Promoted by this post on another thread by Dave+63
”There’s no harm in her trying, they can only say no.
Motor finance is one of the easiest ways to get finance in order to build up a credit score”
I have no idea what my credit score would be/is and have never really had the inclination to check but Dave’s post got me thinking.
As I understand it the more good credit history you have the better score you get.
As of about 20years ago I have not had any loans, I do not have a mortgage, I do not have a mobile phone contract, I do not have a car on finance or any other product for that matter and do not have any credit cards.
So I’m guessing my credit score will be next to zero, but does that really matter ?
As I understand it, you just need history of paying on time. I am in a similar position, have not had a loan for decades, pay a few pounds a month for a mobile phone, have two interest free credit cards, but the credit limits are low, sub £8,000. No CCJs is an obvious must, as well as no defaulting.
ClearScore is a free and easy way to check.
Do you need one? Well, you have one although it may not be good.
If you’ve got by this far, you’ll probably be alrite.
You can get a free report from noddle.co.uk or through money saving expert you can get an Experian report. They will email you a new one every month for no cost (they recommend loans and credit cards so hope to get paid that way).
Everyone and I mean everyone should do this whether they think they need credit or not. If someone is using your data for fraud it could be months before you every find out otherwise.
Having credit certainly improves a credit score as long as it’s sensible. Going near to the credit limit is very detrimental however but putting a few quid on for fuel and shopping every month and paying it off in full is a good idea - especially if you use one that gets you airmiles or cash back.
No...it’s just a made up number that the credit agencies use to sell products.
Lenders have their own criteria to assess whether to give credit, yes past history plays a part but so does simple things like being registered to vote.
You could get declined for a credit card or loan, try another lender and pass all with the same ‘credit score’.
I think in the USA the score plays a bigger part.
Last edited by jegger; 19th April 2018 at 20:05.
Exactly this.Originally Posted by jegger
This!
I took in someone who would have been homeless otherwise. They had CCJs, unbeknown to me, and my name ended up getting linked to theirs due to the same address. I ended up constantly getting turned down for credit, and couldn’t understand why as I was a prompt payer. It went on for 6 years. Back in those days I had never heard of being able to access a credit file. I got a real shock when I saw the CCJs. I got them removed by using a notice of disassociation.
Moral of the story - no good deed goes unpunished.
I reckon you credit score will be far from next to zero. A track record on the electoral roll, home ownership, no adverse credit history and regular income would count.
Try Noddle, we did a while ago purely for curiosity and their report flagged up a gap in our residency history which was incorrect and potentially an adverse 'score': one letter to the company (AmEx) and the error was corrected.
The only thing that would have given us an ever higher score would have been some credit loans that'd had no payment irregularities! Such is the way of our modern world...
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I wouldn't simply because I don't want to share my data.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
They'll know it anyway.
I was in a similar situation. Never had a loan, mortgage, credit cards, finance, literally anything... But for no reason whatsoever I started worrying, what if I one day did need credit? Then what?
I did a check and had very little history, I hardly existed to clearscore and the like... Only small things like my mobile phone contract (as they essentially are giving you credit for the calls you make each month, invoicing in arrears), etc. showed up/counted, but as the figures involved each month which I was successfully paying back were very low, my credit score was low.
Though pointless, I was determined to have a credit score. I took out a credit card. I could only get a £600 limit, but after a few months they doubled it and doubled it and doubled it and now it's tens of thousands. I put some internet purchases on it and have it set to automatically take the full bill from my account on direct debit each month.
Now I have a very high credit score.
It's pointless, unless you plan to rack up absolutely loads of debt. If you plan to carry on living within your means and owning your belongings then I wouldn't bother about it, but if you, like me, can't resist, then just get a credit card and use it.
Pay cash.
For a house?
You would have built up credit history even from your landline , utility bills etc .
Worth getting a credit card and clearing at the end of every month to build up some credit history and even if not for that just added buyer protection.
People will know some of the data, banks, credit card numbers, etc, but these folks will collect ALL the data into a single database. Plus, I am debt free, mortgage free, retired, so it's not a requirement.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
What’s wrong with that?
Nothing, except its a pipe dream for most.
Sorry but you are spouting tripe.
All lenders use information from Credit Bureaus, part of which can be a credit score along with any negative payment remarks as input into their risk modelling and decision making process for applications.
