Credit ratings and credit checking make no sense!!
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I am absolutely baffled and I am just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this level of frustration with credit ratings and credit checking - I have just lost all understanding of how this works. I feel like we might be being deceived as to how to build credit ratings and how to get good credit.
I am 27 years old and married to my husband who is 30 years old. When we first met 8 years ago we were both young and daft. We were poor and working hard but still relatively in poverty and we missed some bills, got a few defaults. We ended up with a CCJ each towards beginning of our relationship but not for much. One for £400 and one for £600. By the time they were registered and actually put on our files it was about 2014.
Here we are 4.5 years later, completely different people. All our defaults have come off our credit reports. We have never even been allowed a proper bank account with an overdraft. We have never been allowed credit. We JUST scraped through getting contract phones about a year or so ago. The CCJs remain until January 2020.
I earn £70k pre tax and he earns £30k pre tax but no one cares. We have savings. We have not missed a single bill payment in at least four years. We cant move out of our death trap house because we fail the credit checks for rented accomodation and for mortgages. We cant get proper credit with anyone. We cant get a proper bank account. We can't get cars on finance. We can't get credit accounts of any type. Its not that we need credit but we need to be able to build it at least! Its virtually impossible. I managed to get a capital one credit card in November 2016 and they gave me £250 limit. I used it perfectly as was described to me and they have never upped the limit. I rang them and they said they didn't know why I hadn't had a credit limit increase because my account was perfect. We have followed every single guide on MSE and Experian to build credit ratings but nothing is working.
We need to buy a house. This is impossible at present. We already have £18k in savings but plan to have a £30k deposit by the time our CCJs have gone - but then when they have gone - we will have no credit history! Its impossible!
I keep seeing people saying they were accepted for things because their CCJs were small amounts and very old (like ours) but we can't get a thing. We found a beautiful detached house to rent and we failed the credit checks. They said we were too much of a risk. So i offered them a year of rent up front plus deposit and they basically blocked us and said they weren't interested in us.
None of this makes any sense. Why don't these companies look at our bank accounts? Why don't they look at our lives and treat us like humans? I'm so confused. Nothing positive we have done has made a jot of difference.
Has anyone experienced this utter rubbish? Does anyone know why our income and our conduct now is irrelevant? Why is none of this 'credit building' stuff working?
I am 27 years old and married to my husband who is 30 years old. When we first met 8 years ago we were both young and daft. We were poor and working hard but still relatively in poverty and we missed some bills, got a few defaults. We ended up with a CCJ each towards beginning of our relationship but not for much. One for £400 and one for £600. By the time they were registered and actually put on our files it was about 2014.
Here we are 4.5 years later, completely different people. All our defaults have come off our credit reports. We have never even been allowed a proper bank account with an overdraft. We have never been allowed credit. We JUST scraped through getting contract phones about a year or so ago. The CCJs remain until January 2020.
I earn £70k pre tax and he earns £30k pre tax but no one cares. We have savings. We have not missed a single bill payment in at least four years. We cant move out of our death trap house because we fail the credit checks for rented accomodation and for mortgages. We cant get proper credit with anyone. We cant get a proper bank account. We can't get cars on finance. We can't get credit accounts of any type. Its not that we need credit but we need to be able to build it at least! Its virtually impossible. I managed to get a capital one credit card in November 2016 and they gave me £250 limit. I used it perfectly as was described to me and they have never upped the limit. I rang them and they said they didn't know why I hadn't had a credit limit increase because my account was perfect. We have followed every single guide on MSE and Experian to build credit ratings but nothing is working.
We need to buy a house. This is impossible at present. We already have £18k in savings but plan to have a £30k deposit by the time our CCJs have gone - but then when they have gone - we will have no credit history! Its impossible!
I keep seeing people saying they were accepted for things because their CCJs were small amounts and very old (like ours) but we can't get a thing. We found a beautiful detached house to rent and we failed the credit checks. They said we were too much of a risk. So i offered them a year of rent up front plus deposit and they basically blocked us and said they weren't interested in us.
