts?
Thanks

Mrs_JR_Ewing

Hi, I'm still stumped on the whole credit rating thing.... I've received my credit references from both Experian and Equifax and both are as clean as a whistle - I can't find anything that's questionable apart from the fact that I lived on the Isle Of Man for 2 years. Some people class the island as part of the UK and some people don't. I've been living back on the mainland for the last 2 years and have a remaining balance on a loan for £3600 at £208 per month with Black Horse. I've tried to get a loan for the same amount and at a lower APR rate through Northern Rock, MoneyBack Bank and The Post Office and all have refused me. I tried Sainsbury's Bank yesterday and had a call today from another loan company saying that I'd been referred and they were dealing with my application. They offered me £3600 paying off at £95 per month and an APR rate of 18%!!!!1 Naturally I refused it as the warning sign came when she told me that and courier would deliver the paperwork tomorrow and I'd have 15 minutes to read and sign for it..... I've some to the conclusion that £3600 is such a small amount that no-one is interested? Could that be true?

russ_2

Hi this is my first time on the chat forum, so here goes, i have been reading these posts with great interest as alot of it applies to myself! 2 years ago i went through a rather tough divorce and came out with debts that i had arranged to be managed through CCCs, i am just about sorting myself out, i still have some debts with cccs and wondered about at one time getting a loan to pay both them and my overdraft etc off, however i applied to companies who said they would consider less than perfect credit worthy people (me) and have always been turned down, I now know from reading a post on here why, its because when a lender looks they see the word Managed and thats it, anyway one point i want to make that really has angered me, is a good friend of mine is on his 3rd bankcruptcy and is ready to apply for discharge this year, he has already been in court last year for fraudently obtaining credit and got off light, but he has just gone out and brought a brand new vehicle on finance for £12,000 no questions asked, How? and why is he getting through. I have decided that i no longer want a loan and am working extra hard to free myself from debt sooner on my own terms, its going to be hard but i think after reading your book martin i can disipline myself.