Moneysavingexpert.com/ Your Credit Rating discussion area

System

just a thought, but did you look on BOTH sides of each page of your credit report? for a week i thought experian had missed loads of financial details till i realised they print on front and back of each page.surely no one else is as silly as me?!!

CJ2512

Hi there, i have just signed up for the 30 day free trial with equifax, i have logged on but i can't access any data - is there a specific part of the site i need to go onto?

Thanks

perdymiss

I applied for a loan with Yes Loan of whom when I spoke to them said I have been accepted for a £3000 loan, i paid a fee of £50 and since speaking with them have been told i have been declined due to my credit scoring,they said they can offer me loan counselling for the fee I paid of which will increase my credit score and enhance my chances for a loan, at a 94% success rate for there customers. Please advice further. Thank you

Someone please HELP!!!!!

sarra63

Hi I am new, I would appriciate any advice. My brother who is working as a locum used to use my address and tel number when applying for credits/DVLA/car insurance, that was fine until recently it came to my attention that he is gambling and got in trouble ownning £££££, he is now unable to keep up, everyday I have companies ringing asking about him and letters through the post asking for late payments, at the beginnig I used to say he isn't here at the moment before I realise how serious the matter is now I am worried if that is taken as addmitting he is a resident here. I am worried and not sure if this will affect my credit scoring as he uses my address.
The other thing 3 yeas ago we opened a joint account and exchanged money between mine and this one, this account has no money on it at the moment, I would like to know will that joint account affect my scoring and if we close it and the worst happen(court order) or if he declared bankrupcy will I be liable to pay his debit? My credit scoring is always good up until now. Please help.
sarra

johnc

Hi, my first time posting so please bear with me if I do something wrong as far as posting!

I need a little help/advice. I am frustrated with my credit record. Back in August I was turned down for a Debit Card at Nationwide which I thought very strange as I should have an ok credit card. I do have credit card debt (Totalling 17K) and a personal loan (10K) but always make the min payments by direct debit and pay all my bills on time. After that I got my credit report which didnt show anything strange or unusual except that it showed a financial link to my mother (which should be a good thing since she has an absolutely stellar credit record). So I dont quite understand why I got turned down for a debit card at Nationwide. Then recently I was turned down for a Marks credit card and then I am looking for a new contract mobile and got turned down both for 3 and then for T-Mobile when I was looking to take up an offer through the retailer Cool New Mobile. Strange thing is that I already have mobiles with both 3 and T-Mobile! I just dont understand why I am getting turned down for credit when my credit report seems ok and I would have thought if I am making all my necessary payments on time etc that there should not be a problem.

I am still looking to get a new contract mobile and was thinking about an offer with e2Save on O2. I know I should probably wait a while until applying for that perhaps? Would the probability be high that I would get turned down for that too since I was apparently turned down for 3 and T-Mobile? 3 have said I can send them a copy of my credit report to contest etc - but that seems like a long drawn out process with no resolution for months and I am looking to get a replacement mobile asap (unless I just take an upgrade offer from the network which should not go through an additional credit check).

But ultimately I am very concerned about my credit file, why I am getting turned down for credit and what I can do! Any Help/Suggestions would be greatly appreciated

zerogravity

My husband and I earn well over £60k, own our own house, have no kids, no CCJs or defaults, and little on credit cards (now, anyway), but found that we were being turned down for new credit cards.

I signed up for the free 30-day CreditExpert trial to see if I could get an answer, and got a detailed list of all my credit searches and I was amazed, as it was a right mess - there was the wrong address several times, I was not listed on the electoral roll and Experian itself (despite having proof of address) had also listed the wrong flat - apparently something to do with the way that the postcode search brings up the address (although I checked it myself on the Post Office site and that wasn't the case at all).

Considering I'm on a free trial, the CreditExpert lot have been pretty helpful, amending my report three times and removing all references to the wrong address (even when that involved contacting previous lenders). I recommend signing up, after the initial messing about with proving your address etc it's well worth it. They are also quite friendly and explained any problems over the phone, so I was quite surprised. Now I just need to try for that credit card again...

