Credit check

[samtheseagull]

Why would have any reason to think you have anything but a perfect rating?

i recently got a mortgage, then got refused a credit card because of the mortgage searches. my score was 997 before.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Address issues aside,their is not a lot you can do to increase a score,other than prolonged good house keeping of finance,overdrafts are a killer,missed payments on credit cards too,also maxed out credit cards..

Incorrect

I could improve anyone's credit score but would people pay me for the time & advice!?

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

I recently checked my credit rating on Experian and got a score of 999. I don't understand why I lost one point.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Address issues aside,their is not a lot you can do to increase a score,other than prolonged good house keeping of finance,overdrafts are a killer,missed payments on credit cards too,also maxed out credit cards..

You can actually - partly through good housekeeping of your credit record such as ensuring it's accurate and up to date ( i.e. get any out of date addresses or linked persons off it ), and partly through which credit products to take. Some products, if you keep to the t&c's, can improve your credit rating drastically.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Incorrect

I could improve anyone's credit score but would people pay me for the time & advice!?

I am listening...

 

[StonehamPark]

Incorrect

Nope.

 

[BigGully]

I had always assumed that they are meant to hold accurate financial data on your financial commitments/payments etc, it's the lender or the company you allow to do a credit check which will have a unique formula that will then score you to find whether that company feels it worth the risk lending to you.

There are no black marks as such, just data which then a company/bank will react to.

 

[sam86]

I've got a big issue with my credit rating due to a defaulted account I have nothing to do with.
I had a joint account with a previous partner that we used to save money (not spend).
We didn't use it for along period of time, so I forgot about it. The relationship then ended.
A few months back I checked my credit score for the first time in years to find the default.
Bank can't simply take my name off a defaulted account. They need written confirmation from both parties.
Which I can entirely understand, else they'd be nothing stopping someone from withdrawing cash and then taking their name off.
I don't have contact with my ex, or even know where they are. I doubt they'd sign it off anyway.
So because I didn't think of this joint account, with a £0 balance, that was unused for months when going through a sticky separation, I am now paying the price. It also means they appear as a "financial partner" and I'm still linked to the address the account was registered to. Arse.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

I am not overdrawn,i have not missed in 7 years phone,loan or credit card payments,i have stable 30k plus job for last 7 years,never bankrupt or ccj ,but cannot ever seem to be able to borrow over 5,000...best rates 12% on loans,15% on cards...current debt 6,000...so yes i can correct,which i have all inaccuracies,however what else can i do?

 

[Garage_Doors]

I had assumed only people that had defaulted on loans ect were the only ones with bad credit ratings
Personally I don't believe in credit, apart from mortgages
Never used it, anything I've ever wanted I save for it then buy it rather than have it before its paid for.

 

[Rugrat]

I had assumed only people that had defaulted on loans ect were the only ones with bad credit ratings
Personally I don't believe in credit, apart from mortgages
Never used it, anything I've ever wanted I save for it then buy it rather than have it before its paid for.

Having spent pretty well all my life in the credit business I can safely say that is the best policy ... 2nd best policy is to use credit wisely, sound obvious doesn't it

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

I had assumed only people that had defaulted on loans ect were the only ones with bad credit ratings
Personally I don't believe in credit, apart from mortgages
Never used it, anything I've ever wanted I save for it then buy it rather than have it before its paid for.

Is slowly the way i am heading,debt free in 2 years from now,and aim to stay that way,no mortgage but for me i started getting sensible late,so will concentrate on savings and pension-besides having worked all my life,they can pay my rent but they wont pay my mortgage if the worst happens,i need very little,cash on the hip is where it is at..my household in 23 months will be £658/month better off....that my friend is dream stuff,born out of sacrifice as i have had no holiday abroad for 9 years..

 

[WATFORD zero]

I had assumed only people that had defaulted on loans ect were the only ones with bad credit ratings
Personally I don't believe in credit, apart from mortgages
Never used it, anything I've ever wanted I save for it then buy it rather than have it before its paid for.

Agree completely. I use credit cards for the Internet and for Large purchases (holidays etc) to give protection but pay them off in full every month. Only spending what you have earned is a recipe for a (relatively) stress free life.

 

[samtheseagull]

Agree completely. I use credit cards for the Internet and for Large purchases (holidays etc) to give protection but pay them off in full every month. Only spending what you have earned is a recipe for a (relatively) stress free life.

I do the same, use my credit card for materials for work, then pay off in full monthly!

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I am not overdrawn,i have not missed in 7 years phone,loan or credit card payments,i have stable 30k plus job for last 7 years,never bankrupt or ccj ,but cannot ever seem to be able to borrow over 5,000...best rates 12% on loans,15% on cards...current debt 6,000...so yes i can correct,which i have all inaccuracies,however what else can i do?

While every lender will have their own criteria I suspect your challenge is your salary verses your £6k debt. Try and reduce the debt ( and yes I know how easy that is to say !!! ). You could improve your rating by taking a high interest credit card and just spending a little on it each month - say £100 - and always paying it off when the bill comes in.

 

[Bad Ash]

Agree completely. I use credit cards for the Internet and for Large purchases (holidays etc) to give protection but pay them off in full every month. Only spending what you have earned is a recipe for a (relatively) stress free life.

Spending £300+ a month on my credit card and paying it off in full results in a nice £5 a month reward. Thank you Halifax. It also gives me 30+ days to invest the money elsewhere and earn interest. Therefore, the are other benefits to using credit wisely in addition to the protection it offers on purchases.

Also, I believe the Halifax credit card is one of the cheapest ways to spend money when you're abroad.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

While every lender will have their own criteria I suspect your challenge is your salary verses your £6k debt. Try and reduce the debt ( and yes I know how easy that is to say !!! ). You could improve your rating by taking a high interest credit card and just spending a little on it each month - say £100 - and always paying it off when the bill comes in.

That does seem to be the reason for refused,higher levels,my current borrowing level is supposedly high,perhaps you are right,get more credit,high percentage and just stay disciplined to pay it off,that said,as i stated before-23 months and £658/month across the household better off is where i want to be..thanks anyway for the input.

 

[Icy Gull]

Something I recently found out was, all those comparison sites leave a mark on your file every time you just enquire about say car insurance.

They are worth avoiding if you are about to apply for large amounts of money as you want the file as clear as possible.

Mine was affected simply because I filled in a blanket motor insurance quote website and even though I didn't speak to anyone or even take the insurance out the number of enquiries on my file affected my credit rating by over 15 points. I won't be doing that again!!

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Nope.

I have chaired a 2 day UK personal credit conference which had Vince Cable as my guest speaker.
Now, how much did you want to bet, I can't go beyond £1.5m however

 

[StonehamPark]

I have chaired a 2 day UK personal credit conference which had Vince Cable as my guest speaker.

As exciting as that sounds, I'm just going by Equifax statements.

http://www.experian.com/ask-experian/20071128-insurance-inquires-do-not-affect-credit-scores.html
http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/questions/askjames275.html