Credit ratings by experian.

[Deleted User]

Hi i have a experian credit socre of 999, but it says on my checks that i have a few credit accounts, which i owe nothing on and it says i have debt of 5000 on available limit of 26000, should i close the ones i don't use or leave them open to show how little debt compared to available, which is the way to go, i'm thinking just close them down but i've just put an offer on a house and want want to jepodise my credit when the mortgage application goes through.

Theguru

Snaggles

Hiya - some lenders will take into account the available credit that you have when looking at things like mortgages, so it might be worth closing down the accounts you're not using (although always leave one card open, use it and clear it in full each month, even if you have no other debt).

The reason they might take it into account is that say for example you wanted a mortgage, and it was affordable, but was at the top end of what you could afford. While you have £5k debt you would be able to meet the monthly repayments without a problem. But if you have those limits available, you could go out and spend that money tomorrow, without having to apply for anything extra. And if you have debts of £26k, the monthly repayments might be more of a stretch.

Ultimately, what you owe is more important than what you have available, but it could just swing the decision one way or the other if you were right on the borderline.

minigirl

Snaggles wrote: »

The reason they might take it into account is that say for example you wanted a mortgage, and it was affordable, but was at the top end of what you could afford. While you have £5k debt you would be able to meet the monthly repayments without a problem. But if you have those limits available, you could go out and spend that money tomorrow, without having to apply for anything extra. And if you have debts of £26k, the monthly repayments might be more of a stretch.

quote]

That's helpful to know - thanks. I'm in a similar situation to theguru where I have a high score but a few accounts open which is affecting my score.