Keeping an eye on your credit reports is a good idea, but how should you do it?
In 2019 there are more than sixteen different ways to check your credit record!
Contents
The myth of a single credit score
You don’t have “one credit score” or “one credit record”. You have three different ones.
This is because there are three main Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) in Britain:
- Experian;
- Equifax; and
- TransUnion (used to be called Callcredit).
Each CRA has a record of your data which has been sent to them by the lender. Some lenders report to all three, but most lenders only report to one or two CRAs. In 2016, about 50% of lenders only report to one CRA, for example, many payday lenders only report to TransUnion.
So a report on your Experian file can look very different from a report on your Equifax file. None of them are “better”, they are just reporting on information from different lenders.
Top Three credit reports – all free!
Tens of thousands of people are paying for expensive subscription services when they could get all the information they need for free.
Everyone should use one of the following top three credit record checkers or, even better, all three:
- MSE’s Credit Club for Experian details,
- Clear Score for Equifax details and
- Credit Karma for TransUnion (Callcredit) records – this replaces the old Noddle report
They are all free, no sneaky free first month then a high charge if you forget to cancel.
If you want to know exactly what you will get and what all the other more complicated or expensive alternatives provide, the details are in the following table:
What do all the different reports give you?
| Score | Records | Tips | Match | Freq | Cost | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| my three TOP PICKS | |||||||
| MSE's Credit Club | EX | EX | yes | yes | monthly | free | |
| Clear Score | EQ | EQ | yes | yes | monthly | free | |
| Credit Karma (was Noddle) | TU | TU | yes | yes | weekly | free | |
| records but no score | |||||||
| Experian statutory report | no | EX | no | no | daily | free | |
| Equifax statutory report | no | EQ | no | no | daily | free | |
| TransUnion(Call Credit) statutory report | no | TU | no | no | daily | free | |
| score but no records | |||||||
| Free Experian account | EX | no | yes | yes | monthly | free | |
| score & records | |||||||
| Experian Credit Expert | EX | EX | yes | yes | daily | £14.99/month | |
| Equifax Credit Report | EQ | EQ | yes | no | daily | £7.95/month | |
| CreditWise | EQ | EQ | yes | yes | monthly | free | |
| creditreport.co.uk | EQ | EQ | yes | no | monthly | £12.99/month | |
| My Credit Monitor | TU | TU | ? | ? | ? | £14.99/month | |
| Totally Money | TU | TU | yes | yes | monthly | free | |
| Credit Reports Matter | TU | TU | ? | no | monthly | £19.95/month | |
| UK Credit Ratings | TU | TU | no | no | daily | £19.95/month | |
| Check My File | EX,EQ,TU | EX,EQ,TU | yes | yes | monthly | £14.99/month |
In that table:
EX = Experian; EQ = Equifax; TU = TransUnion/Callcredit.
Tips – often rather vague suggestions about how you could improve your credit score
Match – suggests what other loans or credit cards you may be approved for
Freq – is how often you can see a new report. Some services let you see the up to date situation each time you use them (“daily”). Others take a snapshot every 30 days (“monthly”).
? means that the company was unable or unwilling to answer my questions!
Don’t choose one you have to pay for!
There is no good reason to sign up for the services that charge you anymore – you can get all the info you want, for free, every month from the other options.
Pay for real-time information?
This may sound nice but it isn’t worth paying for.
Credit ratings usually change fairly slowly. If you have closed an account, or started making payments to a new one, it takes a few weeks for the lender to update the records.
And if you have just got a new credit card and you are hoping your credit score will improve, come back in 4-6 months!
Help with disputes?
A lot of the fee-charging services make a big thing about their customer service helping you with disputes about your credit record.
So far as I can tell, this is just marketing guff – all they do is send your complaint to the CRA, But the CRAs don’t investigate anything, they just forward the complaint to the lender. And then typically the lender tells the CRA it’s accurate and nothing happens.
If you have a problem with your credit record, cut out the middlemen and send the creditor a complaint directly. Then you can go to the Financial Ombudsman if the creditor refuses to correct the record.
So which should you use?
That depends on why you want to look. Here are some typical reasons, together with my suggestion for each situation.
See the details of your credit records
If you want to know the details of when defaults will disappear or clean up your credit record after bankruptcy or other forms of debt management, use all the TOP THREE credit reports. If you only use one you may miss something important.
Apply for a loan or credit card
Go for MSE’s Credit Club. You have to give extra information about your income and dependents, but the extra “affordability” checks and being based on Experian data, which is used by more lenders, should make their recommendations more accurate.
Going to apply for a mortgage
Use all the TOP THREE credit reports. Looking at everything from the credit details to who you are associated with. It’s good to do this at least six, preferably twelve months before you want to apply for a mortgage so there is time to sort out any errors you find.
I am sceptical about mortgage eligibility recommendations from any of these services. Unless you have an excellent credit rating with all three CRAs, a good income for the amount you want to borrow and little or no debt, you should be talking to a mortgage broker, not take a punt on a suggestion from one of these services.
Surprised to be declined for credit?
Checking your credit records should be the first thing you do – use all of the TOP THREE credit reports. If that doesn’t show what the problem is, you need to see if your name is in a fraud database.
Send report to the Ombudsman for an affordability complaint
If you are asking for a refund for a payday loan or making some other sort of affordability complaint you need to send the Financial Ombudsman a copy of a credit record.
