I signed up with Experian to have a nosy about my credit score and it is rubbish!
I have a mortgage and a couple of credit cards, but no loans and I always pay on time. What am I doing wrong? :confused:

Have you got any credit cards with nothing on?
i have been led to believe that if you cancel them your rating go's up think it was on Trever Mcdonald or something
I had loads cause i kept balance transfering them
Hope this helps craig:)

I signed up with Experian to have a nosy about my credit score and it is rubbish!
I have a mortgage and a couple of credit cards, but no loans and I always pay on time. What am I doing wrong? :confused:

Do you pay the full amount or part when you pay your credit card bill? I understand that if you pay the full amount either early or on time then over a period of time this will improve your credit rating. I thought there was advice on the Experian website on how to improve your credit rating?!

Are you financially associated with anyone with a bad credit score?

I have to ask - have you any CCJs, or old accounts with even a few quid outstanding on them?

Have you had a lot of credit searches done against your name?

Are you on the electoral role?

Joe

Have you got any credit cards with nothing on?
i have been led to believe that if you cancel them your rating go's up think it was on Trever Mcdonald or something
I had loads cause i kept balance transfering them
Hope this helps craig:)

I have a few of those, forgotten at the back of a drawer... I have been transeferring balances too.

I thought there was advice on the Experian website on how to improve your credit rating?!

They don't tell you any "tricks", like "Don't check your score too often...". At the end of the day, they are making money from people getting worried about their credit scores. If everybody had a wonderful credit score they would go under...

Are you financially associated with anyone with a bad credit score?

I have to ask - have you any CCJs, or old accounts with even a few quid outstanding on them?

Have you had a lot of credit searches done against your name?

Are you on the electoral role?

Joe

No - No - Yes - Yes
Apart from too many searches / old credit cards, I cannot think of anything... :huh:

I believe that in order to get a good credit score, you have to demonstrate that you are able to manage your debts, like buying a car or computer on an "Interest Free" loan or running up a large debt on your card, but maintain the payments on it.
I would have thought your mortgage came under the heading of "Large Loan" though, strange.......

They don't tell you any "tricks", like "Don't check your score too often...". At the end of the day, they are making money from people getting worried about their credit scores. If everybody had a wonderful credit score they would go under...

Yes and no. They do make money from people wanting to check their credit, but the majority of their business is running credit scores for companies who offer loans, store cards, creadit cards etc etc etc.

I once tried to get my credit rating from Experian. Their automated phone service thing frustrated me but I got it done in the end, money taken out of my account for it etc... Then I didn't hear anything from them, checked my bank account a few days later and the money had been refunded :?

I assume it's pretty good though as I've never failed to make a payment on anything.

loads of searches can deplete your score with certain viewers, so if you are mortgage hunting get an adviser to do one enquiry - not 15 to different banks.likewise with credit cards don't apply unless you want to use them.

having credit is the best way of getting credit.no credit history shows no risk to the lender,but neither does it show the integrity of the borrower.
keep things as they are but stop moving money around,it cn give the appearance of "overstretching" even though it does get you lower interest rates.

sign up online get one month free search of your file. cancel within 30 days without paying a fee.

sign up online get one month free search of your file. cancel within 30 days without paying a fee.

thats what i did.

it showed up a credit card that i paid off 3 years ago and thought i had cancelled. bizarrely though, it didnt show a credit card that i had 18months ago and paid off and cancelled.

the things that went against me were that fact that my address had changed every 12 months for the last 8yrs and that i had only been on the electoral register once in that time.

ive got that sorted now, and the card has been cancelled (plus another one to be written off next month) so ill do another check after that.

the online option is definately easier that the phone option though- i tried that once and gave up! lol

best of luck getting it sorted,

sophie
x

thats what i did.

it showed up a credit card that i paid off 3 years ago and thought i had cancelled. bizarrely though, it didnt show a credit card that i had 18months ago and paid off and cancelled.

the things that went against me were that fact that my address had changed every 12 months for the last 8yrs and that i had only been on the electoral register once in that time.

ive got that sorted now, and the card has been cancelled (plus another one to be written off next month) so ill do another check after that.

the online option is definately easier that the phone option though- i tried that once and gave up! lol

best of luck getting it sorted,

sophie
x

stange isnt it.
some companies dont register with experian at all.
all records should legally be removed after 6 years and usually not before, searches are removed after 12months, so if u do apply or show interest in mortgages they won't stay on for long.

I signed up to lat last year & couldnt find anything on experian to suggest why I'd been turned down for a loan- i checked all those 1's & 0's and there were no late payments and I had no unused credit cards. I paid th £5 to get my actual score & it said I was in the bottom 20% of the country!!! All I could think of is that I had had a few credit checks done whilst applying for the loan and at the same time was chaing my mortgage over- its crazy how it works!!

Change your surname by Deed Poll which will reset your credit limit and then start with small credit (say £250 with a catalogue) and work your way up.

I'm 18 and according to experian, mines in the top 50% (8 something something out of 1000) - not quite sure why or how, I've been on the electoral role for two years, had a bank account for two years, an overdraft / credit cards - but nothing unusual, so I was surprised, I expected to be penalised quite badly for being young (and having no existing rating)