Complete credit history.

Dan Dan · 12 Feb 2013 at 11:57

Hopefully this is a quick one, I want to get a credit report but im not sure which one to get? I have done a bit of research and understand there are 3 different types but what are they?

What have you guys done before you have gone for your mortgage to make sure your credit rating is ok?

Thanks in advance

dP

[TW]Fox · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:06

Use noddle.co.uk as its free.

DO NOT pay for a 'credit score'. It is a meaningless number. Some of the credit reference agencies will try all sorts to get you to pay for it, including pre-ticking boxes to agree to buy it. Read everything carefully and make sure you don't pay for a 'score' as you only need access to the report itself.

Martynt74 · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:07

Different companies use different search providers. As such its usually best to get reports from both Experian and Equifax to get a full picture.

[TW]Fox · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:08

Marvt74 said:
Different companies use different search providers. As such its usually best to get reports from both Experian and Equifax to get a full picture.

Sound advice in theory but in practice its unlikely that a search on one will show that you have a fantastic record yet a search on the other shows you are a financial disaster so if you just want an idea, one is sufficient. Most stuff is on all of them anyway.

liamcrane · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:16

If its of any help, if you ever come to the point where you are struggling to pay bills etc always make sure you pay your council tax bill over anything other than your mortgage of course

it has a big effect on your credit history.

Like others have mentioned dont pay for a service! There are free ones around that might ask you to setup a direct debit but from what i read once you have your credit score using their 30 day trial you can cancel the DD straight away but just read the small print 1st tho to be 100%. Martin Lewis is normally pretty good with this throw him into google

Dan Dan · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:23

I have looked at equifax and experian.

What is the difference between credit report and score and the £2 statutory credit report?

teenwolf · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:24

i just sign up for the free trial then cancel it

Freakbro · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:27

The Noddle report is fine for info but their 'score' seems a bit random.

I just paid for the £2 report from Equifax, it wasn't very good.

Just sign up for Experian, you have to put c/card details in but there is no charge until after the first month, so just cancel before that and it's totally free. This seems the best of the 3 options.

Though Noddle is good as an ongoing free check that all info is correct, I did have to contact Noddle to correct something on my account with them, whereas Equifax & Experian already had the correct details.

[TW]Fox · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:29

The staturary report is the one they are, by law, obliged to make available for a nominal fee.

The main product is the more detailed report they make money out of charging you to access.

They all offer a free trial of this report - use it and cancel before the 30 days.

The Noddle score is indeed a bit random but then so are all the scores. Dont worry about score. Lenders will calculate a score for you themselves using criteria only they know anyway.

Dan Dan · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:33

If there are problems with the scores i.e. a previous financial problem how to I get them taken off?

Example, I had a bt account which I owed £££, if this was never paid but now it is and it is still on the credit report can this be removed?

BDEE · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:34

Noddle is part of callcredit and some providers don't feed into them.

The Experian statutary report is usually the most comprehensive but their online stuff can bit a bit hit and miss.

Equifax for online, Experian for paper.

Irish_Tom · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:37

I got my statutory report from Experian, Equifax and Callcredit just to make sure there were no serious anomalies. For £6 and a few hours it was worth the peace of mind.

Apart from the odd detail everything was in order and healthy.

Martynt74 · 12 Feb 2013 at 12:43

As it fits, i figure its worth me asking my question in here.

Quite a few years ago (about 6) I got into quite a bit of debt and after struggling and only paying off the minimum amounts (generally on time). I ended being a bit naïve, and signing up with one of those debt management companies. After a while I realised that it wasn’t helping me very much so I got into a position to pay it all off early and cancel the debt management plan.

Recently I struggled getting credit and got a copy of my credit file which showed a lot of unpaid/overpaid during the time I was in this program. These were during a period between about 2008 and 2009. However after these were all paid off in full (around Oct 2009), I’ve had multiple credit accounts, got onto the local electroral role. Got married and have numerous bills in my name. Looking on these agencies though I always seem to still get 1 or 2 out of 5 on the general rating and my main bank seem very reluctant to give me an overdraft (although on another bank account they keep extending the overdraft)

How long are these negative records likely to affect my credit?

Freakbro · 12 Feb 2013 at 13:03

Dan Dan said:
Example, I had a bt account which I owed £££, if this was never paid but now it is and it is still on the credit report can this be removed?

Marvt74 said:
How long are these negative records likely to affect my credit?

Items stay on your credit report for 6 years and then drop off automatically.

eg : If you have had a CCJ and it is now paid off, it will stay on your report for 6 years from the original CCJ date, not from when it was cleared.
But, if you have an unpaid credit card, it will be reported as default every month so staying current.

Though you can still have a good current rating even with an old negative item on the account still. It all depends on lots of factors like are current obligations being met, % of total available credit being used (over 75% isn't good) etc etc

Pudney · 12 Feb 2013 at 13:18

The only problem I find with Noddle is that it has a couple of months delay from the others in updating records so can be a bit out of date. It depends what the reason is, if its just out of interest/general checking it would be fine, if you want to make sure something dodgy hasn't happened in the past month or two you may want to use one of the others.

Dan Dan · 12 Feb 2013 at 13:56

So my rating is 874 - Fair. I apparently have an unpaid credit/score card from 2007 for £122. Im not really sure what this is, need to investigate. I have never had any credit cards ect so is that why its so low?

LiE · 12 Feb 2013 at 14:15

Dan Dan said:
So my rating is 874 - Fair. I apparently have an unpaid credit/score card from 2007 for £122. Im not really sure what this is, need to investigate. I have never had any credit cards ect so is that why its so low?

Not having much of a history with credit will certainly harm your score more than help.