It’s best to send a Credit Karma report. Most payday lenders only report to TransUnion. So this is the report that is most likely to show most of your credit history, better than sending FOS an Experian or ClearScore report.
Why I haven’t included some reports…
I haven’t included Credit Hub, Credit Perfect, Credit Angel, Social Credit, Social-score, Scope People or Your Social Presence. There are reports that people are signed up to free trials from some of these without realising, when they try to get a payday loan. The trial then expires and people find the money debited from their bank account. If this happens to you, try to get the money back from your bank, complain to the firm and if you can’t contact the firm, complain to the payday lender or broker.
Apart from the dodgy sign-up methods, they all charge a lot and I think you would be better to ditch them and use the very good free options.
If you know a report that’s not on my list, please mention it in a comment below!
Updated in July 2019
How much will my credit score change if…
The best way to clear credit card debt
What should the default date be?
Jake Canning says
Hi,
I will be looking to apply for a mortgage in the next year or so. My credit rating is currently poor but the red mark dissapears next month from my credit history after 6 years. What will mortgage lenders look for in my credit file? Will my past low credit scores be a problem even if my credit score shoots up next month? If so any idea how far they will look back at past credit scores? So i have a rough idea how long i should wait before applying.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No-one can see your previous scores. All they can see is the older debt records which are still on your credit file. So if your problem (default, CCJ etc) has disappeared, they can’t see it. Unless the problem was with their bank, in which case they may be able to see it from their internal records of course.
Have you read https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/ ? Most lenders will ask to see 3-6 months of back bank statements.
What lenders
Jason says
Hi
I was wondering if you could advise, I stupidly took out a loan I could not afford in March 2010 and only made 5 repayments to it, I have not made any payments since and have not heard anything from the company regarding repayment in years. I have checked my credit report and it is showing as an “active” account but there is no default date showing just the account started date.
Will this just fall off my credit report this year or will I need to pay this back to get it off my file? I am so confused as I have 2 smaller amounts with O2 for like £124 and they have the default dates marked up and these are states as “default”.
Please help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it won’t fall off your credit record because there is no default date and the it has not been repaid.
From what you have said, it may be that this debt is “statute barred” – if it is you don’t need to repay it, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/ and talk to National Debtline to see if this does apply to your debt.
If it does, then the next step is to get a default added to the credit record, so it will drop off – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/. But you don’t want to start writing letters to get this done until you are sure the debt is statute barred.
Melinda Mccann says
Hello, I currently live abroad and have been abroad since June 2008. This year we want to return home to the uk but have been told without a credit history it will be difficult to start again! In particular renting for example. I can’t even get a credit report as I do not have a uk address to enter …. can I run a report on myself at my previous address which was 8 &1/2 years ago now! We are both employed and will be arriving back with savings towards a large deposit ( or a few months rent in advance and for start up costs) but not sure what else I can do ! Any advice ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you still have a uk bank account? Did you leave debts behind when you went abroad?
Melinda says
Yes I still have a uk bank account. We tried to pay everything off apart from a couple of credit cards… we sold
Our house and haven’t been back since …
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could try to get a report using your old address, or your bank account;s address (which may be the same?).
With a bank account and money to pay for a few months rent in advance, I would have thought you are going to be fine. You are going to need jobs before you start applying for a mortgage so renting first seems the best route. As soon as you have a place to live and jobs, use a soft checker to see what credit cards you are likely to be accepted for and apply for 1 each, see https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/. Use it each month and repay in full each month.
Melinda says
Ok thanks very much. My husband already works remotely across Europe so he will already have an income , it will just be myself who will need to find a job which I will do in advance. Thanks again for your help!
George says
Hi, To cut a long story short I would like to view my credit file but do not want to alert and debt collectors to me. If I purchase a copy of my file would a debt collector then notice or be told I have done this? Not sure how they work in this respect. Any information would be very welcome.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lenders can’t see when you have looked at your record.
Jean says
Hi we had an overdraft on joint bank account with abbey which we didn’t pay.for the last 12 years we have received letters from various debt collectors at various addresses chasing this debt.we are pensioners now in Ill health and wondered what’s best way to resolve this.i have just been binning the letters but they still come regardless of where we live.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Jean,
can I suggest you talk to National Debtline 0808 808 4000 about this? There may be a good argument that the debt is “statute barred” (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/) but overdrafts can be tricky so it will be good for you to talk through the details with an expert.
Rob says
Hi Sara,
I don’t know if this is something you can advise on, I recently (5 days ago) logged onto experian to check my credit score as I do once a month. It was a ‘perfect’ score of 981. However I have this past week received notification of changing electoral role as I have moved. The letter has indicated this will take effect on the 1st of March. However today I logged on to see if it had potentially made a change. However the score has now gone down to poor. I have paid off my credit cards for the month of Feb. I am curious as to why it has dropped as I don’t have a history of bad debt, e.g ccjs been made bankrupt, have paid off my overdraft. Do you have an idea as to why this might have happened
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That seems a big change just because you have moved. Tell your bank and all your other active accounts on your credit record your new address. Get yourself on the electoral roll at the new address. And look in details at your credit record for anything unusual.
Andrew says
Hello Sara,
I’ve nearly finished my first year on an IVA .