The Credit Bureaus do not make the lending decision, they simply provide the lenders with information. The lender them makes their decision based on their own risk appetite and policy.
That is why one lender will decline an application and another lender will accept it.
The credit score also affects things like car insurance. Certainly worth keeping an eye on, for identity theft reasons as mentioned above -and if you do end up with CIFAS reports, as I have that can raise question marks. My score is 999 (the max), and I have no mortgage, no loans, not changed credit cards for years, and on the rare occasions I use them, have a DD to pay off in full.
And it’s no longer possible to do so!
I’d say your credit score is irrelevant until such time as you wish to borrow or buy something on credit.
If you pay more than about £2000 cash for anything from a business, solicitor etc. they are compelled to report you to the tax authorities. It is all part of the anti money laundering obligations. Therefore if there is any disparity between your declared income and your lifestyle I strongly recommend you do not settle any bill or pay for anything significant with cash.
Just checked mine on Experian and it’s 999 which I think is good
Tripe you seem to mostly agree with.
From one of the main credit agencies...
When you make an application for a loan, credit card, mortgage or other type of credit, lenders work out a credit score for you, based on factors such as:
- information on your credit report
- information you’ve given on your application form
- information they may already hold on you
- public record information (such as CCJs)
- and their own lending policy, which may differ from other lenders.
Usually, a higher score means you’re seen as lower risk – the more points you score, the more chance you have of being accepted for credit, and at better rates.
They’ll look at your credit history, which is based on your credit report and will show things like if you have a mortgage, how much you owe on credit cards and if you’ve missed payments in the past.
They do this so they can decide for themselves if they think you’ll be a responsible borrower, and likely to repay what you owe them.
The Experian Credit Score is a guide to help you understand your credit report, and how the way you’ve managed the credit you’ve had in the past might affect applications y ou’re making now.
they say it themselves, its guide to help you understand your report, nothing more.
Last edited by jegger; 20th April 2018 at 00:15.
Yes, I'm aware of the regs, if you have nothing to hide then paying cash is fine and perfectly legal.
Impractical, but not illegal and not an admission of any wrong-doing
- - - Updated - - -
I meant with cash, literally. ie £20 notes.
This thread gave me the idea to check my credit rating with Noodle. At 78 years of age I have never had any credit agreements, apart from several mortgages all long paid off. I have always thought with no credit history and being a pensioner my rating might be low.
But it isn't 5/5, and a score of 680, near top of the excellent band.
Now I don't have any plans ,apart from keeping well away from the Rolex boutique in town.
Depends what you will need in life, I tell all my young guys at work to get a credit card or two and just spend £10 a month on each and pay it off each month, so when they want to apply for a mortgage, car finance etc they have a strong credit history. These days I cant imagine someone under 30 with no credit history at all getting offered a mortgage or loans etc
as others have said its worth checking every now and then, I had a default that I was totally unaware about that I found from a credit check. It was a old card that I had sent a letter to cancel and they did not and they took an automatic payment for £9.99 for some subscription. Problem was I moved and they never tried to contact me, by time I noticed a few years later it was defaulted and with a balance for about £500!!!, I used the free Experian lawyers and argued that they had not tried to contact me at any point and won the case, got all the charges removed and the default deleted.
Last edited by NikGixer750; 20th April 2018 at 10:40.
Even something as simple as changing phone/broadband providers will change your credit score. BT, for example, did a credit check which lowered my score by twelve when I signed up with them.
I have often wondered about credit scores.
I have had a few mortgages from 1971 up to 2004 and never missed a payment.
I also have had a credit card from 1970 and have never missed a payment and have always cleared the debt at the end of the month.
However I have never had any other loan in my life, so I suspect if I ever needed a loan, they would not touch me with a barge pole because they would think why does he need a loan now.
They wouldn’t ‘think’ anything, it would be based on a mixture of your credit score, circumstances and affordability. If you’re on the electoral role, have a credit card, a good score, affordability based on income or pension, you shouldn’t have a problem.
I've just checked my Experian credit score (free for Barclaycard customers) and my score has dropped from 999 last month to 993 this month.
I've made the last 0% payment on my sofas, and cleared my credit card balances with my annual bonus. I therefore have no debt and my credit score has dropped.
Weird.
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