Pay credit card balance after the statement received or every week or after significant expenditure?

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David2018
David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
in Credit file & ratings
Hi guys,

Is it better for the credit rating to pay credit card balances after statement are received or every week (or straight after the significant expenditure)?

Thanks.
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  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
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    After the statement is received. Then the balance of the statement will show up on your credit file and your credit history will build. :)
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

    I love my job

    :smiley:
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
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    Pay once the statement is received and by the due date.
  • David2018
    David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    I made an observation. Noddle would state an amount (I don't know how it would calculate) in Balance History on my credit report and reduce my credit scores, although I was paying the full balance of the statement by due date. Statement Balance in the credit report was always right. Then I started paying the credit balances every week or straight after a significant expenditure and my credit scores started rising. One time, when Noddle reduced my credit scores significantly, it wrote in Reason section that it was because the high balance of the credit card, although, again, I paid it straight after statement was received and the balance, Noddle stated, was not the statement balance, I don't know what it was.

    What would you say about this?
  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
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    Lenders are not interested in the score that Noddle have for you. They are only interested in your credit history, the data you supply in an application, and an affordability test. They do not use or consider the Noddle score.
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

    I love my job

    :smiley:
  • JimmyTheWig
    JimmyTheWig Posts: 12,199 Forumite
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    I guess there's an argument to say if your balance gets close to your available credit then it is worth paying some of it off before the statement comes in as otherwise it will show high debt to available credit ratio.
  • PRAISETHESUN
    PRAISETHESUN Posts: 3,723 Forumite
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    David2018 wrote: »
    Hi guys,

    Is it better for the credit rating to pay credit card balances after statement are received or every week (or straight after the significant expenditure)?

    Thanks.

    As the common adage goes here, the score you are provided with by the credit reference agencies isn't the same as that used by banks/credit card companies/etc so can be mostly ignored.

    I think in terms of maximising your credit HISTORY, if you pay off your balance immediately after making a purchase then the CC company will only ever report a zero balance, which will not help show that you can pay off a debt, as there is no debt to speak of in this instance. I personally pay off my balance in full by direct debit after the statement is generated by the CC company. You have a record that a debt was generated, and paid off - and you accrue no interest!
  • David2018
    David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    PRAISETHESUN wrote: »
    the score you are provided with by the credit reference agencies ... can be mostly ignored.

    May be lenders ignore, or not even see the credit scores generated by CRAs, but the CRAs say the credit scores show you how your credit history would be seen be the lenders. So, if my credit scores have been reduced it should mean that in my credit history is something which would be negatively seen by the lenders. Would you agree?
  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
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    But the lenders have their own independent criteria...and the criteria may be totally different to that used by the CRA... :)
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

    I love my job

    :smiley:
  • David2018
    David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    Willing2Learn wrote: »
    But the lenders have their own independent criteria...and the criteria may be totally different to that used by the CRA... :)

    Do you mean that what Noddle saw in negative way a lender may see it in a positive way? I am not talking about scores at all at this time.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
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    Yes. CRAs, especially Experian, tend to see all change as bad.

    Lenders see bad change as bad and good change as good.
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