Do the insolvency practitioners look at my credit report on the yearly review?
Will they see all the bank accounts I have now?
Does PayPal show up on credit report? If I was to earn extra through PayPal or Ebay would they see this on my credit report and would I have to declare it ?
Thanks in advance for your help. You are amazing and sure are helping a lot of people her.
Kind Regards,
Andrew
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not possible to see earnings on a credit report.
Your IVA could ask for a copy of your credit report. Most only ask for bank statements but there is no reason why they shouldn’t ask for a credit report.
If you just sold something for £50, I probably wouldn’t bother to tell them. But if you are selling as an extra income stream, you should. And also tell the tax man :(
Andrew says
Thank you so much Sara,
A few clear answers can empty your mind of stress and worry, (which is no good for anyones health), no matter how trivial my questions may seem to some.
I Thank You Again.
Andrew
john hughes says
I recently moved house and my credit score has taken a large hit. I have re registered at new address but how long will my credit score take to recover?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you told all your active accounts that you have moved? Are you on the electoral roll at your new address? If you have a new mortgage, it will take a few months for this to start showing a positive feature, at the beginning it is a negative.
Ways to avoid problems occurring: tell any mobile accoounts that you have closed in the last year that you have moved – of course these should be zero but this is a good time to check they are. After a couple of months contact your old utility accounts and check they are showing zero too. Get these “zeros” in writing and keep these records. Otherwise in a couple of years up pops a default for a balance you never knew you had.
Suzy says
Hi Sara
I checked my credit file today and noticed a new search that i know nothing about , See below please, have you seen anything like this before ?
Do you know what this search is ???
Beneficiary Trace Enquiry Capita – Sheffield
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Someone is trying to find someone with something like your name. You can ignore this – it has no effect on your credit score and lenders don’t see it.
gail says
I have a ccj just showed up 11 months ago ,, the debt is from over 8 years ago , are they allowed to start them at any stage and will this show for the next 5 years or so
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-ccj/, that looks at what your options are. If you can’t get it removed (the legal term is set aside) it will be on your record for another 5 years.
T says
I’m about to apply for a new tenancy and a bit worried my defaults will show.
Is it correct that tenancy referencing companies can only see CCJS and insolvency? Is there anyway way they can see defaults?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s what the CRAs say, see http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/questions/askjames370.html for example.
T says
Thanks,
I can’t seem to get anything definitive on it. Many of the tenant referencing companies mention a “full credit check”.
The main worry I have is that I have a £5000 default, the default is 6 years old on 7th April. Will the default automatically delete on 7th April or does it need the lender to update it?
I have no other unsatisfied defaults other than this so I’m thinking I may try and delay the checking process until 7th April if I can be sure the default will vanish on that date.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That default will go on the 7th. It’s dropped off by the credit referencing agency systems, it doesn’t need to lender to do anything.
Georgie says
I see you don’t include Credit Perfect in your list. I have just found they have been charging me for months but I have no idea who they are. Can I get my money back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t list them – or Credit Hub which seems to be owned by the same people – as they are not so much providers of credit reports as payday loan brokers who charge you a monthly fee to be a member and get a credit report. You may have tried to get a payday loan and not realised you were becoming a member?
There seem to be a lot of complaints about them. See https://www.aspokesmansaid.com/money-and-insurance/guides/content-10947/had-money-taken-by-credit-hub–credit-angel-or-loan-marketing–read-this for what to do to cancel your “membership” and ask for a refund. As that says, take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman if you don’t get a refund – the firm will get charged over £500 by the Ombudsman for every complaint, so this is a good way to stop them taking advantage of other people as well!
Gabi says
Hi
Two questions please:-
I have long standing debts which have been serviced by £1.00 token payments for years. I have just check my credit score using MSE (thanks for the useful recommendation) and the default date for one debt is set as Oct 2011 when I have correspondence showing it to be April 2011. As it will drop off in October, should I contact anyone to try to get the correct date put on so that it is gone now or will that stir up a new hornets nest? Secondly, is it worth trying to get these debts written off as I have no hope of ever repaying them or will that put something on my credit file when it is soon to have these debt drop off anyway?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s up to you, but if it was me, I couldn’t be bothered to try to bring the October date a few months earlier.
What sort of debts were these? When were the accounts originally opened?
Gabi says
They were both with Halifax. One was a joint personal loan which seems to have dropped off although I am continuing the arrangement of £1.00 and the other was my credit card with the same payment arrangement. I think it will take about 2376 years to complete the repayments but at least they aren’t adding interest! Debts came about when my husbands firm was defrauded of a substantial amount of money and we had a five year court battle. Unfortunately nothing was resolved as it was an overseas company and we were left in considerable debt. With hindsight I think going bankrupt at the time would have been a better option but we are many years down the line now and probably too old for a mortgage now even if I could get my credit rating acceptable. I have asked Halifax to write off the debt before but they just ignored my letters. The accounts were opened in the late 1990’s.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So were these your personal debts? Or to your business? How much do you still on the two debts? Do you have other debts at the moment?
Gabi says
Gabi says
June 20, 2017 at 5:32 pm
Personal debts. When the business was successful I could easily manage the repayments, When the business went into administration we sold our house and repaid all but these two debts ( the bank had a personal guarantee £150,000 which was repaid from the proceeds of sale along with other debts and the mortgage) Loan was £25,000 of which £14,875 is outstanding and credit card is £6750.
