Moneysavingexpert.com/ Your Credit Rating discussion area

Tixy

Davver
I wouldn't put too much stock on the ratings given by experian. It is quite possible to have an excellent rating but have absolutely no credit rating and therefore be unable to get credit.

Factors to consider instead would include do you both work full time? what are your respective salaries, do either of you have any existing debt, do either of you have any credit accounts at all to show a credit history. Aside from all that you might want to consider the legal issues of making both or just one of you responsible for the debt.

Lenders make a decision based on these items, they do not see experian's score.

sheepish2008

Hi I wonder if anyone could offer some advice.

I am struggling to meet my loan payments and have got in touch to tell them this. They have sent me some paperwork to fill out and basically tell them what I can afford to pay.

I am only in this situation as OH has been made redundant.

I hope this to be a short term measure.

My question is if the bank accept my offer what kind of damage will this do to my credit rating?

I would like to rent or get a mortgage in the future - would this scupper this?

Thanks

MonkyMan

I am after a little advise after a very quick learning curve in credit scores and loans....sorry for the wordy post but I want to explain fully:

I have always banked with one bank for around 15 years. I have a current account which I get paid into, a cc which I spent too much on and a loan.

I recently decided it was time to do something about my debit - not because its a problem, but mainly as I wanted to buy a new car.

I am quite bad in that I like to have money in the bank, so when I do have spare money rather than paying off large sums of my cc, I leave it in my savings then spend it on other things. As I say, I am able to pay all my bills and normally put more than the minimum payment, but not by enough.



So I looked to my bank and was OK with the APR on the loan, which I was going to pay off my cc and buy the car - the plan is to get rid of the cc altogether (eBay is my vice, so I have applied to have the current account changed to a debit account with no overdraft so I can use that instead of a cc and only spend if and when I have the money).

However and this is where the lesson came in, I filled out a loan calculator and thought I would check with two of the best what their APR would be for me - two credit searches later and my own banks APR had gone through the roof.



So, now onto my current situation - I decided it was time to look into what happened (bingo, searches are bad) and how to get my credit rating back up (currently its fair). Two things according to Experian are a problem, one is not being on the electoral register and the other is the amount of credit available and the amount on there.

So my question is, if I pay off a larger amount to my cc each month (just over double the minimum payment) and I ask for the credit limit to be lowered with each payment will this help my score? Also I have filled the form to register on the electoral register and posted it - will this help?

Currently I have no ccj's or late payments, in fact nothing on my credit report bar the searches for the loan - boy I wish I had known about searches before all this, but I have learnt it now. So how long should I wait before looking into the loan again, my bank suggested 2-6 months, they say when they do a search it doesn't affect the credit score, its a soft search?

One final question, after looking into kicking the debit, I am thinking about shifting some/all of the cc debit to a 0% cc - I could pay off much more on one of these over the period while waiting for the loan, and thus the loan amount would be much lower - however if loans are at silly rates, I am doubtful I would get a card - is this likely if so I will steer clear as it would be yet another search?

So to summarise:
1) Will getting my cc limit lowered with each payment help?
2) Will being on the register really help much?
3) Will asking my bank for a quote in say 3 months affect the 'cooling off' i.e. if its not low enough in 3 months will that basically start the waiting counter again?
4) Is it worth trying for a 0% cc or stay away - I will be getting the loan eventually for the car so really I am just after getting the best score for the best rate.





Thanks if you have stayed with me till now, and are able to offer any advice!

Cheers!

hardupandcheesedoff

When I score myself on the Money Saving Expert credit checker tool, I come out as Good (I know that one is just a rough guide). My Equifax Credit Score is 486, which is they say is Excellent, but my Experian Credit Score is 489, which they say is Very Poor. Who do I believe? How do I know whether I am a good risk or not ??

I am quite heavily in debt (approx £48K), but it's all manageable - no missed payments over the last three years, no CCJs, I am a homeowner on the elctoral roll etc etc. I earn a very good salary (over £60K pa), but I am using approx 90% of my available credit, and I believe the lenders don't look favourably on that.

I've been thinking of applying for a loan of about £25K over 5 years to consolidate a number of credit card balances (all at about 16.9%) so that I can use the money that would free up to throw at the remaining debts, but I'm nervous about applying and getting turned down.

Any suggestions? Am I a good risk or not? Should I give it a go?

weave1

Hi, I have just been refused a home owner loan due to a bad credit rating, now last year I had problems with my local council re: tax..They basically kept sending me letters each month for 6 months for payments even tho I had paid for the year in full..this was because 'I' hadnt recieved nor filled out a single status form (never had to do it in 10yrs, & noone informed me of this)..So this seems to be the prob, can anyone help me get rid of this, many thanks.

Asa

Surley your financial situation would worsen with an extra £7.99 a month to check your credit rating?

sundevil_rachael

I have posted this under another thread - then realised there was a dedicated credit section! So apologies!

Basically I have been trying to check my credit records with Experian and Equifax as I have moved address and changed name through divorce.

Experian is fine - all in order, all showing as it should and I realise their credit scores means nothing but I was happy to see it was 999 and excellent anyway. All in order.

Equifax won't even recognise me. I cannot get past the point of trying to purchase it. I am told to call their call centre, I have done and they are saying they cannot confirm my identity as there is no credit agreements to check me against. They have offerred no solution to this and refuse to believe there are records - as their system is not showing them for my current or previous address. Yet when I tried to buy online a question came up about who was my mobile phone provider as they saw I had an agreement that was from 2002 until now.

The lady on the phone today just kept repeating we need a credit agreement in the last 6 years to find you - I said there are at least 12 - she said we cant find any - we cant help you!! I tried to explain about the mobile phone purchase at set up - the language barrier and long distance line made it so bad she didnt seem to understand!!:mad:

Any ideas - I am at a loss!!

lashawn

Hi I apply at beneficial claim which was a big mistake it been a month now and im still battling to get my money back and suggestion from anyone i keep ringing and sending email no luck:mad::mad::mad:

paddyisis

Hi all....

I am currently on a DMP with CCCS and have just decided to check my credit report to see how bad i look on paper ! I have a loan with CCCS with an oustanding balance of around £6,000 which I am continuing to make payments on through CCCS. Experian shows that the loan was settled in December 2008 with a note which says " payment received as full and final settlement although the payment would not fully clear the loan "

Does anyone have any idea what, if anything I should do about this ? I'm paying them £68 a month at the moment via CCCS so if it did show up on Equifax it would either show as an Agreed Payment or a Default which would obviously look bad but if it shows as Settled should I continue to pay them ?

Please help !:o

Jenny22

Financial planning is extremely important. It would be good to avoid over-spending and unnecessary expenses. Try to save atleast 20% of your monthly income. Try to stay away from loans and debts as long as you can and pay the monthly dues and installments in time to avoid accumulation of dues resulting in a bigger amount. You never know you might need money in any unforeseen circumstance. Do not carry too many credit cards. Try to maintain a good credit score that tells your creditworthiness. With a credit card in hand, you tend to make undue use of money that does no good but only keeps you indebted. There is one way in which a debit card scores over a credit card. It offers a limit and the user is bound to use the money within the limits of money in his account unlike with credit cards.