I'd be interested to read anyone else's experiences with them, as I'm thinking of staying with them after the trial runs out

zandralapoi

Hello,

About 5 years ago I returned a car having paid more than 50% of the finance I borrowed. I did this well within my rights under the Consumer Credit Act. I have recently found out they marked this in my Credit Record as a 'Voluntary Repossession'. Needless to say my record is now marked as 'Very Poor'. Can they do this? There were no arrears or missed payments.

I want to return another car in Oct 07 as I will be moving overseas. Can I insist to them that they do not do this again?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Zandra

kateofdorset

Does a retailer have to tell a customer that they have been reported to Experian etc for bad credit? And if not, WHY not? Thanks to Martin's tip about the M&S More 3% fees for life card a couple of months ago, I discovered I had a bad credit score when they turned me down in Sept. this year. This came as something of a shock as in July 2005, I had sent off for all three credit rating companies' reports and been given a clean bill of health ~ and had made sure I was squeaky-clean ever since. After M&S sent me a nice letter suggesting I get in touch with Experian, I downloaded my free Experian report online (thanks again, Martin), and found out that I had owed Toucan the ginormous sum of £9.45 since August 2005 - giving me a fat score of 10 next to that debt over the year.

I had cancelled my Toucan cheap calls account before moving house in July 2005 - up until then, I had paid their bills regularly by direct debit. When I got in touch with Toucan, the chap I spoke to said that according to my records, they had tried to ring me once about the final bill (I cancelled the direct debit after moving), but got a 'number unobtainable' message. (Not surprising as I no longer lived there) I took it up with Toucan's customer services dept. and all of a sudden my records reflected three phonecalls, an email and three letters sent to my old address.(But they refused to confirm this in writing and said I'd have to pay them £10 to get the records because of the Data Protection Act!)

I had arranged for my post to be forwarded but had not received any letters from Toucan. My email address was unchanged and although I was off-line for a month after moving, I received no email from them. And yet, they reported me to Experian for this minor sum which, I suspect in hindsight, was also responsible for my being turned down for a Career Development loan from Barclays in June 2006. (Believing I had a clear credit record, I hadn't checked it at the time - and Barclays wouldn't give me any reason for turning me down)

As soon as I had paid Toucan and they had informed Experian, my credit score zoomed up and I had no trouble when I reapplied to M&S.

Are companies allowed to blight one's life for such paltry sums without even bothering to inform you of what they are doing? Shouldn't there be a reasonable minimum amount owing before your credit score can be affected? What do other members think? Now that Martin has sorted out the bank charges fiasco, is it time to start pushing for more legislation over credit ratings?

Kate

Later: Sorry - when I tried to send this message the first time, it said I wasn't logged on - which is why I've sent it again (in shorter form) below

georgiasmum

I agree with you! A paltry sum to penalise you with and it certainly appears they didn't make reasonable efforts to contactyou to collect the debt!

kateofdorset

(Sorry - this is an action replay of an earlier message I hadn't realised had made it to the forum - please ignore if read already!)
Do companies who report you to Experian etc not have to tell you what they have done/ are going to do? And if not WHY not? Is there no minimum amount?

I got stung for an unexpected final bill of £9.45 from Toucan after I had moved house and cancelled my account and direct debit with them. It sat on my Experian report for a year before I discovered it was there (after being turned down for the M&S More card, recommended by Martin).

Toucan customer services claimed they rang my old (disconnected) number several times and also sent three letters to my old address - but all my post was forwarded and there was nothing from them. My email address hadn't changed - but they never tried that (even though I had a paper-free online account with them). I asked them to confirm their actions in writing, but they refused - saying because of Data Protection, I would have to pay them £10 to do so!)

I'd sent off to all 3 credit rating companies for my records in July last year and all were clear - and as far as I knew, I'd kept them that way, having no knowledge of this Toucan 'final bill'.

Since paying it and making sure they informed Experian, my credit rating has zoomed up - got my M&S card with no problem. But I'm angry about the whole thing and the way Toucan conducted it as I was turned down for a career development loan (with no explanation) by Barclays in June of this year and in hindsight, now believe that my bad credit score was responsible. So I lost 3 grand for the sake of £9.45 I knew nothing about (which is why I've been cleaning other people's loos for 6 months to pay for my course!)

The whole credit rating system seems horribly flawed - what are the legal rules controlling it. And now that Martin has sorted out the banks and their ridiculous charges, can we take on Credit Ratings next, please?!

What do other members think?
Kate