I started my own business 3 years ago which is slowly providing a small income but will be some years before It will fully support us. I’d like these debts gone if at all possible. I have no other debts.
Reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you ask the debt collector to produce the CCA agreements for both debts. See https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx which has template letters – and National Debtline are good people to talk to if you are sent a reply you aren’t sure about.
With such old debts there is a real chance that the creditor won’t be able to find the documentation. If they can’t, the debts are unenforceable in court and you can simply stop paying them.
Hayley byrne says
Hi I’ve just checked my credit file and it shows a hard credit search for a credit card application that my husband made in his name, surely this isn’t right as it’s not my application and it’s made my credit score go down.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any joint accounts – bank account, loan, mortgage? If you do, your credit records are linked.
But one credit card application isn’t likely to have affected your credit score. There have to be several in a short period to do that. Perhaps there is another reason for your score going down?
Hayley byrne says
Hi yes we have a joint bank account it is just one application so it’s only made my score go down slightly but I’ve never known a credit card application that he’s made go on my credit file before ?
josie says
Hi Sara,
I took your advice two years ago and tidied up my credit file . I went bankrupt and made sure all the credit card accounts were shown as settled. Now over 18 months after my discharge a new debt has appeared on my credit file . Its from a company I don’t know and is showing no payments and a default date of July 2017. The amount ( over £10000) would seem to tie in with one of the credit cards that is shown as satisfied. any suggestions?
CharlieP says
Hi All,
Wasn’t sure where to post my question, so apologies in advance if this is on the wrong thread.
I am in the very early stages of tidying up my credit report. I have noticed that British Gas Trading appears on there (once for eclectic, and then for gas). I was with British Gas at a previous address and paid by direct debit, never missing any payments. When I left the property I owed them money as the usage was more than what I had paid in direct debits. I agreed a plan with BG to repay over a few months, it wasn’t passed any further, I didn’t miss any payments and I settled the account as agreed.
Why does this show on my credit report?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like something you should challenge – write to BG (don’t try to do this on the phone!) and ask for the default to be removed as it is unfair. If you never missed a payment and sorted out the final bill promptly and in a few months there shouldn’t be a default added. They have had some problems this year with credit records (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/british-gas-default/) but this doesn’t sound quite like that case.
CharlieP says
Hi Sara,
It’s not showing as a default, but should the account even be on there at all? I thought it was just credit cards, lands, etc. should show on it. Like I said BG didn’t pass it on to debt recovery agents so I wasn’t sure if it should even be on there.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is it showing as late payments? or on time? Some utility companies do report to CRAs and this is getting more common.
CharlieP says
Its showing as up to date and settled..so I assume it doesn’t have a negative effect on my report does it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, those sorts of entries are good for your credit record!
CharlieP says
Oh and another question sorry…
I have accounts with a few debtors who I have written too last week to freeze interest until I can come to a agreed payment plan. None of these (or the original companies I took the credit out with), are showing on my report??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which report are you looking at? If just one CRA, then the debts could be on one of the other two – get hold of all three CRA reports as this article suggests.
I assume the debts aren’t really old? Problems drop off a credit record after 6 years.
If a debt is with a debt collector, it is unlikely that interest is still being added. How long will it take to repay these debts at the payment plan you have proposed?
CharlieP says
Hi Sara,
Only Experian I have checked so far, i’ll have to look at the other 2.
They are under 6 years old.
They haven’t responded yet so no payment plan has been agreed, I can only afford to make small payments at the moment, but as soon as I can increase these I will do as I want the paid off sooner rather than later.
Found your web site extremely helpful by the way!!
Heather says
Do the free credit reports like ClearScore & Noodle have the same information as Experian? I don’t want to pay the £14.99 monthly fee if there is nothing else to see on the Experian credit report, I don’t think I qualify for the free month trial as I have used Experian in the past
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, they may all have different information because some lenders only report to one of them.
You can get all the Experian information for free using MSE’s Credit Club, see the above article.
Andy says
Hi Sara
I intend to apply for a joint re-mortgage with my wife in 18 months time. The mortgage on our home is currently in my wife’s name only because when we moved house 3 years ago my credit rating was really low. My wife checked her credit rating yesterday and it is Excellent. Over the last 12 months most of her debts have been cleared. I earn twice as much as my wife so to secure a re-mortgage we will need to rely upon my salary too (so a joint application). I have a lot of unsecured debt and my credit rating has just moved up to Fair having been Poor until recently. I calculate I should have significantly less debt in 18 months time, perhaps £8K left on a credit card (low interest) and about 6 months left to pay on a loan.
Given my previous poor credit rating all bank accounts, cc’s and loans have been applied for under my parents address, I am not on the electoral register there. I have also taken out numerous pay day loans under that address, last one January 2017 with every one paid on time and never defaulted. At our family home address I am registered for Council Tax bill and on electoral register. Car insurance paid monthly is also at my home address but no other credit.
My questions are:-
1/ Will I have a credit rating at my new address as well as my parents address?
2/ Will there be any ‘pitfalls’ to joining them up, what are they likely to be and when would the best time be to do it?
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1/ probably, why not check?