None of this makes any sense. Why don't these companies look at our bank accounts? Why don't they look at our lives and treat us like humans? I'm so confused. Nothing positive we have done has made a jot of difference.
Has anyone experienced this utter rubbish? Does anyone know why our income and our conduct now is irrelevant? Why is none of this 'credit building' stuff working?
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Comments
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What do your three credit files show?
Accounts, limits, debts, ER, payment history? Check what's right and check what's wrong. Check everything except the scores.
Also check CIFAS, in case you have more problems than just the CCJs. But it sounds as if you history is pretty poor and you may need a few things to drop off.0 -
Hello ZX81
Thanks for such a quick reply. All is good. We use Check My File which gives us four credit files and they all say the same thing. We dont have any outstanding accounts. We have no defaults left. We have no debts. We have no problems with payment history in the last four years. The credit card they gave me has been managed perfectly and is within good ratio as I followed all the rules given here and at Experian. All addresses are right. CIFAS has nothing. No fraud warnings, gone away warnings or anything else. I'm just baffled.0 -
What do years 5 and 6 show?0
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So years 5 and 6 just have the CCJ on them and the default that led to the CCJ. That's all there is on there. Nothing else. So essentially, one 5 year old default and one 4.5 year old CCJ for £400. Everything else is perfect. I cannot believe how much impact this is having on my credit.
I thought that having high income and being able 'to prove affordability' would trump a £400 CCJ from nearly 5 years ago but clearly not!0 -
A default and a ccj show you had issues with money in the past so this is why lenders are probably wary to lend to you now.
Cancel the trial with Check My File before they charge you and sign up for the free ones - Clearscore, MSE Credit Club and Noddle.
Have you checked both of yours files?
Who has what on them?0 -
When were the CCJ's setttled?0
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Hi !!!
Yeah we've checked them both and they are broadly the same. He has the default a couple months after mine is registered. His CCJ was registered a month after mine. We have never made another mistake since.
I understand that it shows we had money issues 5 years ago but we dont anymore. How can they judge humans on missing one bill 5 years ago?
I sort of feel like saying to lenders 'yes, I have a CCJ of £400 from 5 years ago but now I am financially stable and I am a doctor and I earn £70k so why would you judge me based on when I was earning £12k a year and broke as a joke because I was young and bad at money management?'
Makes no sense. The mortgage forums are FILLED with people getting mortgages with old CCJs - the advice says that you can get a mortgage with an old CCJ over 3 years old as long as it is under £1000 in value but I can't even get a bloody contract phone. I'm at my wits end. Nothing works. I have enough money to sort myself out for the next 18 months as I wait for the CCJ and old default to come off - but i am worried that I will then be back at square one because I will then have no credit history.
We are also very worried that our landlord will kick us out soon (no fault of ours but he is going through divorce and him and the ex wife are arguing over selling this house and who should get the money or get the house and he keeps sort of suggesting the house will be sold) and if this happens, we can't pass any credit checks for a house. We have two children 7 and 9 years old. We would effectively have an income of £100k pa and be homeless. Check that out for first world problems.0 -
Getting cars on finance isn't required, can spend under £10k and you can get something decent.
As for mortgages there are brokers out there who deal with adverse.0 -
Hey DCFC79 - yes we did, we just buy our cars and motorbikes outright.
But one day we might not be so flush and we need to make sure we can get credit when required.
We desperately need a safe house to live in because our landlord hasnt done a single repair on this hour in 8 years and its knackered. Hes been useless and he doesnt care a jot for us or the kids.
But we cant move out because we cant even pass the credit checks for a rented house.0 -
Yes people do get mortgages - by speaking to brokers specialising in those with adverse credit histories.
So you both have CCJ’s and Defaults?
If so and the mortgage is a joint application then that’s 2 defaults and 2 CCJ’s on one mortgage.
You can still rent in the meantime - most credit checks on rental tenancys are to confirm identities and check for money laundering etc.0
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