2/ a mortgage lender doesn’t just look at your credit record, they also look at your bank statements. So they will see the credit taken out “at your old address” even if your credit records haven’t been linked up.
I suggest you start assuming a mortgage lender will be able to see everything. Get yourself on the electoral roll.
re the payday loans. HAve you looked to see if you could get any refunds? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/. andy money you can get back can be used to reduce your current debts
Andy says
Thanks Sara
I checked at my current address yesterday and the credit agency couldn’t provide a credit score because of insufficient information at that address. I was asked to provide my debit card details but that didn’t validate, presumably because it was still associated with my parents address.
I have bitten the bullet and changed all my bank, credit cards, loans and credit reports from my parents address to my current address. This should hopefully ‘join things up’ so I end up with one credit score at my current address but taking account of my financial information from my parents address for the last 6 years. I am already on the electoral register at my current address so hopefully that should provide an instant boost to my score.
I will keep reducing all my unsecured debt each month and hope over the next 18 months my credit score improves sufficiently to allow me to get a joint re-mortgage with my wife. Acknowledge affordability will be a big factor too but on paper that should look fine in 18 months.
I have already benefited from the PDL refund site, one refund from Cheque Centre and one with the FOS relating to the Money Shop.
Thanks again
Andy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good plan – hope it all goes well for you in 2018.
Andy says
Hi Sara
I did change my address from my parents address to my home address where i have been living for a few years and on the electoral register. That was about a week ago.
I received my 60 day credit score update yesterday (via Barclaycard) and my Experian score has shot up at least 200 points. A couple of months ago I moved from Poor and edged into Fair. I am now classed as Good following the latest change. A score of 900/999, I am delighted and much more confident that myself and my wife will secure a joint re-mortgage when we apply next year. Affordability is much less of an issue than my credit score was.
Thanks so much for your encouragement.
Andy
Greg says
Hi Sara
I am currently paying off a debt via a debt collection agency from a very old account (10+ years) and sometimes get offers to settle in full for a greatly reduced price. They say they will record this on my credit file as ‘partially settled’.
I get all that, the only thing is is that it doesn’t appear at all on my credit file at the moment. My question is simply: can they ‘put it back on’ if I was to choose to clear the balance at the reduced price?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A debt which has disappeared from your credit record because it defaulted over 6 years ago will not reappear see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ff-credit-record/.
But 2 questions … what sort of debt was this and how low a settlement is being offered?
Greg says
I simplified somewhat I’m afraid…it’s two debts, one was a loan and the other a credit card. I was CCJ’d on one of them at the time but that has disappeared also.
I can’t remember exactly the last offer but I’m sure it was about 50%, possibly a bit better
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you been making payments to these debts?
They are pretty old, there is a reasoanable chance that the documentation for the credit can’t be found… so for the one where there isn’t a CCJ, you could consider asking the debt collector to produce the CCA agreement, this is described here https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx, note that you have to pay £1 for this. If it can’t be found, then the debt collector can’t take court action and you could stop paying at all, or offer say 10% to settle it.
For the debt where there is a CCJ, this isn’t relevant.
Greg says
Yes, I pay £10 a month to both
Hayley byrne says
Hi following your conversation with Greg, should you write to the original company that you had the credit card debt with to see if they have a copy of your original agreement or the company that the debt has been sold to?
Thanks for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should write to the debt collector that currently owns the debt.
NB I am not suggesting that anyone with a problem debt should do this on the off chance the creditor can’t produce the CCA. For most recent debts the creditors is going to be able to do this… and if you make the creditor go to the trouble of finding the CCA, then they may simply decide to go to court for a CCJ.
But if, like Greg, your debts are really old (his are all over 10 years since the account was opened) and if you are anyway prepared to offer 50% as a F&F, then why not see if the creditor has a real problem with this debt by asking for the CCA…If they can’t find it, you can tell them to get stuffed (some technical debt advice jargon there) or offer a low amount to settle the debt as both you and the creditor then know they will have big problems in going to court. And if they find the CCA, then you just offer them the 50%.
Hayley byrne says
Thank you it’s one old credit card debt from about 12 years ago
adrian says
hi sara
i am currently paying a debt to a collection agency, from car finance that goes back around 12/13 years.
the basic premise is that, the car lasted about 4 weeks, i returned it, but neither the garage nor the finance company were prepared to do anything about it, until around 5 weeks elapsed, by which time, for work, i had already had to purchase a replacement vehicle.
as you could guess, over the time it has been ‘live’ i have probably paid twice the original debt by now!
however, there is still around £800 left, which i am paying £30 pm to (long story, but the original finance company continued to add interest to the debt after i had told them i would rather take it to court, which they never actually went through with!)
anyway, i phoned them, recently, and offered them 50% of the debt as F&F but they refused it out of hand, even though i explained the above to them and said it was unfair for me to STILL have the debt this long later.
is there anything more i can do, or do i just have to continue paying for it until its finished?
i feel i have paid my penance for, what was initially a £1500 finance deal, and has subsequently cost me around £4k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn’t a way you can make a company accept a F&F settlement.
This is a pretty old debt – you could ask the debt collector to produce the CCA agreement for the debt – see https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx which explains how to do this. If they can’t find it, the debt is unenforceable in court and you could consider stopping paying. Talk to Natiobnal Debtline if you want to know more about this.
adrian says
thanks sara.
would that be the agreement with the debt service which i am now paying, or the original finance company they have bought the debt off? (in fact, i think over the history of this, it has changed hands a couple of times)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You ask the current debt collector to get the CCA agreement – which is the one you originally made with the finance company.
Craig says
Hi Sara,
Hope your well. Just a quick one, I am in the process of repairing my credit file after bankruptcy and payday loan mess which you have kindly helped on, but I have just noticed that on all my credit reports my mortgage is not showing up, is this correct? I’ve held it for 8 years and not missed a payment but my reports are not showing this. It is with Rooftop Mortgages, which a quick google indicates they don’t lend anymore. Can I ask them to send records to the CRAs?
Thanks, Craig
Ben says
Hi Sara,
Is it normal for Payday UK and Payday Express to have a default registered on Experian and then the same default registered by PRAC on noddle and clearscore? Can I request its removed by Experian.
Many thanks,
Ben
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes that’s normal.
How are your payday refund complaints going? Have you told PRAC the loans are in dispute?
Ben says
The Payday Express one is with the FO and I’ve been rejected by Payday UK but neither them or BW legal will give me a statement of accounts. The reason I want this is because PDU are saying I only had 1 loan with them and it was affordable, but I can see 2 entries for Payday UK on credit file which were settled and 1 that defaulted. Payday UK said from the get-go they didn’t have a statement of accounts, so I have asked how have they determined that it was affordable with out this. I haven’t had any response other than they advised me to contact BW legal – who I have emailed on 3 occasions to no avail. I don’t know whether to report BW Legal to the ICO or FO because my initial request for information was 15th January,.
Yes I advised both PRAC and BW Legal.
With my other complaints; Wonga offered about 2,400 on 2 loans but there is still a sizable amount of interest (another 3k) but its over 6 years – to be honest I’m in no rush and I have sent this to the FO for their consideration. Cheque Centre I had no response so I’ve sent that to the FO but I’m not holding my breath with that one. Its a shame really because I borrowed the bulk with them, about 12,000 over 9 months.
Nathan says
Hello,
I have recently been declined finance, I checked with Experian to see why my credit score was low and to my amazement I noticed I had a debt that started in 2010 and defaulted in 2014, I phoned the debt collector and paid the balance in full as this was the first I knew about it.
I never received notification of the debt. it was in my name but at an EX’s address, so any letters they sent would of went there. I’ve since called them to remove the default from my credit score (the debt collectors) and they said they are unable to do this as I would need to wait 6 years, I advised they never told me I was in arrears so it’s not fair that it had defaulted. they are now telling me to contact the company that sold the debt to them, is this correct? how do I get this removed? ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you are suggesting your ex took out this credit using your name?
Nathan says
Hello Sara,
I have no knowledge of this account, I have been on the phone to Vodaphone (the creditor) today and they can’t find any records of an account either.
I am also in talks to the debt agency to see what my options are… other than that I am not sure what I can do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a shame that you paid it! You need Vodaphone to confirm in writing that they can’t trace this account.
Hayley says
Hi Sara,
Just a quick question about accessing credit reports.
I have no problem accessing Experian or Equifax via the free checkers, however both Noddle and Totally Money are unable to access my Call Credit report.
It is certainly not because I have no credit file as they suggest. Call Credit definitely do have a file for me because I am able to access it through My Credit Monitor but obviously would rather not pay for it.
Any thoughts on why this might be?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No idea. But you can now go direct to Call Credit and get a statutory report from them which will be free (it used to cost £2), see the table in the post above for the relevant link.
Mrs and Mrs C says
Please be careful everyone when using Experian for a credit check, I signed up on Tuesday for a free trial so I could download my report to send to FOS. Today I have logged into my bank to discover they have taken £14.99 already. So much for a free trial! I have emailed off to complain so hopefully that will be refunded in the next few days. You do have to put in your card details at the beginning of the trial but you are supposed to get 30 days free before you are charged.
Stuart says
Hi,
Use Noddle it’s free of charge, that’s where I got mine from.
Khan says
Hi
Last month I tried logging into my online account and a message popped up to say my account is blocked , so I contacted the online team and asked what the issue was and they said your account in under investigation and they will send you a letter to let u know the outcome. I’ve since been to the bank and they are not co-operating and are not telling me why it’s been closed . I wanted to ask if there’s any organisation that could help me . I’ve also checked online for my credit score and that doesn’t show anything or any type of default . I would like further help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what account is this?
Khan says
Barclays account
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you check Cifas and National Hunter to see if there are any fraud markers on your account, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/name-fraud-database/.
Then you can put in a complaint to Barclays if you feel you haven’t been fairly treated, and take it to the Finanical Ombudsman if Barclays reject your complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I also think it would be good to send Barclays a Subject Access Request asking for a copy of all your personal information. It’s hard to know what this may show until you see the results, there may be nothing useful or it may explain what Barclays have done. }
Make this request using this page https://www.apply.barclays.co.uk/forms/gdpr?execution=e2s1 and if you don’t get anywhere, send an email to DPO@Barclays.com with SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST as the subject line and say you want a copy of all your personal data, supply your name, address, date of birth and account number
Khan says
How do I check for the marker on my name ?
Can I call them organisations ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Read the link in my previous comment – that explains what to do.
Rob says
Hi Sara,
Is there a way I can check my UK credit report from abroad? I’ve been living abroad since 2008, so my last UK address is from then. Enrolling to get a report only seems possible if I have a current UK address. I tried Experian using my last known address but got nothing/nowhere.
I left an overdraft debt of about 1500 behind back then. Now I’m looking at returning to the UK – I think I’d be wanting to avoid the bank involved, as you’ve previously advised. Cannot see that I have any CJ against me on Trust Online – there seems to be nothing on me! Wanted to see what a credit report might reveal, if anything. Hope you can help.
Many thanks,
Rob
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your last address doesn’t find anything, there may not be anything. Try the other two CRAs as well as Experian.
RM says
Hallo. I are told by gregory’s pennington that my iva will clear my debt by 80%. It dont clear my debt by 80%. It fail like flan in a oven. I are unhappy by this and know in 50k debt and gregory’s pennington say it knot they’re fault. What does RM do? Regard.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have changed your very distinctive name to just be your initials. When did your IVA start? Are you buying a house or renting?
Marie says
Hi Sara
I just wanted to ask, if I were to look for another job would my future employer be likely to do a credit check, and if so are they able to see my overall credit rating, defaults and gambling?
would they be able to see if I’ve used payday loans?
I’m unhappy in my job and would like to look for something else, but I’m anxious about being rejected by future employers.
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
Marie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It depends what sort of job you would be applying for. Have you ever been told in the past that an employer is checking your credit records?
Marie says
No I haven’t, but I have heard that some employers do this.
It’s an office manager or executive assistant role. Is it likely they would carry a check like like this for these types of roles?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It will depend on the employer – it’s more likely if the firm involved in in the financial industry. But where checks are made, they are often only looking to see if you have been bankrupt or in and IVA, or have CCJs.
Brad says
Hi Sara. I have a unpaid default from January 2013 which is about to drop of next month(fingers crossed). However I have a search footprint on my Equifax report done by capquest in March 2017 and April 2017. Will these searches continue to impact my credit rating even after the original default has dropped off file. I ask because I am holding on applying for monthly car insurance in case I am rejucted. By the way, I had been overseas for last 2 and half year and capauest only searched my previous addresses where I haven’t lived for 5 years. And I haven’t had any contact with them in any way.
Thanks for wonderful work you are doing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This search footprint – it sounds like it is a soft footprint done for administration reasons, eg to try to locate you. They aren’t visible to other lenders, only “hard” footprints when you apply for credit are visible.
Brad says
That’s a relief. Thank you for such a quick reply
Daniel says
Hello,Ive been checking my credit file and noticed that accounts which didn’t go into default like an old phone contract”which didn’t have any missed payments on”are on my file,does that look bad if I was to go for a mortgage or can there tell which account has been defaulted?thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Old accounts with no defaults stay on your credit record until 6 years after they were closed. If there are no missed/late payments showing, these help your credit record rather than harm it. A mortgage lender would rather see a credit record with some old accounts that didn’t have problems than an empty credit record.
Luiza says
Hi Sara
I’m preparing myself to apply for mortgage.Last week checked score with Equifax and was excellent but there was red mark on electorat roll,so deciaited to update them with letter after that next day my score dropped to poor😔
Score with Experian 999 and I was on electorat rol ,should I b worry ??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds odd – double check your Equifax report that what ever you have done hasn’t resulted in some debt problem being linked to your account.
If it hasn’t, if there isn’t a debt problem in sight, then this shouldn’t cause you a problem with a mortgage application. BUT always go through a mortgage broker, not direct to a lender and tell the broker what has happened.
Sara Cheatley says
Hi Sara,
I have received a Letter of Claim from Lowells regarding an old E-on debt. I am able to pay the debt (and within the 30 days) however having looked at all three of my credit files, I cannot see this default anywhere. My question(s) is, if I pay this debt off, will it then appear on my credit file? Also if I dispute this debt, how long will I have before I HAVE to pay i.e. 28 days, 6months etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The debt should not appear on your credit record when you pay it. What grounds do you have to dispute the debt?
Sara Cheatley says
Hi Sara,
My apologise for the late reply. My grounds for dispute are complex but they revolve around E-on incorrectly installing a meter in my building which led to myself and three neighbours all receiving extremely high electric bills. Considering I work all day and only spend 3 hours in my home, the price vs the usage did not add up. E-on wouldn’t admit fault and now years later it’s still haunting me! This plus the fact that I cannot see this default anywhere on my credit files is making me wonder if this has an legitimacy at all.
Thank you for your advice, you’re doing amazing work on debtcamel.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need some advice on whether that is reasonable grounds to defend a court case. It may depend on the details of the argument between you and EON. Whether you had asked them to do something and they they didn’t reply, whether they rejected your complaint and told you of your right to take it to an Ombudsman, whether you reasonably thought you had won the argument and that they were not going to charge and haven heard anything since, etc etc
You could go to your local Citizens Advice and ask for their help or talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Marco says
Hi Sara,i have an unprotected loan of 20,000 since January 2018, but since November I have not paid him and no longer live in England. I am in the default account. If I do not come back what can happen to me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Marco – I suggest you read https://debtcamel.co.uk/can-creditors-find-me/
Lily says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for all the information you give. I live abroad and I have just checked my credit report which has surprised me! I left 5 years ago and left a little bit of debt behind me, which I know was sold to a debt collector agency but I have never acknowledged. However, looking at my report, I see no defaults, no missed payments, nothing, is there an explanation for that? Many thanks in advance for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Perhaps it shows on a different credit report – there are three credit reference agencies as the above article explains.
Lily says
Hi Sara, indeed it does, but getting to that info is difficult when you’re abroad! Clear score asks for bank account details I can’t provide, and the noddle site is currently down. However going straight to equifax has shown me that those debts do appear, even if I can’t see my score.
This brings me to another question: the original creditors do not appear, nor does a payment history of any kind, just the month the account was defaulted by the debt collector, which is nearly a year after the accounts actually went into arrears. Despite these showing as 2 different debt collectors, the default dates are nearly identical, is there any way for me to find out if there ever was another default date on those accounts? Thanks again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can I ask why you care? Are you coming back to the UK? the defaults can’t be out by more than 6 months, is it worth any hassle trying to sort this out?
Lily says
I am thinking about coming back to the UK yes. My financial situation has changed considerably, as when I left I was literally penniless, having lost a lot of money on a house purchased in 2008 on a 10 year fixed mortgage!!! I did contact the creditors at the time to try and sort something out, but they were not in the least interested, so I gave up and just left. At least that way my debt hasn’t gone up I guess! Anyway, if I do come back, it would be great if those defaults could disappear sooner rather than later from my report, even by 6 months. Thanks.
Christine Spencer says
Hi I currently live abroad and need a copy of my credit report quite urgently. Is this possible without a UK address?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you will find it hard to get through the id verification processes with any of the credit reference agencies if your address is not in the UK. there are special arrangements for British Forces posted overseas.
Lily says
Try using your old UK address, it worked for me on one of them at least. Another asked for bank details which made it impossible.
Mary says
Hi, All the companies who offer free credit reports want to know my income. They seem to want to know this so that they can sell to me. Is there any way of seeing a credit report without telling my income? If not, how accurate does the income figure have to be? Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can get the three “statutory reports” from each CRA. They are free, no advertising.
Hopeful says
Hi Sara,
I paid for a month with Experian (stupid, stupid, stupid. I hadn’t my read this article) and credit score is showing as 572. I just registered with Credit Club and its showing my Experian credit score as 837! Any ideas what could be causing such a disparity in the score please? Thank you for reading my query.
Regards
Hope
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Would you have expected your score to be good or poor?
Hopeful says
I was expecting the 572 that the Experian website is showing. I’m hoping the 837 is a more upto date score but I fear that’s wishful thinking lol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well credit scores can suddenly improve if old problems have dropped off…
But I think you need to look at the details of your credit reports From Experian and MSE Credit Club and spot the differences. The most likely possibility is something is on that Experian report which is not good which is missing from the Credit Club report. A debt with a default? A CCJ? insolvency? A financial link to someone?
Hopeful says
Thank you Sara. I will go through both now to try and identify the issue.
Jane says
Hi Sara, I had a mobile phone contract that was closed in 2015 but when I look at the account on my credit report, the full history back to 2011 is showing on there. Late payments in 2013 are still showing and I thought only 6 years history is reported. I.e 2015 plus the two years previous would be 6 years from now. It seems unfair that the entire history is reported for 6 years after the account was closed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may seem unfair, but that is what the rules say.
Joe says
Hi Sara
About 5 years ago, I hit a rough patch in my life when I had lost my job to look after my two children who were under 2 at the the time.
I had paid off my mortgage, and has lived on the equity money since.
I had a lot of other debts(majorly credit cards and unsecured loans) amounting about £30000 at the time.
I have managed to live under the radar, with help of family & friends. I am now looking to get my life back. I have now been offered a job with an annual income of £30000. I have checked CCJ register, so only got to know I have two CCJs amounting £25000 since last year.
I would like to make a fresh start with paying what I can afford but also manage to look after my two school age children on my own.
I do not have any assets, haven’t claimed any benefits since.
Just need some advice whether I can or is it just best to continue with what I am doing?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you are asking whether you should emerge into the open and talk to your creditors or try to carry on hiding?
Where are you living and can you carry on living there or do you need to move for this new job?
Matias says
Hi Sara,
Quick question: Just moved to the UK 3 months ago and we discovered this ‘credit score’ thing. To our surprise, we couldn’t get some services (like for example some internet providers) or limited ones (for example no roaming for the mobile service). I know this system cannot be changed, even though I find it very frustrating for this type of situation when you just moved to the UK, have a good salary and suddenly you find you’re very limited in what you can do financially wise. Anyhow, do you have any tips that would help foreigners like me who just moved to the UK quickly build some credit score that would allow for greater possibilities (such as a mortgage or even having a good mobile service)?
I’ve enrolled myself in the electoral roll, I’ve opened a bank account with a big bank, still, I do not show up in any credit score as I do not have a 3-year history of addresses in the UK.
Side-note, on most countries I lived the credit score works the other way around, you start with a good score and will be ‘punished’ if you do not pay your debts on time.
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suspect getting on the electoral roll will just take a few months to show up. Your bank account, does it have an overdraft?
One other easy thing to do is to sign up for regular monthly savings from LOQBOX. These are structured to look like loan repayments, so they help improve your credit score. See https://www.loqbox.co.uk/